Limerick GAA and it's county board. It's a film destined for Hollywood at some stage, but viewers would have a hard time believing it's a true story.

Let's get one thing straight from the off. In my informed opinion Limerick GAA and its woes lie solely at the county boards door. So much crap emanates from these men who are in it solely for self gratification. 10 managers since 1993 and 1 county board. When will they realize that hurling relies on hurlers and not bureaucracy.

Let's start with Tom Ryan. When he took over in 1993 Limerick hurling was in the doldrums. Nothing of note since the early eighties. Ryan transformed Limerick hurling and brought 2 Munster titles to the county. But he also lost 2 All Ireland finals. Ryan polarized opinion, but he had my vote simply because he got up the back of the county board. Then came the 20 questions episode. The 1994 All Ireland collapse against Offaly set Limerick county board to war. Men who never hurled, yet got on hurling boards offered argument and county argument. Joe Quaid was pucking the ball out too early. Ryan should have told Quaid to slow it down. Where were Ger Heggarty and Mike Houlihan? They should have offered themselves to receive the puck outs. Where were the full back line? All theories offered from men who ignored a simple fact. Offaly were within striking distance throughout the game. They didn't just arrive on the scene with five minutes to go and find themselves in contention.

Wexford in 1996 was different. Ryan faced a manager who was tactically astute and outfoxed Ryan. Wexford 'did' Garry Kirby and took the hit. Wexford were prepared to play with 14, and dare I say it prepared to play with 14. Kirby was playing with a broken finger and Limerick were effectively playing with 14.5 men. But again, the Wexford players played their part and executed the managers plans to a tee. Again, theories abounded as why Limerick lost another All Ireland. And again, no countenance was made of the opposition. You see the teams Limerick play don't win games against Limerick; Limerick lose them.

Next up was Eamon Cregan and this was a disaster. Cregan isolated the players and  achieved little with them. The players disliked him and he didn't care. He was a county board man, so he was safe in his surroundings. After a championship win in Cork in 2001, one Limerick player openly chided Cregan who had questioned his fitness. In the semi-final Limerick were being taken apart by John Mullane when a certain player took upon himself to 'sort' Mullane out. By the time it was done, Cregan hadn't spotted it. But it was all of no use, as Tipperary and then Wexford dumped Limerick out of the championship. Strangely no theories were offered as to why Cregan had failed and who was to blame.

Next came the one who got away. Dave Keane. He wasn't going to last very long as one player in particular didn't get on with Keane. Keane deserved time to bed his own ideas and players because he didn't have the backing of the county board. Instead of backing Keane, they called for his head and his own club backed the motion to sack him. This was the sacking that opened the door to player power. Instead of staying out of the club politics and telling the player to knuckle down, the county board couldn't help themselves and got stuck in the middle of it again. Players now knew they were in a position of strength with influence over the county board.

Padjoe Whelan and Joe McKenna were county board choices and were disasters in their own right. Richie Bennis came in and did a competent job, but he didn't out to be as pro county board as they hoped and so he had to go too. No point having a man who was going to argue with them. And then onto Justin McCarthy. The appointment which led to the bitter taste in Limerick hurling fans mouths.

Limerick hurling fans are a long suffering bunch. No All  Ireland since 1973, numerous debacles in between, and yet they kept turning up in droves each and every summer. Mostly for another disaster. But the spats of the early noughties had left them losing faith ever so slowly. They couldn't muster the interest as the county board had painted a picture of the players that screamed indifference to the jersey, and the actions of some players didn't exactly dispel the theory. But the Justin McCarthy disaster finished all hopes of a reconnection between players and fans.

The county board gambled and lost big time. Backing McCarthy was farcical and the fans stayed away in their thousands. And the ones who kept the faith were treated appallingly. The championship match in Cork during the strike was a litany of PR disasters for the county board. Instead of children and OAP's being well discounted, full price was to be paid. The day itself turned out sunny, and some ambled to Pairc Ui Chaoimh only to be met with distain by the county officials when it came to tickets and entrance to the match. Or should that be mismatch.

Donal O'Grady was an inspired choice, but wasn't picked by the county board. The committee put together did their homework and came up with the right man. As they did in the selection of John Allen. Again done without the input of the county board. Both were successes in their own right and herein lies the issue. Just as it has to be somebody else's when Limerick lose, it has to be the county board glory when they win.

When Allen had a minor grievance with the county board last year, the county board took it and blew it into a big issue. Allen felt left down, and decided to walk away. The county board didn't fight too hard to keep him as they felt there was someone better to do the job. Preferably from Limerick. Only the Limerick county board could feel that TJ Ryan is a step up from John Allen. TJ is a grand fella, but he has nothing of note on his managerial CV. How is he a natural replacement for John Allen?

And so to the current farce. You can't blame O'Grady for walking away following the false reports of apologies. O'Grady was never going to stand for that, and the county board knew it. Apparently 2000 Limerick fans looked for their money back after the Offaly game. There wasn't even 2000 people at the match. The spin machine is in full force now as rumours of player unrest abound. I can tell you, there was no player unrest. No apathy towards training. This Limerick crew of hurlers aren't like the crews of old. The current crop are determined to succeed. And as ever, they are being hampered.

Players can retire or be dropped, managers can be sacked or asked to move aside, and all the while one crew remain. The county board. No 20 questions for them, no adverse PR. Put yourself in O'Grady's shoes: would you accept the undermining currents? Never mind managers, it's amazing the Limerick keep producing hurlers who want to hurl for their county board. They need to step aside, and let people who aren't politically motivated take over from them. Time and hurling has moved on. It's time for the Limerick county board to do the same.