John Kiely: an honest, authentic hurling man with a burning passion for Limerick

The absence of inflated egos within the panel is a testament to the leadership of a man who has led Limerick to an era of unprecedented successJohn Kiely: 'There’s no bullshit with him,” says ex-player Paul Browne. 'It’s all coming from the right place. There’s no facade. He’s never trying to put on a different face.' Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho

“We will be judged as we go forward as people,” he said. “On how we carry this victory. As people. I want to be the same man as I was two years ago, a year ago . . . I don’t want to be thought of as John Kiely who managed the Limerick team to an All-Ireland in 2018. “They were the core of the Fitzgibbon team, the three of them” says Dr Paddy Crowley, president of UCC GAA club now, and a selector back then.

Around that time, Limerick called him up. Back then, Fitzgibbon Cup players on intercounty panels used to be afforded some latitude in their training schedules. But once Limerick signalled their interest, Kiely waived any allowances. Tom Condon’s last day in the squad was the 2020 All-Ireland final, at the height of the pandemic. Condon wasn’t one of the 26 names being given to the referee, and on the day of the game Kiely asked him to go for a walk, to explain his decision.

“The first word that comes to mind about him is empathy,” he says. “He has a very high level of emotional intelligence.” None of this is a bar to directness. In a high-performance environment there is no fluff. The players have learned to expect honesty, flash-fried and served hot off the pan. John Kiely afte a win in Croke Park. 'There’s none of this, ‘You’re going well, keep going,’” says Barry Hennessy. “Lads won’t be engaged if that’s the feedback. They can smell shite. John has a good grasp of that.' Photograph: Oisin Keniry/Inpho

Without the recruitment decisions Kiely made for his inner cabinet, there would be no All-Irelands. In Paul Kinnerk as coach, Caroline Currid as sports psychologist, and Sean O’Donnell as performance analyst, Kiely surrounded himself with innovators and leaders in their respective field. “I’d nearly say Caroline did more with John than she did with the players,” says Browne. “I’d say she definitely tidied up stuff about how he managed people.”Over the years Kiely’s flaming passion for Limerick was expressed in different ways. When John Allen took charge, 12 years ago, they didn’t have a goalkeeping coach and he asked Kiely if he would do it, directing him to some helpful YouTube videos.

Limerick-Gaa John-Kiely

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