The hurling-mad folk of Patrickswell will be willing local hero Conor Murray and the rest of the Irish rugby team to victory in tomorrow morning's World Cup quarter-final against Wales in New Zealand.

The young scrumhalf has come from nowhere to establish himself in the Irish team, but somewhat surprisingly, his first love as a child was Gaelic football and not rugby or hurling.

"When he was 12, he was an excellent Gaelic footballer and he represented the city in the Sarsfield Cup and also played for Limerick in the primary football games," Patrickswell NS principal Ciaran Crowe told the Limerick Leader.

Joe Lyons of Limerick Cumann na mBunscol also remembers Murray representing his county in 2002.

"Conor was a fine GAA player and wore the number 12 jersey for Limerick in the primary football game against Kerry in the Gaelic Grounds in 2002. There was a couple of thousand at it ahead of the senior match so he was well used to the large crowds at a young age."

Fellow Irish star Sean Cronin from Castletroy represented Limerick in minor football and won a county SFC medal with Monaleen in 2005 before becoming a professional rugby player. Tweet

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