Adam English: ‘There’s a real championship feel to this weekend’

HE MAY not have been involved on the field in Limerick’s 2022 All-Ireland winning team, and was yet to really break into the side that won the Allianz League the following year, but Adam English has a medal-haul most would bite your hand off for.

Boasting Munster medals at minor, U20 and of course, two at senior level, English was also a key figure as Doon won the county SHC for the title time ever in 2024, after generations of knocking on the door for the east Limerick club.

And that’s before we get to the incredible tally of three Fitzgibbon Cup medals with the University of Limerick

Not a bad haul for somebody considered among the ‘younger’ and ‘ more inexperienced’ cohort in this Limerick side.

Now in his fifth season on John Kiely’s panel, English came up through the underage ranks with fellow academy graduates Cathal O’Neill, Aidan O’Connor, and Colin Coughlan.

The four were also on the same UL side who cruised to the Fitzgibbon Cup title just before Christmas, beating Mary I in the final by 13 points.

Playing together for different teams has grown the bond among the quartet.

“The four of us are best friends inside the camp, we've been playing together since my first year minor - their second year minor - so we've a lot of experience together,” English said ahead of Sunday’s Allianz Hurling League Division 1A final against Cork.

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“Aido coming into the team now he's been absolutely incredible the things he's doing on the field is magical.

“Then Cathal, the last three games he's gotten three goals - his performances are outstanding. We're going well at the minute but listen we won't be getting ahead of ourselves either.”

With 11 of the team that started the breakthrough 2018 All-Ireland final win over Galway, is there envy among the younger cohort of the success of their teammates?

“I wouldn't say there's envy there,” explained English. “You try and aspire to get to that level to what the likes of Cian, Gearoid Hegarty, all those lads, that's what we want to be when we're coming up to the end of our time.

“We want to be looking back and saying, jeez, we have five or six All-Ireland medals as well, so I wouldn't say it's envy, it's just trying to aspire to be like them.”

The Easter Sunday clash at the TUS Gaelic Grounds is the next opportunity for national honours for Limerick - with the county looking for a fourth league title under John Kiely and a 15th overall.

“We're extremely excited,” English said ahead of the anticipated sell-out clash.

“If you look back to the first round of the league, when we lost to Waterford, everyone really wrote us off, to be honest.

“So if you would have told us that we'd be in the league final after the first round we would have bitten your hand off.

“There's a real championship feel to this weekend so we're really looking forward to it.”

After an inconsistent 2025, this year has gone more smoothly. Since defeat in Walsh Park in their league opener, the Shannonsiders have won five in a row.

“Last year and the year before obviously our performances weren't good enough,” English admitted.

“Even the league last year and it carried through into the 2025 championship. It's hard to put a finger on it but our performances weren't up to notch.

“We're looking to right the wrongs of last year and we're really looking forward now to every game we play, no matter what it is. So every game we play, we're really putting an emphasis on our performances.

“The main thing we're trying to do this year is just create that winning habit and we've done an alright job starting out,” English said. “But listen, there's so much more matches to play.

“It's just about creating that winning habit again.”

The medals are stacking up for English, but the hunger is still strong.