Donal O’Grady calls for caution in introducing under-21s

Retired former Limerick hurling captain Donal O’Grady has warned against pitching too many members of the county’s 2015 All-Ireland under-21 winning squad into the senior camp too soon.

O’Grady (35) confirmed that he’s pulled the curtain down on a career of many highs and lows, the most notable highlight occurring in 2013 when he captained Limerick to Munster Senior Hurling Championship glory.

The Granagh-Ballingarry clubman met with manager TJ Ryan and, while O’Grady was promised a role in the Limerick set-up this year, he accepts that he can no longer be considered an automatic choice in the starting team.

O’Grady said: “TJ was very good in fairness, I’d have great time for him. He’s a very good manager and we had a good chat. He did say there was a role for me but it’s very hard to be on the team for the last 10 years and not be an automatic starter.”

O’Grady believes that Limerick’s wait for a first All-Ireland senior title since 1973 will eventually end, but he’s preaching caution about the use of the county’s up and coming stars.

He insisted: “It will happen if we keep on doing the right things. We were playing catch up as far as standards and the levels you needed to be at to be a top intercounty team.

“If you could pull in, in the next couple of years, some players from the under-21s, but I wouldn’t be rushing them in. It’s a big step up, some fellas take to it like ducks to water but other fellas will find themselves feeling the pressure.”