Reflective David Reidy embracing life as a late bloomer

There was a time when David Reidy said his mentality was the reason why he was once dropped from the Limerick panel. Now his calm resilience has transformed him into a starter at 30 in a team of hurling greats.

The inner strength that flows from Dromin-Athlacca's first Celtic Cross recipient was never more tested than this time last year.

In a Friday night tune-up for Sunday's All-Ireland final, both Kyle Hayes and Reidy collapsed to the ground clutching their legs in the space of three minutes.

Reidy didn’t move off the couch throughout a Saturday vigil spent with an ice machine strapped to his ankle and the TV diverting his stressed-out mind.

Stepping gingerly off the team bus the next day, he didn’t know if the ankle was in any shape to play a part until it held up through the warm-up.

"I went up for an innocuous little high-ball drill and my studs got caught in place and I just twisted the ankle," says Reidy.

"I don't have the best of ankles but I was lucky enough, I strapped it up and adrenaline got me through.

"Kyle went down the same day with a bit of a hamstring injury as well so it was a weird feeling.

"But that’s the way it has to be, you need to push hard. You don’t take your foot off the gas."

That it has taken him until the age of 30 to put back-to-back championship starts together for Limerick reflects both the Treaty’s talent stockpile and Reidy’s bench impact.

Until this year’s Munster final, Reidy had just two championship starts for his 10 seasons on the panel, along with another 24 substitute appearances.

After John Kiely took over as Limerick manager at the end of 2016, Reidy received a phone call bearing bad news. He wasn’t part of the Galbally man’s plans.

He wouldn’t be away from the inter-county shop window,