Kiely’s comments bemuse reporters

I HAVE stood, sat, and even kneeled in post-match press conferences over the years and nearly all have a familiar structure to them.

The triumphant manager comes in, praises his own charges, then the opposition, talks about how he feels before attempting to put the work that lies ahead into perspective.

A quick discussion about how to keep the hype at bay and all in the room are usually content – job done. A quick chat with a winning captain or a player of note and the winners can head for the showers.

Things usually get a little sombre after that as the unsuccessful manager does his bit to explain what has gone before and all retreat to the media rooms to get their copy posted. Sorted.

Well, last Sunday afternoon it all followed a little bit of a different path right from the off. Limerick manager John Kiely took a leaf out of Donald Trump’s book by going straight after the press in what to most journalists present looked like a pretty odd thing to do after your side have just written themselves into the folklore of a hurling generation.

“Just before we start, If I could just ask for one piece of co-operation over the next three weeks. Do not contact any of our group or I will shut the whole thing down, okay?

“We will work with you. You know that. We have always worked with you. I have been very fair to the media over the last two years. I am just asking for that piece of respect – to contact the group leaders, the county board, the PRO or myself – do not contact the players directly. If one player is contacted directly I will shut the whole thing down, right? Now let’s go.”

As a journalist that usually has little interest in what Limerick managers have to say I sat up in my chair and was more than curious as to what this was all about and even more interested in what would happen next. Would the media collective sit back and take what seemed like a hefty slap? Well, no. They would not. Not even close.

TURNING POINT

Rather than people backing off the issue the next few questions all harped on about what were the reasons for the outburst and had the manager and player Shane Dowling planned this line of defence, attack, or whatever it was meant to be.

Dowling had spent a large part of his post-match interview on the pitch with RTÉ also asking to be left alone – there was clearly something bugging the men from the banks of the Shannon.

Back to the press room and Kiely continued: “We [manager and players] haven’t discussed it but we are all aware of it. Okay? Let’s be honest about it now, we had our press conference and not every team facilitated that. A little bit of co-operation. A bit of fairness and that’s all.”

Kiely seemed to be attempting to get hype out of the equation as his side headed for the showpiece game, feeling it was something for fans to engage in and not his side.

“There is no hype whatsoever. Hype is for the supporters, right? We have our own objectives, our own goals, our own work. We have our own routines, our own patterns and, like, we don’t have open training sessions, MAN OF THE MATCH

To the winners go the spoils so on this front one stays with Limerick. Many contenders with wing back Diarmuid Byrnes among them, but Aaron Gillane was at the heart of all the good stuff up front for the victors. Substitute Shane Dowling was magnificent after his introduction but for me it was Gillane.

SCORE OF THE MATCH

Plenty to pick from but Patrick Horgan’s free at the death of 74 minutes may well have looked like a relatively easy score but the execution was sublime at one of the most pressurised moments in his long career. Horgan continues to be the talisman and one of the most talented hurlers of his generation.

The sides traded blows for the first to the final whistle but the seven minutes before the 70 were up changed this one for good. Cork had the game in the bag, but more than a half dozen points in that short space of time meant Patrick Horgan had to respond with a free to save the day. Cork never got the momentum back.

for example.

“The lads go to work every day, that’s it. We just go on about our daily lives. To be fair, the supporters have been absolutely fantastic and given us great space and I’m sure they will over the next few weeks as well. And this is not to become an issue. It’s not an issue and that’s it.

“I am more than willing and ready to start talking about the game now. That’s all.”

Kiely paid Cork the usual compliments and claimed that he felt the Rebels’ day will come soon but the awkwardness of the interview never really lifted from the early tone.

Looks like Kiely has learned nothing from Michael Ryan’s early season media ban that lasted all of two days.

While the Limerick manager is well within his rights to impose a media ban if he feels it will help his side’s cause, this rush to create a siege mentality among teams in recent times seems to be nothing more than a distraction.

Lesson: tell the media stay away if you will but then don’t complain if they find someone more open and interesting to talk to.