RICHIE Power sat on the grass and looked up enviously as the Tipp party started on the steps of the Hogan Stand.
It was 2010 and the Liam MacCarthy Cup had been lost to Tipperary. The dreams of a history-making five in-a-row had gone up in smoke and as he looked on, Power – who scored 1-9 in that final – let the disappointment do its thing.
Then he began to set his mind to bouncing back the following season.
“I remember sitting on the pitch looking up at (Tipp skipper) Eoin Kelly lifting the Liam MacCarthy Cup,” he recalls.
“Genuinely, very few thoughts of history or (missing out on a) five-in-a-row were going around my head at that stage.
“Every year we went back it was about winning the All-Ireland or getting to the All-Ireland final and trying to be the best team in that particular year.
“Absolutely, the five-in-a-row would have been something unbelievable but I suppose we weren’t long about (getting over it).
“I can remember having this conversation with the lads probably the Tuesday or the Wednesday after the All-Ireland in 2010, we were nearly thinking about 2011 fairly quick. “It was just about getting back.”
That resilience paid off as Kilkenny regained their crown the following season, avenging that loss to Tipp with a four-point win in the final. They retained the Liam MacCarthy the following season after a replay duel with Galway but 2010 was as close as they came to fulfilling the ‘drive for five’.
Limerick have taken on the mantle of hurling’s dominant county since Kilkenny’s golden period came to an end and the Treatymen also missed out on a fabled five in-a-row when Cork stopped them in their tracks in last season’s All-Ireland semi-final.
Power expects John Kiely’s men to bounce back like the Cats did.
“For me probably the big thing about Limerick is they have to get back and win another one,” he says.
“They were on such a roll, four-in-a-row, going for five and, to be fair, no one saw what happened happening.
“I expected Cork to really put it up to them (in the semi-final) but I still expected Limerick to win the five-in-a-row. Now, after the disappointment, they have to regroup, they have to go back to the well.
“That’s the big thing and it’s whether there’s enough in the well and there certainly is with the players that they have and the talent that they have.
“They’ve already been hit with Nickie Quaid’s injury and Cathal O’Neill has picked up a hamstring injury.
“He’ll be back around the middle of the League so it’s going to be how they deal with these things to see is the hunger there, that’s the big thing.
“I can remember definitely for us, we came back and won in 2011 and 2012, we got caught in 2013 and then we won in 2014 and 2015 so, for me, I think Limerick have to get back.
“That’s not me saying they’re not an unbelievable team and one of the greatest teams that have ever played the game, they absolutely are. I just think to really show the character and the drive and the hunger that’s there I believe they have to get back and win another one after the disappointment of losing the five-in-a-row.
“It’s just how the players respond and how they react to it. Listening to John Kiely, he’s saying how the players are really looking forward, they’re refreshed, they’ve had the bit of a break from the club to now and they’re getting back into pre-season.”
After that All-Ireland final loss in 2010, Carrickshock clubman Power went on to win four more titles. He bowed out with eight, two behind record-holder Henry Shefflin. A posse of Limerick players are currently sitting on five after their recent successes including goalkeeper Nickie Quaid but news that the goalkeeper will miss the 2025 season is a major blow to Treaty County hopes.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how Limerick are this year and without Nickie Quaid, that’s probably going to be a big question,” said Power.
“This Limerick team are absolutely fantastic and they have the potential to win another two or three, no different to ourselves.
“It’s just whether the hunger is there and what’s in the tank because the structure compared to when we were playing is different and they’ve a lot of tough games to even get out of Munster.
“There’s a savage effort to even get out of Munster but I definitely think they’ll be there or thereabouts this year. I think Cork will be there, I think Kilkenny won’t be too far away, I think Clare and maybe Galway are probably your four or five teams that’ll be there or thereabouts.”
