The last time Cian Lynch didn’t feature in a championship match for Limerick, he was still a boy of 20. He was lean and keen and red-topped like a kitchen match. The game was an All-Ireland qualifier against Westmeath in July 2016 and Lynch had to miss out because he’d twanged a hamstring in an under-21 match against Cork the previous Wednesday. Nobody knew how long he’d be missing.
Limerick hurling lived differently back then. The whole scene hummed with desperation. Tipperary had run them out of Munster a fortnight previously and had only needed to score 3-12 to do so. Afterwards, a Limerick supporter came onto the pitch in Thurles while Lynch was talking to his uncle and roared abuse at him.
“A disgrace,” said Joe Quaid, who was standing close by when it happened. “Cian just walked away and went into the dressing room. He walked away visibly upset. I’d be hoping he wouldn’t take it to heart. I got plenty of abuse over the years, you have to park it.”
This was what it was to hurl for Limerick in those d …
- May 8, 2022
