Allen: This means a lot to Limerick

There wasn’t a happier man in Semple Stadium on Saturday evening than Limerick manager John Allen.

“When the final whistle goes on All-Ireland final day and you’re on the line as the manager, that’s as good as it gets and that was the biggest day I’ve had as a manager,” he said afterwards, reference to his time as Cork All-Ireland winning manager in 2005.

“But I don’t think I’ve ever been as animated on the line as I was this evening. Limerick’s hurlers have had bad press from time to time but, hand on heart, even if we’d lost, this is as fine a bunch of young fellas as I’ve ever seen, a fine, decent, hard-working bunch of players. You could see from the reaction of the crowd and the players on the pitch afterwards, this means a lot to Limerick, and it certainly means a lot to me.”