William O'Donoghue wants to help keep Limerick relevant  

Click here to listen to the full interview with Limerick senior hurler William O'Donoghue.

By Cian O'Connell

In a decade of unprecedented success for Limerick, the resilience demonstrated in recent months matters deeply.

A hard earned Munster Final win over Cork at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh illustrated Limerick's composure. Similar levels of calm were required in the closing stages of the All-Ireland SHC Semi-Final against Clare.

John Kiely's charges found a way to survive. So, that bodes well according to William O'Donoghue, who continues to impress in the green and white jersey, regardless of the role assigned to him by Kiely and his trusted backroom team. "It was an incredibly tight game," O'Donoghue reflects.

"Everyone within our set-up was expecting a game like that, and John said at half-time that this is going to go right to the wire. It did.

"Luckily, we came out on the right side of it, but I think from our perspective now we probably dug out the win in the Munster final and dug out the win the last day.

"They're pleasing aspects to take from it, that we have been able to stick at it. Probably, games we hadn't dug out the last two years, we've managed to do that in the last two games."

Following a harrowing provincial decider loss in 2025, gleaning silverware down by the banks of the Lee in Munster meant something special to the Limerick set-up. "It did," O'Donoghue responds.

"Sometimes, when that is spoken about, it's as if it's a bad thing - that we let down our guard or we're acting differently. You've to understand we've lots of new guys on the panel, we've Adrian O'Brien our S&C coach, who has done incredible work with us.

"We've Catherine Norton, our nutritionist, who has done incredible work with us. They're in since last year, they weren't part of any winning Munster team.

"Every year it's completely different with a new panel, you've people coming in for their first Munster final, second Munster or first Munster final win.

"That outpouring of emotion is because everyone is pushing in the same direction, and everyone is getting rewarded for that work. It was probably an outpouring because the game was so close. It's as much relief as it is emotion."

Since winning the 2018 All-Ireland title, Limerick have maintained high standards under Kiely's stewardship. "I think that is an important thing," O'Donoghue remarks.

"At the end of the day, far beyond any of our careers, the one thing we'd hope for is that Limerick GAA will always be in a healthy place. Limerick GAA being relevant is absolutely something that this group is committed to. I'd like to think that in years to come, the ground work came long before us.

"People inspired us to play for Limerick as young kids. Hopefully, we're inspiring some more girls and boys to play for Limerick and to keep Limerick relevant."

Connecting the past, present, and future is crucial. "Obviously, the success over the last few years has given the game more exposure in Limerick which has probably helped participation numbers," O'Donoghue adds.

"By the law of averages, you'd hope that will in turn boost the quality of Gaelic games within Limerick. Of course, it stands for something.

"At the end of the day, we're all GAA people, we're all proud Limerick people. Whether people are involved in GAA clubs or not, they want to see Limerick teams doing well."

Ultimately, O'Donoghue relishes whatever detail that he's assigned by the Limerick management. "I think we're very lucky, the people we have in the set-up are very good at explaining your role within the group," O'Donoghue says.

"I guess, we all have a job and a role. So, yes there's obviously huge elements of learning and you've to experience it, and make mistakes to know what you've done wrong.

"The lads are so diligent in what they do, it probably makes the learning experience a bit easier. It's a challenge, but it's enjoyable."