History could be on the horizon for Limerick this summer, as the Treaty County seek to become the first team ever to win five All-Ireland senior hurling titles in a row.
John Kiely's side have become something of a hurling dynasty in recent years, winning five of the last six All-Ireland deciders, and the chasing pack have a mighty task at hand to stop them making it six in seven in 2024.
Though memories are fresh of Limerick's cruise to victory in the second-half of last summer's final, it is easy to forget that the county were close to exiting the Munster championship on the final day, surviving by the skin of their teeth in a nail-biting encounter with Cork.
Clare won at the Gaelic Grounds during that Munster championship, and Cork could well have snuck into the All-Ireland series ahead of Limerick on that final day.
For Limerick half-back Diarmaid Byrnes, ironing out that inconsistency is essential before talk of a five-in-a-row can be considered.
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Diarmaid Byrnes says Limerick refuse to be drawn in by five-in-a-row hype
Launch of the 2024 Allianz Hurling Leagues 31/1/2024 Pictured are players from last year’s Allianz Football Division 1A Final, Limerick hurler, Diarmaid Byrnes, and Kilkenny hurler, Richie Reid at the launch of the 2024 Allianz Hurling League. The Allianz Hurling League provides an opportunity for all players to claim their spot in the county panel for the season ahead. The return of inter-county action, after a five-month break, also affords the teams competing a chance to showcase their strengths and lay down a marker to their county rivals.
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Diarmaid Byrnes spoke to Balls.ie and the Irish media this week to launch the 2024 Allianz Hurling League, which gets underway this weekend.
When it was put to Byrnes that Limerick may come out stronger for having weathered the various storms that threatened their drive to All-Ireland glory in 2023, he noted that the Munster championship has been consistently tricky to navigate in recent years.
Byrnes said that trying to consistently achieve the level of performance they reached in the second half of last year's All-Ireland final is the goal for 2024:
If you look back on the championships, I know obviously 2023 is the most present in your mind...[but] I don't reflect too much.
Last year's Munster championship was no different to the previous Munster championships with regards to competitiveness, ups and downs, and draws and I don't expect this year's Munster championship to be any different to last year with regards to competitiveness, close games, ups and downs. That competitiveness is gonna be across the board like.
I know you reflect on the second-half performance of the All-Ireland final last year, and it was a strong, strong 35 minutes. The stats, scores and evidence is there in the analysis. We're just trying to find that consistency. You don't just turn up for 20 minutes in the second half and hope to win something. We're trying to find that consistency the whole time.
If Limerick do reach that level, it's hard to see anyone stopping them this season. And, if they aren't stopped, then history beckons.
The Dublin footballers remain the only men's team to win a senior five-in-a-row, and Limerick could become the first hurlers to do so this season.
Byrnes assures us, however, that thoughts of the potential record achievement have not entered Limerick minds, saying that they will take the season game by game:
Really, it's [just] another year. I spoke about the Munster championship there and how competitive it is...we had a goal going into the last round last year, and it was solely just to beat Cork and remain in the championship. How foolish would we have been prior to the Munster championship to be looking forward to an All-Ireland semi-final?
I know it's obviously the elephant in the room regarding the media perspective. I know my own family at home over the Christmas period, you jump into people and it's, 'Jaysis, go on now, Byrnsie,' or whatever, stupid little stuff, pub talk or whatever. We build up an immunity with regards dealing with those situations, there's experience in the group and it will definitely stand to us this year, as it did last year and the previous year.
But yeah, we'll treat this year no different. Every team will get the same required attention, whether it be before the game or after the game.
23 July 2023; Barry Nash, left, and Diarmaid Byrnes of Limerick with the Liam MacCarthy Cup after the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship final match between Kilkenny and Limerick at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
That Limerick did weather those storms in 2023 is a credit to their mental fortitude. The soon-to-depart Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp would be impressed by the "mentality monsters" who have donned the green jersey in recent years.
When asked what makes the Limerick state of mind so strong, Byrnes jokingly turns the finger back at us - but then goes on to say that the team's competitive edge comes from a brilliant collective spirit:
Jesus, I don’t know! I thought ye were the experts! Fuck sake…I don’t know.
For me, personally, it’s just enjoyment...but there’s just a crazy competitiveness. When we're heading away somewhere, or in a hotel for pre-game, we’ll play table tennis. Or we’re in a school - which was very common during COVID, we’d go to a school rather than hotels - we’ll go into the hall and play basketball or something.
Sometimes you’re killing them right before a match! Mad stuff altogether, but really enjoyable. I suppose there’s that competitiveness that has grown in us over the last couple of years.
Perhaps most promising for Limerick (and most worrying for the other 11 teams beginning their Allianz Hurling League campaign this weekend) is the fact that a new generation of young talent is emerging behind the likes of Byrnes.
The Patrickswell man says that he has rarely seen youngsters with as much talent as Cathal O'Neill or Adam English. Though he may not have the easiest task marking them in training, Byrnes is appreciative for what the next generation are bringing to the Limerick panel:
The skill of these lads is just unbelievable and their energy in training is class. It’s something that I look on, when I joined the panel first, I was nowhere near it. Absolutely miles off it.
I don’t think there are many lads who were at their level when they were their age. That’s obviously good from a Limerick perspective, because those lads are with us now for X amount of years, and will be for years to come.
They really contribute to training massively. There’s a great buzz about that youthfulness around the dressing room, they’re always good craic.
Limerick get their league campaign underway on Saturday week the 10th of February, with a trip to Pairc Uí Chaoímh under the floodlights to face neighbours Cork.
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