COULD this be the end for John Kiely in Limerick?
He has been there for the last eight years and has masterminded five All-Ireland wins between 2018 and 2023.
But the Treaty, that have scaled so many heights during their era of dominance, are now at the foot of the mountain following their exit to Dublin in the quarter-finals last month.
The involvement of billionaire Limerick businessman JP McManus has often been referenced, but the idea that money wins you Liam MacCarthy Cups is nonsense in my view.
Men like Kiely and his players are what lifts sides up the Hogan Stand steps.
But many of those players may be approaching the twilight of their careers. Sometimes, you’re just blessed to get a special bunch like that.
I was lucky to be with a Tipperary gang that won five All-Irelands. We waited 18 years for another.
Limerick began the Championship by drawing with Tipp in a very ordinary Munster game. Shane O’Brien’s 0-4 pulled them through against Waterford the next day — so to see him dropped for the final came as a shock.
Other than a fourth-round romp against Cork, they failed to dazzle and none of the forwards had performed anything near what we expected — Cian Lynch the exception.
The Rebels learned their lessons and did a man-marking job on him in the decider and I’d have questions about how Kiely approached this campaign.
It was names-out-of-a-hat stuff to decide a couple of the penalty takers in the Munster final. You’d find it hard to understand why Declan Hannon was called upon to take one.
He hardly played any hurling this year — so it’s no wonder he missed, along with Barry Murphy.
The performance against Dublin was so bad too. Nickie Quaid couldn’t be blamed for the two goals but his six backs — seven if you include the spare man — were atrocious.
Limerick are starting at the same level as everybody else next year. It will be interesting to see if they can make it back to the summit — and if Kiely is the man to lead the trek.
