THE MONTHS OF February and March in 2016 could hardly have unfolded better on the hurling front for Peter Casey.
On 6 February, he struck 0-2 as his club Na Piarsaigh at last broke through the All-Ireland semi-final barrier by defeating Wexford’s Oulart-the-Ballagh.
A fortnight later he grabbed another brace of points as his school Ardscoil Rís lifted the Dr Harty Cup title against Our Lady’s Templemore.
And then on St Patrick’s Day, there was a 0-3 haul as Na Piarsaigh became the first Limerick senior club to climb the steps of the Hogan Stand in victory.
Casey and his Ardscoil Rís team-mates were denied in the Croke Cup final by St Kieran’s but he still enjoyed a memorable run.
“It was mad! I think I was the youngest on the on the (Na Piarsaigh) starting 15. It was just surreal.
“The celebrations afterwards were great, I really enjoyed the whole thing.
“I’d love to get back there because I don’t think we cherish those moments enough. Hopefully, fingers crossed, we’ll get back there again.
“It was a big moment for me (with Ardscoil) because I was captain, it was a busy couple of weeks. I had the Leaving Cert amongst it all too, so I had to balance it all out.”
Twelve months on and Casey has been getting to grips with life as a senior inter-county hurler. He was sprung from the bench in the 2015 All-Ireland U21 final – while still eligible for the minor ranks that year – shooting over t0-3 in that success against Wexford.
When John Kiely made the step up to the Limerick senior manager position last winter, Casey was one of a bunch of U21 players that he had coached who were brought on board.
“I think the one thing that John and the lads have brought in is that they’ve brought a bit of craic to it as well. It’s my first year and I was nervous going in at the start, but I’ve really, really enjoyed it.
“I thought I’d be getting flogged every training and it’d be really tough and that matches would be tough too because you’d be marking the best corner-backs in the country.
“But it’s been really enjoyable and I do think I’m improving. That’s all you can ask for really, isn’t it?”
Limerick have contested the last four Munster minor finals, winning two of them, and reaching two All-Ireland minor deciders in that time frame as well.
They delivered that All-Ireland U21 title in 2015 as well and it has all contributed to a wave of expectation surrounding Limerick hurling as the senior squad prepare to embark next Sunday on the start of another Munster campaign.
“It’s the one thing that I’d be telling everyone, just to be patient,” says Casey.
“It’s a building process. You see the likes of Cork this year, they’ve a few young lads and are building again. Waterford two or three years ago were kind of like ourselves. They built and now they’re one of the top four or five teams in the country.
“You’ll saw what it did for Cork, how big it was for them to beat Tipperary. Who knows, if we can overturn Clare, how much of a lift that would give to the Limerick lads as well.
“But I think people should just keep calm, lets not get too far ahead of ourselves.”
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
