A Mhuintir Luimní...Tar éis ocht mbliain is tríocha, tá Craobh na hÉireann ar ais I gContae Luimní….Is mór an onóir domsa, mar chaptaen, an chorn seo a ghlacadh ar son na daoine a bhí anseo I bhliain 74, 80, 94 96 agus freisin 2007…..Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabhail don bhainisteoir, Dónal O Gráda etc. etc...

Yes, indeed, we are at it again, dreaming, speculating and imagining. 1973 is banished to history, 2011 will be the year. Instead of being on the front page of the ‘Limerick Leader’ with Becky Costello, as he was in 2009, Gavin O’Mahoney and herself will be on the front page of ‘Hello’ magazine with McCarthy Cup.

The Jose Mourinho of hurling has landed in town. Donal O’Grady, who by some form of a miracle, is more tempted by taking on the poisoned chalice of the Limerick senior job (at standard, legal and official rates of GAA remuneration), than he is in retaining the his combined lucrative roles at TG4, Today FM, RTÉ, ‘The Irish Examiner’ and the GPA. As with Justin two years ago, the place is delighted. Justin had won silverware in all decades, including two major trophies only a little over twelve months prior to his appointment in Limerick. O’Grady is rated by some of the Cork players as the best manager they have ever worked with. But it’s acknowledged that there might not have been a third year in his life with them, that the parting of the ways came at the right time. He was a headmaster by profession up to his recent retirement, and he would appear to have some of those personality traits in his approach toward players. Page 106 of ‘Blood Brothers’ where the Rock had to eat humble pie would appear to be the proof of that.

And how will O’Grady differ from Justin? For one thing, he won’t be hanging around, and the better Limerick do in 2011, the more likely he is to walk, with our stock far greater than when he arrived. If he feels that there’s a second year of progress, he might stay an extra year, but that will surely be that. Putting it mildly, he would up sticks and leave after a ‘2007’ year, rather than wait for 2008 to unravel. O’Grady gave Cork two years and that was it. Even allowing for the ‘standard, legal and official rates GAA remuneration’ in Limerick, it’s unlikely to see him staying beyond a maximum of two years. On that note some supporters wouldn’t care if it cost €1 Million of JP McManus’s loose change, if he delivered an All Ireland.

While he will be more scientific than Justin in some ways, more of his training methods might not differ that much from Justin’s. One complaint regarding Justin was the amount of time spent hooking and blocking. The difference might be in how O’Grady sells the concept of hooking and blocking to his players. One assumes that a detailed video will be prepared for any areas of concern relating to players, and that will be used to back up any - ahem - recommendations. I haven’t ever trained under either man, and won’t, but I would assume based on second hand information that O’Grady is cuter than Justin when dishing out orders, perhaps less blunt but more cunning at delivering the same message, but certainly every bit as ruthless - if not more. Perhaps Justin has no interest in the people who don’t want to listen, perhaps O’Grady finds ways to force them how to listen.

But O’Grady’s appointment was far from a foregone conclusion. There were many doubts relating to the entire managerial package, particularly the selectors. The three man committee that recommended O’Grady would appear to be oblivious to any possible baggage the selectors may be carrying, but it’s widely acknowledged that there is baggage. 30% to 35% of the delegates saw fit to keep their hands down when Liam Lenihan asked the clubs for a show of hands in support of O’Grady. A night earlier there was strong and hot debate at the management meeting. O’Grady’s name was presented for ratification by the top table, but not unanimously. Word is that there wasn’t a problem with O’Grady but there was a problem with the backroom team.

The expectation is that when O’Grady steps aside, one of the three selectors will take over as manager. There is almost unanimous agreement that it might not quite work when O’Grady departs. Some believe that the three men all want the big one in 2012, and that they might not work well together because of this. However, from a hurling perspective, many delegates and clubs have issues with TJ Ryan, primarily relating to comments made on 95fm about the 2010 panel in the height of the controversy last Spring. TJ doesn’t need Henry Martin to tell him that, he knows it himself, and he knows that his presence on the management team might have led to O’Grady not being ratified. The 95FM comments really cut to the bone and the prevailing feeling among many is that TJ Ryan has been rewarded rather than punished for his ‘sins’ last Spring. This writer was at the games, so he didn’t hear any commentary, although comments on the ‘Limerick Today Show’ with Joe Nash are apparently the real sore point. Someone somewhere might have a CD of that show, and might do us all a favour by putting it up on YouTube for once and for all. Either way, that was up to the delegates to grumble about on the night of the meeting, but they chose to do it on the barstools and the crossroads after the meeting. Happy to let Henry Martin bring it up, and hopeful that he will, but when it comes to making the hard call themselves, the liathróidí aren’t there.

It would appear as though this writer is seen as something of a mouthpiece at County Board meetings based on several promptings received during the day on Wednesday 22nd September to speak up that night. In fact one phone call received the following day would appear to confirm that “You haven’t shut your mouth at a meeting all year, and the one night you were expected to speak up, you didn’t”. The expectation is that because of past history, that this writer might launch a personal crusade to prevent TJ Ryan becoming a selector. Sorry, Gents, time to find some voices of your own.

Limerick hurling is more important than any club strife. The important thing for Limerick hurling was to get O’Grady in. Who goes in with him at this juncture is irrelevant. Who will succeed him is irrelevant. The facts are that O’Grady might just sort out the Limerick ship. It’s a pity that Gary Kirby didn’t fancy the idea of being a selector, but one can understand his point, going in as a bridesmaid is very difficult when you harbour desires to be the bride. Would Michael Ryan, Jim Greene and Eddie O’Connor have agreed to work together under Davy Fitz in Waterford? As it was in Limerick, Ciaran Carey and Pat Heffernan took time out to mull over the offer. TJ Ryan said yes instantly, but that was a different story as he went into an interview for the job of being the bride, with intentions of settling for the bridesmaid’s role so he could be a major player in the wedding. He has hung on to the coat tails of Donal O’Grady, and its now up to TJ Ryan to spend the next twelve months proving his doubters wrong.

Donal O’Grady shipped a lot of criticism in Cork for allowing John Gardiner mark Dan Shanahan at the start of the 2004 Munster final. When Sean Og O hAilpin was switched across, the damage was done. Seanie Leary, the then Cork selector, was away that day watching his son play rugby. Many in Cork believe that if O’Leary was in Thurles, that the switch would have been made earlier. Perhaps one of the three can do something to become the Limerick O’Leary.

Enough of the past, it has got to be onwards and upwards. The first thing is to stop worrying about 2012 if O’Grady goes, and focus on 2011. O’Grady will most likely be the boss, and the three boys will carry the water bottles. It will be interesting to see how Donie Ryan’s claims to a place on the panel will be dealt with, but one thing is for sure, it will be O’Grady rather than TJ Ryan who makes that d