LISTEN: Brian Geary says “grounded” Limerick are relishing Croke Park challenge

Brian Geary was part of the last Limerick side to reach an All-Ireland final back in 2007 where they were beaten by a Kilkenny side who would go on to annex four consecutive titles. Since then Limerick have threatened at various junctures to reach the promised land but have came up short on each occasion, most notably in 2014 against the Cats.

Yet after securing a first victory over the Leinster side since their last All-Ireland triumph in 1973, hopes are high in the county that John Kiely and his young side can defeat Cork this Sunday and reach the final once more. Geary, has no worries over the side’s youthfulness, highlighting how the game has developed, with the age profile decreasing dramatically since his time in the side.

“You can see the age profile of all the panels in the country now and there’s a huge number of under 21s. I can’t even tell you how many are on our panel but I’m sure its over half so we’re no different than any other county.”

Geary spoke about the setback against Clare as a lesson to players and supporters alike. Coming into the game, Limerick were being talked about as heavy favourites to win Munster. As things panned out, Limerick were humbled in Ennis. Yet this side have bounced back with a victory over Carlow before the epic with Kilkenny just under a fortnight ago. Geary has no complaints over the Clare game and insists the team have learned their lessons and moved on from it.

“The Clare game was a tough match for us. We were well up for it. We could be analysing it still and you couldn’t out your finger on it exactly. A lot of factors combined, and they were hungrier on the day.”

For majority of this team, this will be a first taste of Croke Park in the Senior Championship. As with the nature of the expectations of the county, Geary has stressed the importance of Caroline Currid in her role of helping the players maintain composure and focus.

“It’s very important that the lads are grounded. Tom mentioned Caroline Currid and she has a huge part to play. It is new territory for a lot of the lads, a senior semi-final… They are a good group, you can sense it from the lads around there.”

He has commended the work rate and attitude of the players throughout the year, highlighting how they are pushing each other in training whilst maintaining a pleasurable aspect that is too often lost in the professionalism of the game. Despite all the positive talk about Limerick hurling, he warns that players are always judged on their last performance and is hoping it will be a positive one come Sunday.

“If you’re going by application, they are second to none. You heard the lads mention the word enjoyment, they’ve been pushed very hard in training, but the overriding factor is that they were getting enjoyment out of it.”

“You’re only as good as your last game and the lads are well aware of that.”

Listen to the interview in full on the link below.