Lee wants Treaty growth but insists safety comes first
COMING off a season in which all the targets were hit, it is easy to imagine Billy Lee straining at the leash to get back at it.
Promoted from Division 4 as champions, McGrath Cup winners and only denied a place in the Munster final by a last-gasp Conor Sweeney point from the sideline, Limerick football is in its best place since the early noughties. Lee was a selector back then. They spent the bones of half a decade menacing Kerry.
Momentum is so precious, and such a rare thing for Limerick football, that not hitching a ride on it feels like a missed opportunity.
But if he is feeling impatient about the expected extension of the public health restrictions, which will likely shunt the start of the inter-county season back to the end of March, he is doing a good job of hiding it.
‘We have to realise that this lockdown has been the most severe of the three. People are nervous and frightened so we have to be patient,’ says Lee.
‘Sport is a fantastic outlet for people and the winter Championship showed that but that was when numbers were a lot lower and we just have to respect that society needs to be looked after
“We all know someone who has been hit by this”
at this point in time. When the time is right, we will get back at it but I would expect that it will be the end of February before we are back at it.
‘Here in Limerick where we had high incidence rates, we all know someone — whether they are old, middle-aged or young — who has been hit by this during the third wave.
‘I think that includes kids who have come out of college who might not have been in the workplace. What has happened has made them more aware.
‘There has been a huge learning curve for young people, the accountability and responsibility they have had to take. To be fair, they have done a reasonably good job of it across the country.
‘That would extend to our players who would love to be back but who are very aware there is a far bigger picture that needs to be observed.’
This will be the Newcastlewest man’s fifth season in charge, his length of tenure all the more remarkable given how bumpy a ride it has been at times, finishing in the bottom three of Division 4 in back-to-back seasons. They won just one game in 2018.
With the wind at their back, and best players available — something that was not always the case — and a tier-two Championship in which they could be dark horses, they have much to look forward to.
More than anything, though, momentum will only be secured by ensuring their Division 3 status. On last year’s form, they could bid for promotion in a group where Tipperary, Offaly and Wicklow provide opposition.
While the start of the League is set to be delayed by a month, there are fears that the high virus infection rates and a lack of cash at county board level to prepare teams will lead to an outright cancellation of the spring competition.
‘Primarily the League is the target for Division 3 and 4 teams, but I do understand the financial challenges involved.
‘Businesses are struggling and jobs are on the line in this environment and it is only natural that in sport finances are going to be in that space as well.
‘And when you are not the No1 sport in your county it is going to be more challenging. It is where we are at. The League is more important to Limerick and we just have to wait and see what the figures are.’
This is the first year that a split season fixture model has been put in place. Any further delay of the inter-county season could put a significant squeeze on club fixtures and Lee warns that the GAA leadership must be mindful not to erode the time available to the grassroots, warning that it may not be practical for clubs if their programme is pushed back later in the year.
‘I don’t know if the facilities are there to play off the entire club season late in the year.
‘Would clubs have the facilities to play night games? Would there be the option to play club games in the middle of the week as you could do earlier in the year? All of that would have to be taken into account if there was any further delay,’ he insists.
But amid all the doom and gloom, there was some good news this month when Limerick centre-back Ian Corbett was short-listed for an All-Star, with Lee adamant that it was a collective as much as individual honour.
‘I have very simple view of life and that is you won’t get anywhere unless you put in the hard work. Ian is a great example of that because he has been working hard for a lot of years.
‘All he has ever done is put his best foot forward and it is great to see that being recognised at a national level.
‘That goes for all of us, we are working hard to try and improve our standards and wherever that takes it so be it. It is pleasing to see something like that happen for a player like Ian.
‘It is a recognition of the individual and what they have done but I also think there is recognition of the broader group as well.
‘It is good for the game in Limerick that they see one of their own being nominated and it gives energy to everyone knowing that the quality of player is there but we might just not have the numbers.
‘But we have character and purpose in abundance.’