CIAN LYNCH SAYS he has dusted himself off from his round-robin red card against Cork as the sides go to battle again in Sunday’s Munster final.

The Limerick captain received a straight red in the 50th minute of that two-point defeat for an off-the-ball striking incident.

He reflects that there were no complaints from his point of view, not that there was much time to brood over it.

“Of course, it was silly,” says Lynch. “It was not a good representation of the team and the time of the game it was and so on.

“The group knows it was silly on my behalf and there was no cribbing on my side either. Even from James Owens, he had a decision to make and it was the right decision, so I just moved on from it.

“The championship was so quick, the turnaround, you had to get your head down and go again and try and push the lads in training.

Lynch after being shown a red card against Cork. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

“I wouldn’t have been involved in the following game against Clare, but on my own, I was trying to push the lads in training, trying to get back into the team.

“When someone else is up taking your place, you’re supporting them and driving them on. It’s a learning, obviously.”

In his 12th year of senior inter-county hurling, Lynch reckons he’s better able to shake off such setbacks to focus on the bigger picture.

“The older you get, it’s probably with a bit of experience as well, you can’t dwell on things too much.

“There’s disappointment on a personal level, disappointment for how it impacts a group, and in your own head, you could be internalising as well. You have to regroup, dust yourself off, and go again.”

Having sat out the win away to Clare, Lynch was introduced as a first-half substitute in midfield for the Waterford victory. Last time out, against Tipperary, he was again named on the bench, but instead started at centre-forward.

Hot on the heels of those 15- and nine-point triumphs, the Patrickswell wizard was simply glad to get his place back in the team as they delivered a 17-point conquest.

“It is so competitive. The way training goes, we’ve 36 lads putting their hands up. Any man that goes out onto that pitch in a league game is worthy of his jersey. That’s the ethos of our group.

Lynch signs autographs for young fans. James Lawlor / INPHO James Lawlor / INPHO / INPHO

“You see the lads coming on, like Tom (Morrissey) there the last day, Colin (Coughlan), David Reidy. Anyone that has come on has impacted as well, which is huge.”

Naturally, Lynch regards last year’s penalty shoot-out defeat to Cork as a “massive disappointment”.

The 30-year-old doesn’t consider there to have been any revolution in Limerick’s approach, bar some impetus from new panellists.

“I don’t know is there much different,” he says. “We’re trying to do the same thing: go to training, work hard, push each other, drive things on together, support each other.

“There’s so much transition since last year. We have a lot of new panel members, young fellas in here this year, and a lot of lads putting their hands up. It was about focusing on ourselves again this year and trying to move forward as a group.”

Lynch is conscious of the “massive privilege” of getting to play in Munster finals and its meaning for the people of Limerick.

In those quiet moments, when he reflects on all that he’s achieved to date, what jumps to mind?

“Just enjoying it,” Lynch replies. “Enjoying the sport you grew up loving, watching, loving to play, and seeing the enjoyment it brings to the family, to supporters, to Limerick people.

“Limerick City is a great place, Limerick County is a great place, and being able to be a positive topic of conversation in Limerick is great.”