Graeme Mulcahy: 'There were ups and downs in my career'

“I WOULD have bitten someone's hand off to win one All-Ireland, to win five All-Irelands and seven Munsters, you'd be saying I am in dreamland.”

That is how Graeme Mulcahy sums up his inter-county career in the Limerick jersey. During that time the Limerick sharpshooter won five All-Irelands, seven Munster Championships and three National Leagues titles.

Last weekend, it was confirmed that Mulcahy's long-time Limerick team-mate Nickie Quaid is facing an extended period on the sidelines after suffering an unfortunate ACL injury.

Recently retired Kilmallock clubman Mulcahy feels Nickie Quaid will be a massive loss to Limerick in the coming months.

“Nickie will be a massive loss in the coming months, both on match day and in training. His application to everything across the board has been just phenomenal over the years, he just goes about his business quietly and so diligently.”

“It gives someone else an opportunity now to claim that number one jersey and I hope it goes well for whoever lands that. One thing is for certain is that the two or three guys chasing that spot will have the full support of Nickie.”

2024 wasn't always going to be the year Mulcahy decided to retire from the game.

“I've been taking it as it goes for a couple of years now. This year, I felt like it was the right time. The body, I felt was in a good place, I could have kept going, but it was just mainly the family aspect and that probably impacted on the hunger.”

Graeme's wife Laura designed a symbol which appears on the back of the Limerick senior hurling jersey. The particular symbol stands for the values within the group.

“It made that symbol extra special for me over the years. Knowing that's on the back of the jersey and it's something that my own wife had input on as well,” he said.

How does Mulcahy sum up the 16 seasons in the green and white jersey?

“There were ups and downs in my career. These last five or six years have been a rollercoaster. I look back on it with sheer delight and pride.”

In 2009, he was called into the Limerick senior hurling panel. During the start of his career, he experienced the lows of Limerick hurling.

“I came in 2009 to an unbelievable panel. You had Andrew O'Shaughnessy who I really looked up to as a clubman. To get called in as an 18-year-old, I was obviously chuffed. 2009 was an opportunity to learn from those guys.

“We got well beaten by Tipperary in the All-Ireland semi-final. That started something, in terms of some of those guys being let go. Some players’ careers were cut short and some of them possibly were still in their prime. And obviously other players left because of that.”

Mulcahy wouldn't actually sum those years as the lows of Limerick hurling. He feels those All-Ireland semi-final defeats to Clare and Kilkenny were missed opportunities in 2013 and 2014.

“There's probably bigger lows, the years coming after that in 2013 and 2014 when we lost semi-finals to Clare and Kilkenny. As a player, the expectation is there, you want to win and you expect to win.”

Underage success and the emphasis placed on the Limerick underage hurling academy squads was the biggest change for the Shannonsiders, according to the former Limerick hurler.

What is it that John Kiely and Paul Kinnerk have brought to Limerick hurling?

“They were moving it forward in a direction that was clear, in the way that they wanted to play the game. They laid that out very clearly with Paul and Seanie O'Donnell. You'd have noticed on the field we have more of a clear style and we built on that over the years. Every player knows exactly what is needed.”

2018 is the highlight for Mulcahy when Limerick ended the 45-year wait for an All-Ireland SHC title.

“The aftermath of 2018 was sensational. I don't think that could be topped and certainly not in my eyes. Maybe it will be topped in the future, but for me it'll always be the high.”

What keeps this group so hungry for success?

“We had that hunger over the years. We weren't resting on one or two or three. We just wanted more and we knew the group could achieve more.”

The biggest challenge for the Kilmallock clubman was going from a starter in the side to more often being a substitute in recent years.

“I certainly found it tough. Obviously, I was in a very privileged position to start for the majority of my career. I found it difficult being on the bench and the atmosphere around you.”

Management is something the corner forward can see himself getting involved at some stage. “I could see myself getting involved. I would like to get involved. I haven't sat back and thought about what my next step is”.