Limerick attacker Tom Morrissey was in jubilant mood after winning his third All-Ireland in four years.
By Kevin Egan
These are heady days for Limerick hurling, but a lot of people involved in the sport within the county have known lean times too. There were lengthy famines at all levels before the Treaty county’s fortunes began to transform in recent years, when players like Tom Morrissey came along to usher in a new era.
From the very start of his intercounty career, the 25-year-old from Ahane has known heady days. Limerick hadn’t won a Munster minor title for 29 years when he came in to pick up two medals in 2013 and 2014, and the story at U-21 was even better, with two Munster titles and two All-Irelands harvested in his three years at that grade.
Now an established senior, the accolades keep coming for the team and for the player himself, and while days like yesterday are still something he treasures, it’s clear that no amount of silverware is likely to quell his drive to keep developing as a player.
"It’s just that desire to be better. If you’re not moving forward then you are going to be passed out," he said after their 3-32 to 1-22 win.
"You’re always going to be hungry if you want to improve," he stressed.
"We just won an All-Ireland so that’s a good day in someone's life - the dressing room is hopping down there and we are a happy bunch. Any All Ireland is a special moment for a team and this year is no different," he said, before acknowledging that with younger players like Colin Coughlan now pressing the established starters, there’s no room for complacency or coasting.
“With all the additions to the panel and people chasing your spot, if you have that desire to be a better hurler and a better athlete then you can always improve on all different facets to your game off the pitch and on the pitch, whether it be sleep or nutrition or in the gym, your hurling ability. It’s just that desire to be better. If you’re not moving forward then you are going to be passed out."
Tom Morrissey of Limerick and Niall Cashman of Cork during the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Cork and Limerick in Croke Park, Dublin.
When so much success has come his way, the county’s defeat to Kilkenny two years ago stands out as even more of an anomaly. But just as he says that success doesn’t quench his thirst to improve, neither does defeat increase the hunger to make amends.
“No, I wouldn’t say we use it. We lost that day, we weren’t good enough. Yeah, we did look back on it and assessed it but no different to any game, win, lose or draw, and we look for improvements. That’s all we did with that 2019 semi-final. We did that but it wouldn’t have been a driving motivation or anything looking back on it. The nature we have as a group is just constant improvement and that’s all we took from that semi-final loss," he said.
And as for the game on Sunday?
"When we get going and get into a game we can be hard to stop - we got into a good flow and got scores. We pride ourselves on our work-rate, first and foremost," he explained.
Like most of this Limerick group, Morrissey is a tall, broad and imposing figure, and that size factor is often cited as central to their success – though here too, he demurs.
“I wouldn’t say we have an edge (there). Yeah, we go after tackles and if we are smaller than the opposition then we go after tackles as well. That’s just part of what we want to do. You’re not going to get onto the team unless you are prepared to work for the team. That’s something we pride ourselves on. The team comes first. It’s not just all about getting on the ball and easy scores - you have to put in a big shift if you want to get on the pitch in a 1-15 jersey."
