O’Sullivan says Division 4 triumph can give that ‘bit of a lift’ as Limerick prepare for Championship

On Saturday after four years resigned to the bottom tier, the Limerick footballers earned promotion to Division 3 of the National Fooball Laegue by virtue of a 1-16 to 1-14 win over Sligo.

For joint captain Donal O’Sullivan, the victory comes as a huge positive after the disappointment against Wexford the previous week as he praised the efforts of the management team.

“A great moment. We kind of felt that we let ourselves down against Wexford so to go to Sligo to win and results to fall our way, it’s just a brilliant feeling.

“We were targeting our own standards. The McGrath cup win wasn’t really an objective, we wanted to go up. That was the target from the get go and in that, targeting our own standards. I cant peak highly enough of Billy, Begs (Brian Begley), Shane, Seamie. It’s been a long road so it’s not just great for us but for them. I’m delighted for them because they took us at a time when we were on our knees and thankfully they are getting a reward now.

“We haven’t won many medals so anytime we do, it’s a moment to savour. Billy was saying to us to savour the moment before we address the Munster championship.”

That championship game that O’Sullivan referred to is the Munster quarter-final tie between Limerick and Waterford this Saturday in the Fraher Fields.

Limerick will be hoping for a repeat of the victory they earned in the first round of the league when they won out 1-10 to 0-10 which followed the 2-10 to 0-10 McGrath Cup win.

Limerick’s ability to get that crucial goal will be key again when the sides meet with O’Sullivan is expecting another stern test.

“Its going to be a tough match, any championship match is. We have only beaten them by a point the last two times we played them. It’s something we are going to have to nail down on Tuesday going forward.”

While on the field, O’Sullivan has developed into one of the finest keepers in the country, off it he has been leading the charge against Covid-19 as a doctor.

Speaking of the difficulties of combining the two in the current climate, O’Sullivan says he hopes the GAA can shine some light in these bleak times.

“Personally it was difficult. It was an up and down week. I’ve worked a lot of long shifts over the last two or three weeks but I knew this was an opportunity I couldn’t let go. We as individuals and a collective promised that we would do ourselves justice. It is a difficult time but hopefully for Limerick football and Limerick GAA Supporters, it’s a bit of lift.”