MICKEY ‘Ned’ O’Sullivan knows more about Clare and its football than most. In the °80s, Clare Football Board chairman, Gabriel Keating, invited the Kenmare man across the Shannon Estuary to conduct coaching courses in the county.
It was in the early ‘90s that the fruits of those coaching initiatives were harvested in the Gaelic Grounds when Clare beat Kerry in the Munster rete
Mickey Ned knows all about that 1992 day too. It was his last day as Kerry manager.
In °91, Mickey Ned had led Kerry in from the cold to win a first Munster title in five years — a year on his bags were packed after Clare shook up the football world. Fourteen years on, Mickey Ned smiles about it all. It’s Mickey Ned’s way.
“I know from first had experience what Clare footballers are capable of in the Munster championship,” says the 1975 All-Ireland winning cap- tain. “That was then, now I’m back for more against Clare in the Munster championship and I’m looking for- ward to it.”
Much has changed in those 17 years. Clare aren’t shaking up the world any
more, while Mickey Ned is now a Limerick man and manager when it comes to football. And, a successful Limerick manager at that.
He’s been with them for the past four years, a term of office that can be explained away as something of a re- building process for the county.
The team that Liam Kearns built came tantalisingly close to winning the county’s first provincial decider since 1896 – the challenge for Mickey Ned was to build a new team to chal- lenge to uninterrupted duopoly that Kerry and Cork have enjoyed in Mun- ster for the past 16 years.
“The way it 1s, the only way we will
be judged is on the championship,’ he said after Limerick’s shock relegation to Division 4 in April.
That meant Tipperary on May 24 in Semple Stadium in Thurles, when the Shannonsiders edged past John Evans’ side that was cock-a-hoop af- ter winning Division 3.
“T told you not to count us out,’ he said after lowering the Tipperary col- ours. Now, he looking to Clare, but taking nothing for granted.
“Championship football is cham- pionship football – it doesn’t matter the opposition. Clare will have the advantage – they have had us in their sights for six months while we had Tipp. They have the benefit of seeing our strengths and our weaknesses. OIE Tccma a0 Ml olomn (oom a elt tcd seem vs (oA Ya OE AY @ had the benefit of dissecting us and looking at us.”
O’Sullivan believes that the pain of relegation in the National Football League was the catalyst for Limer- ick’s win in Thurles.
“The lads knew that they weren’t that bad and they were determined to show what they could do,” explained O’Sullivan in reference to the league relegation.
‘“That’s part and parcel of being in- volved in football,” said the manager of the criticism after the league. You are going to get stick and you have to turn it into a positive”’.
Limerick raced from the blocks and were 1-8 to 1-1 ahead at half time with Tipperary’s goal coming in in- jury time in the first half as Limerick dominated.
Then all went wrong as the lead was down to two points entering the final quarter.
“That was an outstanding first half – perhaps we were too far ahead at half time, the intensity begins to drop. Tipperary gathered momen-
tum and that is very hard to stop. At half time the big danger is to get lads head right because we went in with a similar lead in Kilmallock in the league and within 20 minutes Tip- perary had it down so we were very conscious of that.”
The Munster final will take place on July 5. If it’s Limerick v Kerry, the venue would be the Gaelic Grounds, while a Limerick v Cork final would be in Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
Of course, Clare are lying in the long grass, hoping to spoil the party.