Limerick Hurling Depth Chart | Goalkeepers | Kiely well represented with the best in the land and quality back ups

We look at the strength in depth of John Kiely’s squad and potential outsiders ahead of their season opener this weekend.

The Limerick senior hurlers kick off their 2022 season this Sunday when they take on Kerry in the Munster Hurling Cup this Sunday afternoon.

John Kiely’s side haven’t played since their awesome All-Ireland final win over Cork last August.

In the meantime, Kilmallock, Mungret St Pauls and Caherline were crowned county champions in some exhilarating club championships.

As such, some players may have caught the eye of Kiely who is yet to reveal his hand in terms of a squad for the 2022 season.

With twelve All-Stars, there is little room for outsiders but there is a chance for all with Kiely unafraid to make the hard calls in his term as manager.

And ahead of the season opener, we look at the options available to Kiely, starting today with the goalkeepers.

Nailed On

Despite holding the jersey since 2011, there seems to be no stopping Nickie Quaid who gets better and better every year. Was robbed of an All-Star in 2021 but that will count for little for the Effin man who now has three All-Ireland and Munster medals in his collection.

While he was underappreciated until his role in landing the All-Ireland in 2018, there is now no doubting his importance to the team with no better goalkeeper in terms of restarts. His performance against Waterford also highlighting his natural shot stopping ability.

Arguably the finest in the Quaid lineage of great goalkeepers, Nickie is the standout no.1 in the land.

Pushing Hard

Kilmallock manager Tony Considine said “there isn’t a better no.16 in the country than Barry Hennessey” and such were his performances in the Limerick SHC, there is little to deny the Balbec man of that title.

Always been highly regarded for his shot stopping ability, Hennessy has expanded his puckout range and has added a scoring threat from long range frees as seen for Kilmallock this year.

Jason Gillane is probably more akin to Quaid in the fact that he plays his club hurling out the field. The Patrickswell man was arguably his clubs standout attacker this season in a unit that also contains Cian Lynch and his brother Aaron. Firmly third choice behind Quaid and Hennessy.

Outsiders

After helping Limerick to the All-Ireland U21 crown in 2017, there was much anticipation that Eoghan McNamara was Quaid’s replacement for the future. It has not worked out as such with McNamara away for a couple of seasons. But he is back and as Doon’s number, he will have plenty of chances to impress during the year.

Former intercounty duo Brian Murray (Patrickswell) and Anthony Nash (South Liberties) are both still operating at a very high level but chances of playing for Limerick are seemingly gone at this stage.

Elsewhere, Cian Hedderman, a regular on Limerick underage squads in the early 2010’s, has regained the Ballybrown goalkeeper shirt with a string of fine performances.

David McCarthy in another who starred at underage level, winning an All-Ireland U21 title under Kiely in 2015.

Adare’s Bryan Curtin also represented Limerick at underage levels and has impressed with his club side.