Former Limerick hurler, Ollie Moran, pictured at the launch of the Guinness 'Bound Together' campaign which celebrates the power of the GAA to unite hurling heroes and supporters in their passionate commitment and connection to their local communities.
By Michael Devlin
As Limerick and Galway take to the field around 3.20pm on Sunday afternoon, so too will youngsters showcasing the jerseys of the proud clubs from where the players hail.
The famous Ahane club, home of the great Mick Mackey, will be one of those present, their distinctive green geansaí with the gold diagonal stripe representing Limerick’s Morrissey brothers, Dan and Tom.
For former Limerick hurler and Ahane stalwart Ollie Moran, Sunday will be a special moment for the club, when two of their very best will battle for hurling’s ultimate prize in Croke Park.
“The fact that they’re in an All-Ireland final, and all the kids going up on Sunday are going to be able to say that Dan and Tom Morrissey are from our club, I think that’s a uniquely Irish thing, something unique to the GAA," Moran told GAA.ie at the launch of the Guinness 'Bound Together' campaign which celebrates the power of the GAA to unite.
“These guys that are going to go out in front of 82,000 people, the whole attention of the country and the wider Irish diaspora is going to be on these 40 guys that will be playing, and two of them are from our club.”
The Morrisseys are role models for the kids in Ahane. While Moran, an All-Ireland runner-up with Limerick in 2007, was once an example to them, Dan and Tom are now the 'local heroes' for a new generation of aspiring hurlers in the Castleconnell community and surrounding areas.
“I coach underage and I often make the point, ‘who are your stars?’, and they’ll invariably say Messi or Jonny Sexton,” says Moran. “'Have you ever met any of those?' 'No'. ‘Hands up who's met Tom and Dan Morrissey’, and everyone has met them, they’re local heroes.
“They go to the local school, they’re involved in the community, and to have role models like that that are not only fantastic athletes, fantastic players, they represent their county with such pride, and they carry themselves so well.
“It’s been remarked on, not just this year but in the last few years, how privileged we are in the club to have the likes of those guys as ambassadors for the club.”
Limerick and Ahane hurler, Tom Morrissey.
Moran hurled for Limerick from 1997 to 2009, captaining the side in 2005 as well as winning an All-Star award at centre-forward in 2007. While his county days are long over, his unerring love of the game saw him return to the club scene in recent years having retired in 2011 after the club’s last county final, a defeat to current Munster club kingpins Na Piarsaigh.
“I just felt family took over, and the business I was trying to get off the ground, all my energy was being directed to that. I tried other things, golf and a few other things, but nothing ever filled the void. I just missed going down to the field, that’s kind of what brings you back.
“It’s not the prospect of winning all the time necessarily, it’s just going down and playing hurling with the fellaas you grew up with. My brother Niall is still involved, it’s nice to be able to keep on playing. I just love training. People talk about the documentary ‘The Game’ and just the sensation of going out and pucking a ball. You can’t describe it to anyone who hasn’t done it, it’s just in the DNA.
“I just miss that, and I went back. Every year I don’t put any pressure on myself to keep on playing, I’m just enjoying playing and if I get to play a couple of senior games later on in the year, brilliant altogether.”
It’s that same passion that was writ large around Croke Park at the final whistle of Limerick’s titanic semi-final win over Cork three weeks ago. The buzz of being in an All-Ireland final has invigorated the Treaty County, and Moran has noticed that the feel-good factor has given hurling a huge boost around the local areas and clubs in recent weeks.
“Yeah, there's great excitement. We don't get to All-Ireland finals all that often so when you do you want to make the most of it, and I suppose a lot has been made in the last number of weeks since Limerick qualified about controlling the hype. But people are naturally going to get excited. Again, it's different we’re not in All-Ireland finals every year or every second year so a lot is going to be made.
"There's a lot of bunting around, all the talk is about stuff you associate with an All-Ireland final. But I just think everyone is upbeat, even in terms of activity levels, you see underage numbers have swelled, everyone wants to go down training. They're all the things you want to see. They're the spin-offs that you just can't get enough of in terms of promoting your game.
"A lot is said in Limerick that hurling at times can be the poor relation and that rugby is the primary sport but people in Limerick love their sport whatever it is. But definitely this, from a marketing point of view, is publicity you just can't buy. It's great for the game locally."
Limerick's Ollie Moran in action against Kilkenny's JJ Delaney in the 2007 All-Ireland SHC Final.
In Moran’s own All-Ireland final experience 11 years ago, Kilkenny blitzed Limerick in a rip-roaring opening 15 minute period, building up a 2-3 to 0-0 lead. His tally of 1-3 that day did help to bring Limerick back into the game in the second half, but Brian Cody’s mighty side were always able to stay well enough out in front to secure their 30th Liam MacCarthy Cup success.
Moran insists 2018 Limerick cannot afford a similar start against this current Galway side, who have proven adept at racing out of the blocks and building up strong leads early on.
“For the first maybe seven or eight minutes of that game it was probably nip and tuck, there probably wasn't a whole pile [in it]. But I think Kilkenny probably did sucker punch better than anyone else did, and they just sucker punched us inside a three-minute spell, I think they scored 2-2.
"Against a team like Kilkenny, you just couldn't afford to give them a start like that. I think we brought the game back to maybe four points but the fact that you have to expend so much energy to get back and I think the same can be same for this Galway team.
“Galway have gotten off to very good starts in their last three games and again ultimately, that's what won out the day for them. It wasn't particularly their finishing. They were probably faltering in the last three games and hanging on really.
"I think Limerick will be very, very conscious of that. I didn't think Limerick started particularly well against either Kilkenny or Cork. Now, they weren't behind, and they didn't get any sucker punches, but I feel they cannot afford to give Galway a start.
"That's an absolute no-no for Limerick. They're the more experienced team, I think the last thing you want starting an All-Ireland final is to be facing an uphill battle and trying to get momentum and try and get back on top of a team of Galway's quality.
"I think they'll be acutely aware of it as well. I think they're going to be very determined to maintain that level of performance, and I think that's the key word from a Galway point of view is to maintain it."
