FOR ALL THE chat about hurling or football being team sports and that no player can be certain of their jersey, there’s a real element of spoofery to it all.
There is always a team within a team. Players that any manager would be aghast to be without. And who they might be, is not what you might automatically think.
For example. You might think Diarmuid Connolly won Dublin many, many games by producing something on the day that others on the team might not have been capable, so extravagant were his gifts.
And yet, Dublin won All-Ireland titles without him. He only returned to Jim Gavin’s set-up when he pledged himself to the collective.
The Irreplaceables can also be termed as the Dependables. The ones who you know will deliver a performance every day, especially when the stakes are highest.
On the big day, their levels never dip below 8.5 / 10. They do the right thing each and every time. If there is a mistake in their locker, they tend to come in games of little consequence.
That’s why the injury to Limerick goalkeeper Nickie Quaid, sustained while doing something as innocuous as playing a little bit of soccer on astro-turf – the very epitome of an off-season pore-opener – will cause such huge concern to Limerick manager John Kiely.
It’s a funny coincidence, but there’s no doubt that the most influential goalkeeper in today’s game shares a similarity with his football counterpart – Niall Morgan of Tyrone – in that they both play midfield for their respective clubs.
Further coincidence is that he made his championship debut in the 2010 summer, coming on as a sub in the engine room against Cork. This was the season when Limerick were fielding a skeleton squad with the frontline players on a strike against then-manager, Justin McCarthy.
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To the untrained eye, hurling is a game of embracing the beautiful madness. Within that, the quantifiables are parsed and analysed. One of the easiest assessments to meaasure is the effect of the goalkeeper’s puckout.
In the 2018 All-Ireland final win that signalled Limerick’s arrival as a force, Quaid was steady against Galway. In the first half, Limerick had a 78% retention rate on their own puckout.
The puckout wars. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
As it happens, Galway goalkeeper James Skehill had a 77% rate of retention but it looked very different. Limerick were permitting the short puckout but Galway were struggling to get it transferred upfield with any degree of accuracy or speed.
Take the meeting between the two in the 2022 semi-final. By then, Eanna Murphy was between the sticks for Galway. In the battle of the short puck outs and what they were getting out of their own, and the opposition’s, Limerick won 0-8 to 0-3.
That season, Limerick used the short puckout the best of all the teams around them. On average it was ran 12 times a game. They scored 58% for possession retained in the opposition half.
As a comparison, Tipperary were trying it 14 times a game, but only retaining it 45% of the time.
The game changes, the game evolves. Cork’s Patrick Collins’ long deliveries were a clear tactic that led to the Rebels’ two point win in this year’s All-Ireland semi-final.
Quaid is not averse to going long either. How many times have Limerick been rescued with Quaid daring a referee to blow up for taking too long over a restart, only for him to launch into a pocket of space that Tom Morrissey will materialise and fling a point over his shoulder?
All of that is academic for Limerick now.
They must look to 2025, and alternative arrangements.
Their regular sub goalkeeper is Jason Gillane, brother of Aaron’s. He was between the posts this year for the Patrickswell seniors that reached the county semi-final and was number for Mary Immaculate College’s Fitzgibbon Cup winning side, hitting 1-3 from frees in last February’s final.
Jason Gillane will now be pressed into action as the frontrunner for the goalkeeper's job. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
Such is the longevity and durability of Quaid up until now, that opportunities hae been scarce for understudies. Kilmallock’s Barry Hennessy was the long-time number two, playing in the 2015 championship, and involved until he retired in December 2022. David McCarthy of Glenroe, Limerick’s 2015 All-Ireland U21 netminder, and Gillane have had back-up roles since then.
Related to the injury itself, astro-turf pitches have come in from criticism from some League of Ireland soccer managers in recent months, for the frequency of injuries occurring on that surface.
While they have certain benefits in terms of durability and access all year round, they take their toll. Only last month, Sligo Rovers manager John Russell was furious after his player Ellis Chapman was forced off during a 1-1 draw with Derry City on their Brandywell pitch, which has a synthetic surface.
His opposite number on the night, the recently-departed Ruaidhrí Higgins, went further, saying astro-turf pitches are a barrier to attracting a certain type of player to their club, such are the health and safety concerns.
Quaid’s last club game was on 12 October for Effin in the county premier intermediate semi-final against Newcastle West. After so many years spent trucking with the Treaty, he was entitled to sample a little bit of casual exercise in the close season.
The issue here now is that he is 35, and will turn 36 next June. Returning to feature in any part of next year’s championship will be tough.
It all is a little sudden and desperately sad. And you wouldn’t want to get yourself into a scenario whereby you are writing a player off or anything, but some hard conversations will now be had with the player and his family as to future intentions.
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The cost of losing Nickie Quaid will hit Limerick hard
FOR ALL THE chat about hurling or football being team sports and that no player can be certain of their jersey, there’s a real element of spoofery to it all.
There is always a team within a team. Players that any manager would be aghast to be without. And who they might be, is not what you might automatically think.
For example. You might think Diarmuid Connolly won Dublin many, many games by producing something on the day that others on the team might not have been capable, so extravagant were his gifts.
And yet, Dublin won All-Ireland titles without him. He only returned to Jim Gavin’s set-up when he pledged himself to the collective.
The Irreplaceables can also be termed as the Dependables. The ones who you know will deliver a performance every day, especially when the stakes are highest.
On the big day, their levels never dip below 8.5 / 10. They do the right thing each and every time. If there is a mistake in their locker, they tend to come in games of little consequence.
That’s why the injury to Limerick goalkeeper Nickie Quaid, sustained while doing something as innocuous as playing a little bit of soccer on astro-turf – the very epitome of an off-season pore-opener – will cause such huge concern to Limerick manager John Kiely.
It’s a funny coincidence, but there’s no doubt that the most influential goalkeeper in today’s game shares a similarity with his football counterpart – Niall Morgan of Tyrone – in that they both play midfield for their respective clubs.
Further coincidence is that he made his championship debut in the 2010 summer, coming on as a sub in the engine room against Cork. This was the season when Limerick were fielding a skeleton squad with the frontline players on a strike against then-manager, Justin McCarthy.
To the untrained eye, hurling is a game of embracing the beautiful madness. Within that, the quantifiables are parsed and analysed. One of the easiest assessments to meaasure is the effect of the goalkeeper’s puckout.
In the 2018 All-Ireland final win that signalled Limerick’s arrival as a force, Quaid was steady against Galway. In the first half, Limerick had a 78% retention rate on their own puckout.
As it happens, Galway goalkeeper James Skehill had a 77% rate of retention but it looked very different. Limerick were permitting the short puckout but Galway were struggling to get it transferred upfield with any degree of accuracy or speed.
Take the meeting between the two in the 2022 semi-final. By then, Eanna Murphy was between the sticks for Galway. In the battle of the short puck outs and what they were getting out of their own, and the opposition’s, Limerick won 0-8 to 0-3.
That season, Limerick used the short puckout the best of all the teams around them. On average it was ran 12 times a game. They scored 58% for possession retained in the opposition half.
As a comparison, Tipperary were trying it 14 times a game, but only retaining it 45% of the time.
The game changes, the game evolves. Cork’s Patrick Collins’ long deliveries were a clear tactic that led to the Rebels’ two point win in this year’s All-Ireland semi-final.
Quaid is not averse to going long either. How many times have Limerick been rescued with Quaid daring a referee to blow up for taking too long over a restart, only for him to launch into a pocket of space that Tom Morrissey will materialise and fling a point over his shoulder?
All of that is academic for Limerick now.
They must look to 2025, and alternative arrangements.
Their regular sub goalkeeper is Jason Gillane, brother of Aaron’s. He was between the posts this year for the Patrickswell seniors that reached the county semi-final and was number for Mary Immaculate College’s Fitzgibbon Cup winning side, hitting 1-3 from frees in last February’s final.
Such is the longevity and durability of Quaid up until now, that opportunities hae been scarce for understudies. Kilmallock’s Barry Hennessy was the long-time number two, playing in the 2015 championship, and involved until he retired in December 2022. David McCarthy of Glenroe, Limerick’s 2015 All-Ireland U21 netminder, and Gillane have had back-up roles since then.
Related to the injury itself, astro-turf pitches have come in from criticism from some League of Ireland soccer managers in recent months, for the frequency of injuries occurring on that surface.
While they have certain benefits in terms of durability and access all year round, they take their toll. Only last month, Sligo Rovers manager John Russell was furious after his player Ellis Chapman was forced off during a 1-1 draw with Derry City on their Brandywell pitch, which has a synthetic surface.
His opposite number on the night, the recently-departed Ruaidhrí Higgins, went further, saying astro-turf pitches are a barrier to attracting a certain type of player to their club, such are the health and safety concerns.
Quaid’s last club game was on 12 October for Effin in the county premier intermediate semi-final against Newcastle West. After so many years spent trucking with the Treaty, he was entitled to sample a little bit of casual exercise in the close season.
The issue here now is that he is 35, and will turn 36 next June. Returning to feature in any part of next year’s championship will be tough.
It all is a little sudden and desperately sad. And you wouldn’t want to get yourself into a scenario whereby you are writing a player off or anything, but some hard conversations will now be had with the player and his family as to future intentions.
A great pity. It’s a remorseless game.
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GAA huge loss Hurling Limerick Nickie Quaid