THIRTEEN YEARS AGO, Limerick sent shockwaves through the Munster senior football landscape when swatting aside Cork.
Liam Kearns supervised that Limerick team and yesterday he repeated the trick.
Again the Kerry native pushed Cork towards the qualifiers but this time it was Tipperary who were under his guidance.
The42 caught up with Kearns after another giant-killing act.
How does it feel to break another Munster football hoodoo?
“Limerick was a bit different as we had foundations in place for three or four years. This team we have only had them for this year and we have taken an awful lot of knocks over the course of the year.
“But in fairness the players stuck together and we worked really hard with them and came up with a good game plan.
“A lot of guys had been injured and missed a lot of training. Their fitness levels would have been compromised as a result and we knew we were taking risks by playing them but we felt it was worth the risk.
“I thought that was huge, they were all over us. We were in trouble legs wise but we had the composure to go down and get two points to win the match again, having given up an eight point lead.
“It would have been travesty, no disrespect to Cork, if we had lost the game.
How significant is it for Tipperary football to make this breakthrough?
“It’s huge. Our long term aims coming into the job would have been at the start of the year to get promotion, we nearly did that. Injuries and losing players probably cost us promotion.
“The next aim was to beat one of the big guns in Munster and the next aim after that was to get to a Munster Final. Tipperary haven’t been to a Munster Final since I don’t know when. They hadn’t beaten Cork since 1944.
“Now we’ve actually met those and now it is to win a Munster Final. I am sure Kerry will have a lot to say about that but we will worry about that another day.
“It’s fantastic and an absolute tribute to the group of players and I have to say too it is not about just what we did this year.
“Peter Creedon did a great job for three years, John Evans did a fantastic job for four years before him and there are a load of people working at underage in Tipperary that are doing a fantastic job.
“To get two minor teams to All Ireland finals in hurling and football last year was outstanding work.
“Hopefully now this craic of the dual player not allowed being played minor will be revisited.
“I am just thrilled for everyone in Tipperary who have worked long and hard for a day like today, especially for the players who have been fantastic.”
Do you think a few departed Tipperary players wish they were here today?
“I hope they do and I hope they will come back. This bandwagon is rolling. I hope that fellas will come back.
“There’s top class players out there, I know there is, and we’ll take them all back. We’re not going to turn any player away.
“We’ll be quite happy to have all our best players – (even) if Colin O’Riordan wants to come back from Australia!
“The door’s open to any of our players that can see their way to coming back. We’re setting high standards – the boys that have the jerseys have set high standards and these fellas are going to have to come back and prove themselves.”
Despite the difficulties this spring, did you always feel that it would come right for Tipperary in the summer?
“I felt that we had a chance. I’ll be honest with you, it’s only in the last two weeks, I felt we could actually win this game because things came right.
“My injuries got back. When Ian Fahey made it back on to the pitch, I got Kevin O’Halloran back on the pitch, I got George Hannigan – (who) played well against Waterford.
“Bill Maher was starting to improve as well. Robbie Kiely came right. Conor Sweeney was another one, he was out only two weeks ago so he came right.
“From the last two weeks, I said if we produce our best performance here, (but) again it’s all subject to how well Cork are going.”
How important was the experience of beating Cork at underage level?
“The lads were saying that before the game that we’d beaten Cork at underage level. We have done it and we need to do it at senior.
“In fairness Ciaran McDonald said it, he said everybody was talking about doing it last year after doing so well in previous years and it didn’t happen.
“He said we’ve lost fellas but this is the year we’ll do it. That’s what happened at U21 level. They fancied themselves the previous year (2009 and 2014) and they got beaten and then they turned around and won the Munster championship the following year (2010 and 2015).
“That’s what Ciaran said. I’d say they’ll be calling him the prophet now. The U21′s does stand to them. They believe they can do it.”
You must be hugely satisfied with Kevin O’Halloran’s contribution as freetaker?
“Yeah I’m thrilled for him. We did a serious amount of work on the freetaking because freetaking has killed us. Against Kildare in the league, we missed 14 and 21 yard frees.
“We played a number of challenge games, we were creating chances and getting frees but we weren’t getting them.
“I have to say, every night for the last month, Kevin and Michael Quinlivan, Josh Keane, Alan Maloney, all of them have been taking frees for 20 minutes before training. I supervised it myself so there was no dodging it.
“But I’m thrilled for him (O’Halloran) that he got his results today. It’s like he has a golf club in his hand when he’s hitting it.
“Most of them were a good distance and he hit them all. Delighted for him. Hard work, you can’t beat preparation.”
Where does this rank in terms of achievements in your managerial career?
“It’s right up there. We got the draw with Kerry in the Munster final, we got to three or four Munster finals (with Limerick).
“I’d say, in the circumstances, we took so many blows during the course of this year that this achievement would rank up there with any achievement in managerial terms. It’s been a tough year management wise.
“If we got hammered out there today, you’d be asking question about where you’re going from there. It has to be right up there.”
How much improvement is necessary to take on Kerry?
“We’ll have to improve again – Cork are in transition a little bit whereas Kerry are more seasoned. We’ll have to find a lot of improvement to beat Kerry to be honest.
“We can improve our fitness levels in the next three weeks. The confidence they’ll get, they’re not going to be afraid going out against Kerry now, having won that game.
“Kerry are Kerry, the kingpins, we’re into the final now and we’ll see what we can do against them.”
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