STILL ONLY 35, Paul Kinnerk has now been involved in seven All-Ireland successes.
Before joining the John Kiely revolution in Limerick, Kinnerk’s fingerprints were on U21 and senior titles with Clare.
As manager, Kiely is happy to delegate coaching duties to Kinnerk in the Limerick camp and the double-act has yielded three All-Irelands in the past four years.
Former Clare forward Colin Ryan worked closely with Kinnerk during his time with the Banner and speaking on the latest episode of The42 GAA Weekly, he gave an insight into what makes him a great coach.
“I heard Nickie Quaid talking about Paul yesterday and Gearoid Hegarty talked about him after the game,” begins Ryan.
“James Skehill text me on Sunday evening and asked, ‘Is Kinnerk this good?’ My answer was 100% yes. He was the biggest loss we ever had in Clare. He just has such an analytical mind in terms of the game, for somebody who came from a football background, which is quite strange.
“He is such a players’ coach. I remember in 2013 in the middle of our run in the qualifiers. Me and Paul had a very close relationship because I would have done a lot of psychological stuff on free taking with him.
“Both of us are teachers, we were off during the summer and we spent a lot of time in LIT in the wind and rain practicing frees. We had plenty of chats. But he’s a real players’ coach, you could hop something off him and he’d take it on board and come back at you with something else.”
Despite his origins lying in football, Kinnerk’s ability on the training field sets him apart from the rest, according to 2013 All-Ireland winner Ryan.
“I used to have discussions with him about how our forward line would work better and he’d take them on board. But then on a Tuesday or Thursday, he’d have stuff in training that you’re just preparing perfectly for the match and breaking down opposition.
“He’d nearly go, ‘Okay on the B team this week, you’re going to be Mark Coleman.’ So he’d coach a player on the B team how to play like Mark Coleman. He’d nearly turn him into the opposition player. Then he’d be in their ear constantly, prepping the team so that the A team would see exactly what they’re going to see on a Sunday.
“He’s nearly thinking two steps ahead and he’s breaking down oppositions. He’s just a top man on top of it all and there’s no ego with him. There’s no wanting to be in the spotlight or anything like that.
“He’s just a really deep thinker and on top of it all a really good guy. You can see that the Limerick players just have the upmost admiration for him. I really do think without him, I won’t say we suffered, but when you’re exposed to that level of coaching everything else is beneath it.
“And it’s a very hard thing to get your head around. If Paul Kinnerk was to leave Limerick in the morning, whoever comes in is not going to be the same as him and probably not going to be as good as him. That’s where your problems then start to stem.”
To listen to the full episode, go to members.the42.ie.
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
