In 1914, Robert Frost (not the recently appointed Munster Council Vice-Chairman), penned lines in his poem ‘The Death of the Hired Man’. The ‘hired man’ - in this instance Justin McCarthy - is very much alive and well having beaten away the opposition, and almost pulled a result out of the bag against Offaly in Tullamore. Nevertheless, the words from the poem are chilling ‘And nothing to look backward to with pride. And nothing to look forward to with hope.’ It probably sums up August 2009 to July 2010 pretty accurately.

Justin won the tug of war for votes and that result is final. The Limerick GAA political machine is admirably impressive, for want of a better word, when it is in operation.

In the media, Tom Ryan spoke of the gloating after the vote, and sadly he is right, this did take place. When most of the clubs in the county are torn to shreds, certain backbenchers on the county board executive (and their hangers on) should be keeping their heads down and coming up with a strategy for what happens Limerick hurling next. Score settling and one-upmanship can no longer belong in Limerick hurling, we have had too much of that in the past.

It will take time before the scars of this debacle are healed. At least two players are deeply unhappy not to have got the full backing of their clubs and their playing future with those clubs is questionable. Hopefully, time will heal those wounds. Committees within clubs voted on a mandate for their delegates, and many mandates were decided upon a single vote. Some of those decisions were based on the aforementioned one-upmanship. That creates serious division and it will affect those committees, as they are the very people whose unity and work ethic keep the clubs going. At this stage, I don’t think anything will be achieved by dwelling any more on recent weeks. We need to look forward now, and fulfil the remaining fixtures, get the year over, and decide what comes next.

There are people who are already mooting a contract extension for Justin McCarthy for no other reason but to copper-fasten their sense of superiority. The greatest act of one-upmanship of all among some is to go for the kill and get Justin’s entire management team voted in for an extra three years, knowing that a clean slate is probably the best thing going forward. And given magnitude of the vote, anything is politically possible in Limerick.

There is an awful lot of baggage between the management and the players at this stage and like a marriage that breaks down in the first year, it hasn’t worked out. Let’s not discredit the man though. Justin is a serious coach, with a serious coaching pedigree and a phenomenal record in terms of winning meaningful silverware across a number of decades. His influence on some of the younger players last year was notable and he has made a serious job of some of the 2010 players. However, man management is not part of his repertoire of skills and Limerick have some players that need more man management than others both within and outside Limerick.

It is imperative that the next Limerick manager is a proven man manager and a people person. It would help if at least one of his selectors was a people person. We need a management team that players can approach with their concerns without being in fear of the consequences of being open and honest. As a county, we need to outline the list of requirements for this ideal person, and see who ticks the most boxes. There are great coaches, and there are great man managers, but it’s very rare to find a combination of the two in one man at the highest level.

It’s possible to add a coach beside the manager, to perform a similar role to that fulfilled by Donie Buckley for the footballers. Pat Gilroy and Mickey Whelan seem to have the makings of a good partnership in Dublin. Would Justin be prepared to fulfil coaching duties and let the management to someone else? Probably not, Justin is a No. 1 and always has been. People like Niall O’Donovan (Rugby), Brian Kidd (Soccer) and Paul Grimley and John Morrisson (Gaelic Football) seem happy to be a No. 2, but it’s difficult to envisage Justin in that role.

However, it’s imperative that the boss is a man manager, yet structurally organised, someone whom everyone knows is the boss, yet can put the arm around the shoulder of those who need it, and give the kick in the backside to those who need it. Ideally, the manager should have hurled for Limerick, but we should not narrow our focus at this early stage. First and foremost, we need to collectively rack our brains, and identify ex players who are working successfully in day-to-day man-management roles. Answers on a postcard to the Gaelic Grounds…

But we have to get it right this time. We need to pull out the crystal ball and predict what selectors/liaison officers etc might clash with players, and prevent all that by just not appointing them. The time has also come to rid the senior hurling set-up of all the hangers on. Let the Limerick under 16 hurlers carry the water bottles, and hurleys, and learn about what big days are about and aspire to them. They can be kept out of the dressing room to prevent them carrying stories, but one thing is for sure, they most certainly won’t be trying to influence matters that aren’t any of their business.

But through all the drama, the forgotten men of this situation are the men who fought bravely for the Limerick jersey in recent weeks. Justin has given players chances that they might not otherwise have got and they have improved under his watch. Against Offaly they gave everything and were unfortunate not to sneak a result. But a number of them have put their hands up for selection on a full outfit in 2011. Some have proven that they have something to offer at the highest level, and others might not make the team, but will be competitive subs fighting to be noticed during the games in training.

To date, everything has been a lose-lose situation. The future has to be about solutions rather than problems. From now on we must ensure that there is only one winner - Limerick hurling.

Related articles:
Limerick's year is gone already - Henry Martin
A hurling manager or a hurling legacy? - Henry Martin
A county divided - Henry Martin
Unlimited heartbreak to become infinite heartbreak? - Henry Martin


Members of one Limerick club react to the result of the delegates' vote...