THEY’RE THE UNDISPUTED High Kings of Munster senior club hurling but Limerick champions Na Piarsaigh have yet to crack the All-Ireland code.
Yesterday’s provincial final victory over Ballygunner presented Na Piarsaigh with a third title in five seasons and after winning it previously in 2011 and 2013, they remain unbeaten in the Munster championship.
But Na Piarsaigh have fallen at the All-Ireland semi-final hurdle in their two previous attempts – against Loughgiel Shamrocks in 2012 and Portumna two years later.
But current manager Shane O’Neill, who was still a player in 2012, believes that valuable lessons can be learned from those previous experiences ahead of a semi-final with Leinster champions Cuala or Oulart-the-Ballagh in February.
First of all, and rightly so, Na Piarsaigh will celebrate another Munster title and O’Neill believes the club is finally getting deserved recognition.
“Again, we put in a second half performance.
“You’d nearly want your second halves in the first half but Ballygunner, being the club that they are, we actually spoke about it…they have serious tradition so we knew what they were going to bring to the party and even when we looked to have a bit of momentum after half-time, they came back again and got a couple of scores, trying to put a bit of doubt in our minds but then our guys pushed on again.
“The boys look after themselves in fairness and Darragh Droog has done a magnificent job with strength and conditioning.
“But overall, we asked them last year to be the best they can be, which is a bit of a cliché but they demanded so much more from themselves and each other because they had won the two Munster clubs.
“And we felt again that we probably didn’t get the credit we deserved but I don’t think there can be any questioning the club now with three counties and three Munsters in five years.
Looking at the national landscape now, Na Piarsaigh will fancy their chances of going all the way to St Patrick’s Day.
Traditional club superpowers such as Ballyhale Shamrocks and Portumna are out of the competition while Na Piarsaigh can draw on the experiences of 2012 and 2014 as they march forward.
“We obviously made some mistakes because we lost both All-Ireland semi-finals,” O’Neill said.
“We’ll have a look at that. I was involved in one of them myself as a player (2012).
“We’ll have to see amongst the players what they thought could be improved on coming up to the All-Ireland series. It is difficult because you’ve got December and January and half of February to train for.
“If you kept going – and I know they’re looking at doing it next year – you’d have a certain momentum. It’s like a whole new season again.
“We’ve the experience of losing two All-Ireland semi-finals more than anything. We haven’t got over that line so that’s a target for these guys to go for, now.”
O’Neill also paid tribute to the performance of David Breen, who played a starring role off the bench just days after he had pins removed from a wrist injury.
Breen scored a point, forced a turnover that led to another and wreaked general havoc in the Ballygunner defence with his sheer size and levels of physicality.
“He made an impact. He’s a big boy and we felt that Peter (Casey) wasn’t in the game because the quality of ball going into him was poor. David in there broke it open and then Peter came alive inside.
“It was a fair bit ahead of schedule. He only got the pins out on Wednesday but that’s David for you. He’s been a leader of this team since 2011.
“I played beside him in 2011 and he just gets the job done. His work rate is phenomenal.
“He won three line balls in a row from sheer work rate. That’s what he brings to it.”
