During the early days of the last month in what had been the longest year, Liam Cahill travelled to Dungarvan for the most surreal of pre-All-Ireland final media gatherings.
It was December 2020, and as all interviews at that time were required to take place outdoors, Cahill fielded questions while standing in the narrow squat stand at Fraher Field, which provided only minimal protection from the biting breeze drifting in from where the Colligan river meets the sea.
Just days earlier the Government had set out its latest update in the Plan for Living with Covid-19. It was an eerie phase when weddings and funerals were restricted to 25, and when watering holes “serving a substantial meal” had different guidelines to wet pubs (remember those!).
It can almost feel unreal thinking back now to that period. And perhaps it is a consequence of the time more than anything else that Cahill’s tenure as Waterford manager often feels to be only half remembered.
He presided over Waterford for three seasons – though the unravelling of their 2022 Munster campaign (losing three on the bounce) and the manner of his subsequent departure and immediate appointment as Tipperary manager has coloured much of the narrative.
Cahill, a hugely successful underage coach with Tipp, had turned down the opportunity to manage his native county’s senior hurlers in August 2021, instead committing himself to Waterford: “I feel we have a sense of unfinished business.”
But the following year, on Thursday, July 14th, 2022, Tipperary GAA announced they had made a “decision to relieve Colm Bonnar from his duties” as manager. The very next afternoon Cahill quit Waterford and on Monday, July 18th he was appointed Tipp boss.
Cahill managed Waterford for 34 games (Munster SHL, NHL, Championship) – winning 19, losing 14 and drawing one.
In December 2020 he guided Waterford to only their third All-Ireland final appearance since 1963, and in 2022 his team claimed the county’s fourth ever National Hurling League title.
“For me, Liam Cahill did a really good job with Waterford,” says Michael Ryan, who himself managed the Déise from 2012-13. “When you look at where we were before that, he got things up and running again, we were competitive, we got to All-Ireland finals and league finals, that was progress from where we’d been.”
Waterford’s Munster semi-final win over Cork in 2020 was their first victory in the province for four years. Waterford lost two championship games in that winter championship – both to Limerick, the Munster and All-Ireland finals.
They got back to an All-Ireland semi-final in 2021, when again Limerick proved their nemesis. But when league silverware was captured in April 2022, there was little sense the project was about to come undone.
“I think he got the best out of the players at the time,” adds Ryan. “And he got them playing a distinctive style, which suited the team – moving it quickly and taking on the opposition.”
Waterford’s playing style has cropped back up in advance of Saturday’s clash with Tipperary – thanks in no small part to comments made by Cahill.
The relationship between Cahill and Davy Fitzgerald adds sizzle to an already spicy fixture. Since succeeding Cahill in Waterford, Fitzgerald has occasionally suggested the dressingroom he inherited needed remedial work.
Following the league encounter last year, there was a brief handshake between the managers, immediately followed by the pointing of fingers and an exchange of smirking utterances.
So, you can be sure Fitzgerald noted Cahill’s comments after Tipp’s defeat to Limerick last Sunday – because it was significant he chose to talk about Waterford’s approach against Cork.
“It looks like the players have really in Waterford gone after a style of play that suited them really well in the past,” said Cahill.
The talk around Waterford recently has been that, during the team’s training camp in Portugal, the players sought a change in tactics. Undoubtedly such chatter drifted across the border to Tipperary.
But the Tipp boss had several more bullets in the chamber last Sunday too, as he seemed to indicate that Derek McGrath had added undue pressure on him during his reign in Waterford.
“Up to 18 months ago they were branded as the second best team in the country, their former manager said whoever beats them goes up the steps of the Hogan Stand,” continued Cahill. “The same said person, I haven’t heard sign or light of him for the last 18 months.
“As I said, the players seem to have found their style now that really suits them and had them in an All-Ireland final, semi-final, league [final], [won a] National League title.”
There’s plenty in those comments for Fitzgerald to unpick.
“To be fair to Waterford, they never had a full selection of players for the league but still only lost games by two or three points,” adds Ryan.
“I thought it was a really good display against Cork but we will need to bring a big performance again this Saturday, pushing up the field and playing the hurling that suits Waterford, because you’d have to expect there will be a reaction from Tipperary.”
For an added dollop of intrigue, in recent seasons Déise great Tony Browne has been in the background with Tipperary while former Premier captain Eoin Kelly has been working with Waterford.
During his three years as Waterford manager, Cahill faced Tipperary on five occasions – losing once but winning the other four.
“They are a team above all teams who really don’t fear Tipperary, look myself and Mikey Bevans are partly to blame for that, I suppose,” he added last Sunday, ensuring his recent past with Waterford does not get overlooked.
But if Tipperary fail to win on Saturday, this could become a campaign Cahill will soon want to forget.
The Liam Cahill Waterford years
Appointed Waterford manager in September 2019 – stepped down in July 2022.
Munster SHL: Played 3; Won 1; Lost 2
Allianz Hurling League: Played 17; Won 11; Lost 5; Drew 1
Championship: Played 14; Won 7; Lost 7
Total: Played 34; Won 19; Lost 14; Drew 1
