TJ Ryan is retired from intercounty hurling since 2006 but there are times on the sideline when he experiences pangs of envy and wishes he was out there again.
“I would think that there isn’t a manager out there who played hurling who doesn’t miss the cut and thrust of it,” he said this week as he fielded one of umpteen calls he would take over the day. “It’s an unbelievable buzz to play for your county and of course you would miss it.”
And it is a simpler life too.
The bigger dramas of this championship have revolved around the Wexford and Clare epics and Tipperary's second coming but one of the most impressive managerial feats of the season has been Ryan's quiet guidance of Limerick through the storms of spring.
Few counties have been exposed to internal drama like the Treaty County and when Donal O’Grady left his role as coach following a row with the county board it looked like whatever good had come from last year’s Munster championship triumph would go to waste.
Ryan was naturally disappointed to lose a coach of O’Grady’s reputation and a trusted ally but his reaction to the setback was critical. He stayed on. He didn’t make a big noise about it. He took Limerick to Semple Stadium where they had their first championship win against Tipperary for 39 summers.
Two weeks ago, he brought his side to Cork for a farewell Munster final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh and, even though they fell by two clear goals, they were in contention all through and finished with 0-24. At worst, it was a robust defence of last year’s Munster championship.
‘Hard to beat’
“I am on record as saying that champions can be hard to beat. You do carry that belief. It was a difficult task going into Tipperary but we went there as Munster champions. It is a natural thing that we would feel that way. I was a bit surprised, to be honest. But look, that is eight weeks and it is done and dusted. When Cork got their chances, they took them well.
“Our chances came early in the game . . . probably the first quarter we should have had a couple of more scores. But look, scoring 0-24 in a Munster final is quite good. It wasn’t good enough on the day but we made a few small tweaks and improvements and we would hope that the next day will be.”
It has been another summer of surprises. The All-Ireland champions are already gone. Cork, promoted from Division One B, are Munster champions. Now Limerick and Wexford, two other sides from the lower-league tier will play a match for a place in the semi-finals. The pattern perhaps settles the argument that teams need to be in Division One A if they are to prosper in the championship.
“If you ask any manager, they will say they want to play Division One just to meet teams like Kilkenny and those sides. But the reality is, yeah, the league and championship are two different competitions and the league ends quite early for a lot of teams. There is a long break so maybe that is part of it.
“From what I have seen of One A games, the competition is probably more open. That is where One B comes into play. In fairness to Wexford, Limerick and Cork are playing quite well in the league but only one team can come out of it.”
Wonderful revival
Ryan and
Paul Beary
were in the crowd in Nowlan Park last Saturday night to watch Wexford continue on what has been a wonderful revival in form and profile. Sunday will be their fourth consecutive week of what seems like a national road show and they have whipped local enthusiasm into frenzy since Limerick played Cork in the Munster final – 3-15 against a Waterford team using a covering defender.
Wexford looked as sharp as they did in their season-defining dismissal of Clare and even more confident. Ryan acknowledges there is a sense of a juggernaut about Wexford, what Waterford manager Derek McGrath described as a wave of emotion. But he doesn’t believe that his team are coming in cold in comparison.
“No, we came to the Munster final with a six-week break so I wouldn’t call this coming in cold. But look, I have seen games in the past and when it is over people decide whether it is a good or bad thing. Wexford are saying these games are good for them . . . I think the fact we had a game a fortnight ago is good for us. So I have no complaints in that department. But we saw them in Nowlan Park and you couldn’t but be impressed by their performance. And even the way they beat the All-Ireland champions as well – you can’t but be.”
When Ryan was initially appointed manager last autumn, he actually noted he would much rather take on the post with O’Grady than by himself. But once events made that impossible, he just knuckled down. It meant that life got a lot busier for him.
“Well, yeah. It did. That was part of it. When you are involved in a team, in Munster finals and quarter-finals, these are the days you want to be involved. We are playing for a place in the last four and that is a great place to be. They are a very talented and articulate, educated bunch of guys. I couldn’t fault any of them in commitment and in the last number of years you would have to say Limerick hurling is going quite well. So this is another game and we are driving on for a place in the last four.”
Key motivator
And it may be a key motivator. As Clare celebrated last winter, the Limerick hurlers coped with the fact they hadn’t really represented the best of themselves in their semi-final loss to the Banner. It was possible to imagine an alternate outcome to the season.
Paudie O’Brien, the Limerick captain, said this week that that defeat and not the Munster championship win, was the key moment of their season. Ryan was not in charge then but knows from his playing days what key disappointments can do to teams and how it can spur them on.
“The last game always sticks out in your mind because you remember it the most. We have put ourselves in a good position and we have a tough game coming up and it is up to us to go and win it.”
