Limerick All Ireland hurling winning S&C coach departs for full-time rugby position

ALL-Ireland SHC winning strength and conditioning coach Mikey Kiely is departing the Limerick senior hurling set-up to take up a full-time professional role.

All is yet to be publicly announced but the highly rated S&C coach is working with Ulster Rugby.

The Ballybrown man has linked up with the northern province since their Head Coach Dan McFarland reassembled their panel for pre-season training in mid-July.

Across the last two months Kiely has managed his time between Belfast and Limerick to ensure his commitments to both the Limerick hurlers and Ulster Rugby were unhindered.

However, Kiely won't be part of the Limerick hurling set-up for 2022. Across the last two seasons the 32 year old has played a key role in helping John Kiely's hurlers to back-to-back All-Ireland SHC titles.

Mikey Kiely, who played hurling with Limerick himself up to U21 level, joined the Limerick senior hurling management team in September 2019 - replacing Joe O'Connor.

Mikey Kiely is also a former Limerick senior football S&C coach - working under manager John Brudair. He was also strength and conditioning coach when Limerick won the 2017 All-Ireland U21 title under manager Pat Donnelly and he had previously helped Clare win the 2013 U21 title when he worked as their S&C coach.

In his post match media briefing after last Sunday's All-Ireland success John Kiely heaped praise on the work of Mikey Kiely.

"I think we timed our return to training work and timed our push right and that’s down to Mikey Kiely and Paul (Kinnerk) in terms of their setting the markers along the road of where we want to be at any given time - huge kudos to them guys because they got us right on the day that mattered most. The satisfaction from their work coming to fruition on the pitch on the most important day - that’s real satisfaction," said the Limerick manager.