SNAPSHOTS TAKEN FROM A BREATHTAKING HURLING YEAR
From the usual suspects showcasing their class to the crowning of a new force... it was a season to remember
THE 2018 season was one worth savouring as it delivered thrills and drama like never before with an AllIreland final that showcased all that is so enthralling in hurling. Below are some of the players, the teams and the moments that stood out for me in 2018.
TJ Reid’s National League
Kilkenny’s team leader was brilliant. The cats played Offaly in Tullamore in the League quarter-final. Offaly gave them a scare and had them on the ropes. It was all square at the time, a shock on the cards. Then goalkeeper Eoin Murphy went long and Reid jumped for possession with plenty of others. He caught the ball, took a couple of steps and stuck it over the bar in the blink of an eye. Opponents wondered where the ball had gone as the umpire reached for his flag.
Then there was the League final when he was out of this world, again. Reid set the agenda for Kilkenny all spring. The Cats surprised people by winning the league and he was a major factor in the success.
Conal Keaney v Kilkenny
Aged 35, he turned back the clock on the opening weekend of the Championship. For someone who has done so much, in both codes, to come back and have such an influence at centre-forward – on a player of Cillian Buckley’s calibre – was heroic. It was a big call from Pat Gilroy who clearly trusted his instincts and the player showed a lot of nerve. If Limerick showed it’s a game for young players, Keaney showcased what can be achieved when you still have that drive and passion for the game.
14-man Limerick v Cork
Aaron Gillane’s first-half red card could have derailed Limerick’s season. Instead, they battled on, Kyle Hayes showing his leadership by hitting the equaliser. Such resilience defined Limerick’s summer.
Home comforts: Kilkenny v Wexford in Nowlan Park
An evening like this epitomised the point of the round robin series – bringing the game to rural grounds. I was doing radio commentary that night and it was probably the most enjoyable evening of the summer. As the sun shone, there was a brilliant atmosphere around the ground with supporters in short-sleeves and 99s in their hands. A thrilling match made the evening with Wexford playing some great hurling before Kilkenny found a way. Waterford conceding a ‘ghost’ goal This stoked the debate about goalline technology and the cost of human error. It was huge in terms of Waterford’s season. Replays showed Austin Gleeson deliberately keeping his hand out to make sure it didn’t go over the line. It will be interesting to see if any effort is made to look at the use of video technology in a live capacity for next year.
Fine margins
Jake Morris hit an upright for Tipperary in the do-or-die Munster game – and then Clare went down the field and scored a goal through Ian Galvin. If Morris had netted, who knows where Tipperary would have ended up?
Ironically, a post at the other end of Semple Stadium cost the Banner a place in the All-Ireland final when Aron Shanagher’s flick came back out against Galway.
Cork’s Munster final comeback
I love players standing up and being counted. So much hinged on Cork captain Séamus Harnedy catching a puck-out when Cork were trouble against Clare and laying it off to Luke Meade for the goal to turn the decider around. Harnedy hasn’t his All-Ireland medal yet but has been a great leader for Cork.
Carlow winning the inaugural Joe McDonagh Cup
Good to see it as the curtain-raiser to the Leinster final and this was a brilliant win for Carlow. The big question will be how they get on in the Leinster round-robin next year.
They’ll have a couple of home matches – imagine hosting Kilkenny for example in Dr Cullen Park – so it’s all positive. They just have to show they can be competitive and continue to close the gap.
Hats off to manager Colm Bonnar. It’s up to Offaly now to win the same competition next year and bounce back.
Tom Morrissey’s catch
When Richie Hogan got his late goal in the All-Ireland quarter-final, normally that’s it - game over. Instead, Tom Morrissey caught the puck-out and put it over the bar – it happened so fast it was barely caught on television because of the goal replay being shown. Then he hit that wonder point from the far side of the field. That was the day the All-Ireland was won for Limerick.
Eoin Murphy – all year.
The full package. He has everything: timing, bravery and skill. The Kilkenny goalkeeper deserves to be part of any conversation around the Hurler of the Year award.
In the opening round against Dublin he took the long-range frees and couldn’t miss. He has brought a new dimension to the position.
Nickie Quaid’s intervention in the semi-final against Cork was stunning – any other year he would be the All-Star keeper. But Murphy’s series of saves against Limerick was just incredible.
Peter Duggan’s solo point
An incredible piece of skill for a huge man, it was one of the highlights of the Clare-Galway drawn semi-final. It evoked memories of Kevin Broderick’s famous individual score for Galway against Kilkenny when he took on the defence single-handedly. Added to his influence from the puck-out, Duggan was such a big part in Clare’s comeback.
Limerick’s bench
All year, the Treaty substitutes made a huge impact – pointedly in the semi-final against Cork. Shane
Dowling hit 1-4, Peter Casey was fouled for three frees. Barry Nash and David Reidy hit points. Will O’Donoghue always made a contribution. And then there was that goal from Pat Ryan, coming in along the endline before lobbing the goalie. I said last February they were dark horses based on the strength of their squad and they proved they have the best panel in Ireland.
Joe Canning
To score a sideline in the replayed semi-final, after Clare had hit the post, showed some nerve. His body language in those tight games was something to behold – total leadership. He was relentless in the final quarter of the All-Ireland final with his 20-metre free nearly taking the net off.
Time for the begrudgers to rest up and for Canning (left) to be recognised as one of the greatest hurlers of all time. Now the second highest scorer in history, who is to say he won’t pass Henry Shefflin? Graeme Mulcahy, Hurler of the Year I thought Canning deserved the accolade the day after the final but I’m coming down on Mulcahy’s side the more I think about it. When momentum goes against you, it is almost impossible to stop. But his late point in the final ultimately won it for Limerick.
His leadership – his chasing and hooking and blocking, not to mention his scoring – set the tone all summer. I think Limerick deserve the big awards for the year they have had and none more so than Mulcahy.
By the same token, Cork’s Darragh Fitzgibbon was excellent in terms of the Young Player of the Year, but I’d still come down on the side of Kyle Hayes as he took the final by the scruff of the neck which is remarkable for a 20-year-old.
John Kiely and his management team.
Kiely’s ability to delegate and share the limelight with his double-digit back room team showed him to be modest and humble. Perhaps the most modest and humble man in Limerick is also, arguably, their biggest supporter, and definitely their biggest benefactor. JP McManus deserves huge credit for his lifelong devotion to Limerick hurling. The appointment of his great friend and hurling legend Joe McKenna as Director Of Hurling certainly paid off as did the input of Anthony Daly over his period involved.
Tipperary’s U21 success
Cork felt that they had players in Fitzgibbon, Mark Coleman, Shane Kingston and company to match the last triumph in this grade led by the likes of Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Dónal Óg Cusack and Diarmuid O’Sullivan. Tipp had other ideas with a display built around workrate and drive – an incredible, absorbing, intriguing contest that rounded off an amazing hurling year.