EIGHT YEARS AGO, Joe Canning stood over a free, around 80 metres, let’s give it 83 metres for the angle, and had 82,400 pairs of eyes in Croke Park on him for the final seconds of the All-Ireland hurling final.
Canning’s Galway were defending their title. Limerick were trying for their first Liam MacCarthy since 1973.
The television audience on RTÉ peaked in the final moments at 1,007,500.
A minute before, Galway’s Aidan Harte was on a tight angle against the Hogan Stand sideline, playing into the Davin Stand. He tried to square the ball, but it was blocked down by Limerick’s Cian Lynch.
Canning converted the 65.
The lead was down to a point with one final play to come.
Limerick goalkeeper Nickie Quaid sent it long. It was gathered by Aaron Gillane, but his strike was blocked down. As a forest of Galway players feasted on the ball, Seán Loftus was fouled, giving Canning the final say in a tense contest.
A towel was brought on for Canning to wipe his hurley grip and his hands. The shot was just on the kinder side of the Galway 45 metre mark.
It’s miles away. “Surely the biggest free he has ever taken in his Galway career,” remarked RTÉ commentator Marty Morrissey as Canning fills his lungs.
It dropped short. Limerick had their hands on the ball. Referee James Owens blows his whistle.
Joe Canning readies himself for the last free. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
45 years of hurt was over for Limerick.
On the sideline, Micheál Donoghue embraced John Kiely, with an arm around his back and the other cradling the back of his head.
The reigning All-Ireland winning manager, expressing his respect for the new All-Ireland winning manager.
Not to reach into cliché, but it was a Sliding Doors moment for Galway hurling, Limerick hurling and the sport as a whole.
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*****
Before we leave it, the game itself and the key moments are well worth retelling.
The first 15 minutes had gone to plan for Galway. Joe Cooney and Joe Canning’s consecutive points had them 0-6 to 0-5 to the good when the first lightning bolt hit for Limerick.
It came from a robust Seamus Flanagan challenge on Padraic Mannion. Some might argue it was a shoulder into the back and a foul. Either way, Kyle Hayes ended up delivering the ball across the pitch towards the silky Graeme Mulcahy who gathered on the turn, lost the ball and when James Skehill came out, Mulcahy’s boot flicked it towards goal and he scrambled it home.
“One of the strangest goals you are going to see in an All-Ireland final,” said Michael Duignan on co-commentary.
That major powered Limerick to the break. A late Flanagan point left them 1-10 to 0-9 ahead at half-time.
Tellingly, they had hit 11 wides to Galway’s nine. Already, and at that stage nobody was talking about it publicly, we were seeing the Limerick philosophy of keep taking shots and lots of them. Take enough shots, we get enough scores to win the game.
Limerick turned the screw on Galway in the third quarter and by the 50th minute the Tribesmen had just one more point.
Four minutes later Tom Morrissey dispossessed Gearoid McInerney, made his way into the large parallelogram, squared himself up and finishes to the net while in mid-air to go nine points up with 17 minutes to go.
Tom Morrissey hits the net. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Galway’s plans were going awry. On the hour mark, Skehill took a ferocious shot from Flanagan on the head. He was on the floor for a few minutes having stopped a certain goal, before the Cappataggle man had to go off.
His replacement, Fearghal Flannery marched on carrying his three hurleys. He had played one league game the year previous, but this was his championship debut.
Gradually, Galway came back.
Points from David Burke and two from Canning narrowed the gap. Certain things went in their favour such as Jonathan Glynn giving Seán Finn a taste of his hurley and getting away with it.
Meanwhile, the sights of Limerick’s blunderbuss was failing. Kyle Hayes hit a third consecutive wide. Aaron Gillane followed it with a fourth.
They needed something.
The debutant Flannery clipped a short puckout to Adrian Tuohy. He had loads of space and went to drill a long clearance downfield. But Peter Casey strained as far as he could and got his hurley to the travelling ball. He gathered, transferred to Shane Dowling who sidestepped into space and drilled a goal home.
The lead was out to eight, with three minutes remaining. That’s when the real drama struck.
Conor Whelan netted for Galway. Soon after, a huge puck from Flannery went all the way to the edge of the Limerick square and Nickie Quaid touched the ball on the ground. Free in.
With five Limerick players on the line, Joe Canning crashed the ball into the roof of the net. Two points now.
Limerick’s composure at this stage had deserted them. Ghosts of 1994 when Offaly scored 2-4 in the last five minutes to pinch the game, swam up to the surface.
A Richie McCarthy ball to Cian Lynch was overcooked, and Niall Burke punished it with a point.
The nine point lead that summer was the most dangerous lead in hurling. But Limerick held out. Or rather, Canning ran out of miracles.
Nickie Quaid and Cian Lynch celebrate. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
*****
What if, though?
What if Galway had been in better form on the day and didn’t give up the two turnovers that led to Limerick goals?
That might have left Micheál Donoghue as a two-time All-Ireland winning manager.
Instead, they entered the following year deflated.
In Division 1B, they were held to a draw by Carlow and lost to Waterford.
In the Leinster championship, Carlow came within six points of them in the opening round. Then Wexford earned a draw in Salthill. They beat Kilkenny by a point but lost to Dublin in the final round, thereby ending their season.
Soon after, Donoghue informed the Galway county board he would not be continuing. At the time, a predecessor as manager, John McIntyre explained the reasons in a radio interview.
“Leaving all that the speculation aside, I think the bottom line why Micheál Donoghue is gone, is for family reasons,” the Tipperary native said.
“He has invested a lot of his life over the past decade in hurling. I think he’s been on the sidelines for ten of the last 12 years.
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“Ultimately the family considerations, I think, were paramount.”
Galway have not been back to the All-Ireland final since. After Donoghue’s return last season, they bridged a gap back to 2018 with their latest Leinster championship victory.
As for Limerick, throwing that monkey off their back led to a liberation.
A breakthrough All-Ireland, especially one that breaks a decades-long drought, leaves a successful defence a practical impossibility as everyone in the wider panel are now seeing the world through different eyes.
They lost two games in the Munster round-robin, to Cork and Tipperary, later rifling Tipp for a dozen points in the Munster final.
In the semi-final they were pipped by a single point by Kilkenny. They harboured grudges too over that game when a Darragh O’Donovan sideline cut came off Cillian Buckley’s hurley and they weren’t awarded a 65.
With the knowledge that being champions grants you, along with some petrol for the fire, they then went on to win four consecutive All-Ireland titles.
Every champion is imitated, but Limerick’s tactical approach, nailed on the training field through Paul Kinnerk, redefined how hurling is played today.
Holding possession being prized, while racking up an alarming number of wides was no longer seen as particularly damaging.
The cultural shift in this element cannot be overstated. If forwards can take shots from distance and know they may miss a few without having to look over at a substitute getting ready on the sideline, then there is an immense liberation.
Even those among us who were shot-happy and yet inaccurate understands this best of all.
They have a different player profile from the 2018 final, and yet Galway have adopted certain traits from Limerick. They have been lucky with Jason Rabbitte coming of age to give them an outlet at full-forward, while withdrawing the forward line and playing a running game.
Styles make fights as they say in boxing. But the 2018 final fight, made styles.
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Sliding Doors moment from 2018 final changed the face of hurling
EIGHT YEARS AGO, Joe Canning stood over a free, around 80 metres, let’s give it 83 metres for the angle, and had 82,400 pairs of eyes in Croke Park on him for the final seconds of the All-Ireland hurling final.
Canning’s Galway were defending their title. Limerick were trying for their first Liam MacCarthy since 1973.
The television audience on RTÉ peaked in the final moments at 1,007,500.
A minute before, Galway’s Aidan Harte was on a tight angle against the Hogan Stand sideline, playing into the Davin Stand. He tried to square the ball, but it was blocked down by Limerick’s Cian Lynch.
Canning converted the 65.
The lead was down to a point with one final play to come.
Limerick goalkeeper Nickie Quaid sent it long. It was gathered by Aaron Gillane, but his strike was blocked down. As a forest of Galway players feasted on the ball, Seán Loftus was fouled, giving Canning the final say in a tense contest.
A towel was brought on for Canning to wipe his hurley grip and his hands. The shot was just on the kinder side of the Galway 45 metre mark.
It’s miles away. “Surely the biggest free he has ever taken in his Galway career,” remarked RTÉ commentator Marty Morrissey as Canning fills his lungs.
It dropped short. Limerick had their hands on the ball. Referee James Owens blows his whistle.
45 years of hurt was over for Limerick.
On the sideline, Micheál Donoghue embraced John Kiely, with an arm around his back and the other cradling the back of his head.
The reigning All-Ireland winning manager, expressing his respect for the new All-Ireland winning manager.
Not to reach into cliché, but it was a Sliding Doors moment for Galway hurling, Limerick hurling and the sport as a whole.
*****
Before we leave it, the game itself and the key moments are well worth retelling.
The first 15 minutes had gone to plan for Galway. Joe Cooney and Joe Canning’s consecutive points had them 0-6 to 0-5 to the good when the first lightning bolt hit for Limerick.
It came from a robust Seamus Flanagan challenge on Padraic Mannion. Some might argue it was a shoulder into the back and a foul. Either way, Kyle Hayes ended up delivering the ball across the pitch towards the silky Graeme Mulcahy who gathered on the turn, lost the ball and when James Skehill came out, Mulcahy’s boot flicked it towards goal and he scrambled it home.
“One of the strangest goals you are going to see in an All-Ireland final,” said Michael Duignan on co-commentary.
That major powered Limerick to the break. A late Flanagan point left them 1-10 to 0-9 ahead at half-time.
Tellingly, they had hit 11 wides to Galway’s nine. Already, and at that stage nobody was talking about it publicly, we were seeing the Limerick philosophy of keep taking shots and lots of them. Take enough shots, we get enough scores to win the game.
Limerick turned the screw on Galway in the third quarter and by the 50th minute the Tribesmen had just one more point.
Four minutes later Tom Morrissey dispossessed Gearoid McInerney, made his way into the large parallelogram, squared himself up and finishes to the net while in mid-air to go nine points up with 17 minutes to go.
Galway’s plans were going awry. On the hour mark, Skehill took a ferocious shot from Flanagan on the head. He was on the floor for a few minutes having stopped a certain goal, before the Cappataggle man had to go off.
His replacement, Fearghal Flannery marched on carrying his three hurleys. He had played one league game the year previous, but this was his championship debut.
Gradually, Galway came back.
Points from David Burke and two from Canning narrowed the gap. Certain things went in their favour such as Jonathan Glynn giving Seán Finn a taste of his hurley and getting away with it.
Meanwhile, the sights of Limerick’s blunderbuss was failing. Kyle Hayes hit a third consecutive wide. Aaron Gillane followed it with a fourth.
They needed something.
The debutant Flannery clipped a short puckout to Adrian Tuohy. He had loads of space and went to drill a long clearance downfield. But Peter Casey strained as far as he could and got his hurley to the travelling ball. He gathered, transferred to Shane Dowling who sidestepped into space and drilled a goal home.
The lead was out to eight, with three minutes remaining. That’s when the real drama struck.
Conor Whelan netted for Galway. Soon after, a huge puck from Flannery went all the way to the edge of the Limerick square and Nickie Quaid touched the ball on the ground. Free in.
With five Limerick players on the line, Joe Canning crashed the ball into the roof of the net. Two points now.
A Richie McCarthy ball to Cian Lynch was overcooked, and Niall Burke punished it with a point.
The nine point lead that summer was the most dangerous lead in hurling. But Limerick held out. Or rather, Canning ran out of miracles.
*****
What if, though?
What if Galway had been in better form on the day and didn’t give up the two turnovers that led to Limerick goals?
That might have left Micheál Donoghue as a two-time All-Ireland winning manager.
Instead, they entered the following year deflated.
In Division 1B, they were held to a draw by Carlow and lost to Waterford.
In the Leinster championship, Carlow came within six points of them in the opening round. Then Wexford earned a draw in Salthill. They beat Kilkenny by a point but lost to Dublin in the final round, thereby ending their season.
Soon after, Donoghue informed the Galway county board he would not be continuing. At the time, a predecessor as manager, John McIntyre explained the reasons in a radio interview.
“Leaving all that the speculation aside, I think the bottom line why Micheál Donoghue is gone, is for family reasons,” the Tipperary native said.
“He has invested a lot of his life over the past decade in hurling. I think he’s been on the sidelines for ten of the last 12 years.
“Ultimately the family considerations, I think, were paramount.”
Galway have not been back to the All-Ireland final since. After Donoghue’s return last season, they bridged a gap back to 2018 with their latest Leinster championship victory.
As for Limerick, throwing that monkey off their back led to a liberation.
A breakthrough All-Ireland, especially one that breaks a decades-long drought, leaves a successful defence a practical impossibility as everyone in the wider panel are now seeing the world through different eyes.
They lost two games in the Munster round-robin, to Cork and Tipperary, later rifling Tipp for a dozen points in the Munster final.
In the semi-final they were pipped by a single point by Kilkenny. They harboured grudges too over that game when a Darragh O’Donovan sideline cut came off Cillian Buckley’s hurley and they weren’t awarded a 65.
With the knowledge that being champions grants you, along with some petrol for the fire, they then went on to win four consecutive All-Ireland titles.
Every champion is imitated, but Limerick’s tactical approach, nailed on the training field through Paul Kinnerk, redefined how hurling is played today.
Holding possession being prized, while racking up an alarming number of wides was no longer seen as particularly damaging.
The cultural shift in this element cannot be overstated. If forwards can take shots from distance and know they may miss a few without having to look over at a substitute getting ready on the sideline, then there is an immense liberation.
Even those among us who were shot-happy and yet inaccurate understands this best of all.
They have a different player profile from the 2018 final, and yet Galway have adopted certain traits from Limerick. They have been lucky with Jason Rabbitte coming of age to give them an outlet at full-forward, while withdrawing the forward line and playing a running game.
Styles make fights as they say in boxing. But the 2018 final fight, made styles.
*****
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