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It will all be revealed on Sunday, Declan Hannon says of the mysterious symbol that has appeared on the back of Limerick’s jerseys since Munster SHC’s inaugural win over Clare.
Everything will be revealed about the Celtic knot. if they win, we suggest. It’s been 17 years since Armagh, the defending All-Ireland SFC champion, decided to do something similar, but no one in the group has spoken about it. So far, that is. But sooner.
That omerta may have had something to do with Tyrone denying them consecutive titles, but the plan had been to explain it.
“Half of the mystery surrounding these things is a myth,” then-Armagh manager Joe Kernan said before the final that year about the circle within a triangle that appeared first on the back of his jerseys. , which also appeared on the right sleeve that summer.
“It has no history or I don’t know the history. Everything will be revealed at a later date. “
From freemasons to simply representing the core values of the group, theories about the emblem were varied. Even now, players are reluctant to talk about it or can’t remember it.
Oisín McConville: “I can’t remember.”
Stevie McDonnell: “I swear. I’ll let Joe reveal it. “
Then we’ll talk to Joe. “I’ve been waiting for this call for 17 years,” he laughs at the end of the line.
“We wanted to do something that symbolized unity, that the point was the top and together we could reach it.
“We were doing all kinds of things at the time. We had the tight shirts that made us look fitter and better than we were. A friend of mine (Billy Dixon) is an image consultant and we were thinking of little things that gave us an edge, a bit of arrogance. “
With Des Jennings also on board as a sports psychologist, a lot of thought was given to the symbol. The story goes that each side of the triangle represented a word on an orange and white card, the three of which were sent to each player separately for three weeks. The circle in the middle was the team and played every word.
“We weren’t the only ones who did it – Monaghan for a while had the names of all his players in the numbers on the back of their jerseys,” Kernan notes.
“You wouldn’t have seen that if you hadn’t been up close, but the players knew it was there and it gave them a little pride and unity.”
But more than anything, the fact that no one spilled the beans on the symbol was what mattered to Kernan.
“It was important that the meaning be kept silent. Any team that leaks will not win. Any team that can stick together on and off the field can get there. It was important to show ourselves that we had something that most other teams didn’t. The fact that we kept it a secret for so long meant something. The real reason behind this, I won’t tell you, ”he laughs again.
The symmetry between then and now is that Limerick are equally secretive about incorporating it into their jersey.
“It’s something we put in ourselves,” John Kiely said after beating Tipperary last month.
“It is not something we will divulge. It’s something that’s on the jersey for us this year, just taking into account the year he’s been in. Just the group itself.
“It’s just one of those things, so the guys came up with it themselves. It’s just a little symbol of ourselves and what we stand for this year, and that’s it. Nothing more than that. ”
When asked about it a couple of days later, Gearóid Hegarty was taken aback by the attention he had received, but was equally shy about his origins.
“A lot of people have been asking about it,” he said. “It is just a small design that we created for some values that we defend. We create it ourselves as players. We just designed it. It’s something we just added to the shirt, just a little thing.
“Many people have commented on it. A little thing to look at while putting your shirt on. It’s something that you know is with you. We all know those values and we all defend them. It is something that we value very much. “
So expensive that mom is the word.
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