'The best way to develop players is through winning games' says Limerick minor hurling manager Diarmuid Mullins

DIARMUID MULLINS is back in his second stint as Limerick minor hurling manager.The newly appointed Limerick minor hurling boss believes the GAA should consider bringing back minor games as double headers along with senior championship games throughout the summer.

“I do think whether it's U17 or U18, it was a disappointing step to move the championship games away from being played before the senior games,” Diarmuid Mullins told Leader Sport.

Mullins replaces Donal O'Grady as minor hurling manager. The Mungret St Paul's clubman has previously worked as Limerick minor hurling manager and U20 hurling manager. He won Munster titles in 2019 and 2020 with the Limerick minor hurlers.

“The first year that I was involved with the minors, we played all of our Munster games before the Munster Senior Championship games, I think that was a really good learning experience for the young players that were involved.

“The supporters that go into minor games want to see the next upcoming players but the GAA have decided to make the decision that the championships aren't going to run parallel to the senior games which I think is something that the GAA should look at.”

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After managing the Limerick minor hurlers for two seasons in 2019 and 2020, he moved up to take charge of the county’s U20 team. The former Laois footballer managed the U20s from 2021 to 2023, leading Limerick to the 2022 All-Ireland U20 final, where they were narrowly beaten by Kilkenny. 

Mullins has decided to keep O'Grady's backroom team in place for the 2026 season. There are currently 44 players on the Limerick minor hurling training squad and the championship squad will be finalised in January. Brian Sexton, Ger Kelleher, Jody Hannon, Tom Murphy and Liam Reale will all be part of the Limerick minor hurling management for the second year in-a-row. 

“I had been involved with the U14's and U15's in the last couple of years in the academy and I was just approached then when Donal wasn't in a position to continue on for a second year. It's always a privilege to be asked to be involved with a county team.”

Limerick haven't competed in a Munster Minor Hurling final since 2020 and Mullins said developing players and winning games are the focus for his side this year.

“It's always important that your underage is as competitive as it possibly can be. We want to develop as many players as we can that will go and play at U20 and senior level.

“There is going to be a space where that Limerick senior hurling team comes to an end of it's natural cycle. The key for Limerick is that they want to keep challenging at senior level and it's our job to try and prepare players as best we can for the challenges of that.

“The best way to develop players is through winning games,” he added.

A large proportion of Mullins' squad have been in Munster U17 post-primary hurling finals with Ardscoil Rís and Castletroy College.