John Kiely and Limerick’s drive for five fell apart in the All-Ireland semi-final against Cork. Photo: Sportsfile
John Kiely has shaken up his Limerick backroom team heading into 2025 as the Treaty bid to get their hands back on All-Ireland SHC honours again.
Their ‘drive for five’ may have gone up in smoke at the All-Ireland semi-final stage against Cork this year, but there will be a freshness to the Limerick set-up as they try to scale hurling’s summit again.
Manager Kiely and head coach Paul Kinnerk had already committed for another two years, while Alan Cunningham and John Flavin are also still on board.
However, Limerick Live has reported that changes to Kiely’s set-up were passed by Limerick executive officers last night and are expected to be fully ratified at Tuesday’s county board meeting.
Former Limerick captain Donal O’Grady departs as coach/selector to take the reins with the Treaty minor hurlers, where he replaces another former senior star in Shane Dowling, while Clare native Aonghus O’Brien has also left the fold.
Cappamore native Liam Cronin comes into the backroom team as a coach, having previously worked with the Dublin and Clare senior hurlers while also playing a central part in Cork’s All-Ireland camogie success this year.
There is also a major change in the strength and conditioning department, with Adrian O’Brien, father of rising Limerick star Shane, replacing the highly regarded Cairbre Ó Cairealláin.
Joe O’Connor is also understood to be leaving as high-performance manager, with the position of team performance coach to be filled by Paul Kilgannon, a role Caroline Currid was lauded for in Limerick’s five All-Ireland SHC wins under Kiely.
