LIMERICK BOSS JOHN Kiely had no comment to make this afternoon in Páirc Uí Rinn, when asked about an alleged disciplinary incident involving a member of his squad last month.
Kiely was speaking to media after his team’s pre-season Munster league tie against Cork, they lost out narrowly 0-20 to 1-16 in a game which marked their opener of the 2023 inter-county season
“I don’t,” was Kiely’s response, when asked if he had a comment to make on an alleged disciplinary incident causing a player not to travel on the recent team holiday that the All-Ireland champions embarked on.
Limerick have enjoyed a stunning run of success under Kiely’s stewardship, winning four of the last five All-Ireland senior hurling titles and lifting the last four Munster crowns.
Disciplinary issues have cropped up during that spell.
Last May, a statement released by Limerick GAA on behalf of the senior management team, stated that a member of their squad had been ‘involved in a breach of team protocols’. The matter was dealt with internally at the time.
In November 2019, Limerick GAA confirmed that two panellists were sent home early for the New York Hurling Classic following an incident, with a disciplinary process subsequently commenced.
Meanwhile Kiely confirmed that Hurler of the Year Diarmaid Byrnes is currently away travelling but will be back shortly to rejoin the squad.
“Diarmaid is away for a while now, yeah. We’ll see him hopefully in a few weeks’ time again. That’s all pre-arranged. We had all that agreed. These guys have to live their lives as well. We don’t own them. Hurling is a pastime for these guys, not a profession.
“We had other lads who went away before Christmas as well. We have to have a very open mind about that side of fellas’ lives. We can’t inhibit them from having life experiences outside of hurling. It’s important for us to encourage them to have other experiences and when they come back to us they’re all the fresher and all the happier.”
Kiely also gave an update on the fitness of Cian Lynch and Mike Casey following their injury issues.
“Cian is doing really well. He has trained right throughout the block of work that we’ve done and his recovery is pretty much what I would call complete at this stage. So we’re very happy with his recovery
“Mikey is doing really, really well. Initially we were fearful that it might have been a more serious injury but thankfully it wasn’t. He had to have a minor procedure. That went really well and his rehab is going very well. That’s all on track so we’re very, very happy with where that’s at. At the minute, health-wise, we’re in a good place and long may that last. We had enough of it last year.”
