Will record-breaking All-Ireland victory over Cork be Limerick's high water mark? Don't bet on it
Limerick captain Declan Hannon lifts the Liam MacCarthy Cup. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
In time, the scoreline above will be remembered as the hallmark of a dynasty.
Limerick’s grip on the game right now is so tight that the three-in-a-row next year seems as close to certain as it was for Kilkenny when they were the last team to do it in 2008.
And just as the Cats mauled Waterford in the first half on that occasion, Limerick disemboweled Cork in an opening period of such ferocity and certainty that what followed was processional, nigh on perfunctory.
Thirteen different scorers, a record total score for an All-Ireland final, and 55 scoring opportunities? And John Kiely, with no hint of arrogance, afterwards claimed they have yet to reach their peak? That remark should read as ominous as the margin between the teams in the end.
The irony is that it may very well be Cork who will topple this team and August 22, 2021, will be defined as the greatest learning experience of their careers. But the chasm that exists between the two is not going to be bridged for some time to come.
This was no free shot for Cork but with just Patrick Horgan and Seamus Harnedy having experienced All-Ireland final day it will surely count for something that they have popped their cherry. All their innocence was lost here. After losing to Kilkenny in the 2003 All-Ireland final, the players told each other to “remember this feeling” as they watched on as DJ Carey lifted the Liam MacCarthy Cup before avenging the loss the following year. Their successors will never need to be reminded of this scolding.
Were Limerick’s razors sharpened by the momentous week Cork hurling had enjoyed in the build-up to the game? That for all of their neighbours’ potential and promise, they were going to be served up a reminder that the here and now, the only things that matter, belongs to Limerick?
Their intent was not shown first on the hurling field but in the dressing rooms where their backroom team had the gumption to commandeer the one on the Hill 16 side of the Hogan Stand, which had been assigned to Cork. It was Martin Johnson 2003 as you could get.
When the action did begin, Limerick’s play carried the same authority as Cork were jittery. Luke Meade’s reverse hand-pass in the second minute in an attempt to keep the ball in play was seized on by Cian Lynch who put in Gearóid Hegarty and his finish was too good.
Two minutes later, Shane Kingston billowed the net for a fourth time this summer, rejecting the chance of an easy point to take on and beat Seán Finn. But Limerick’s response was immediate, Peter Casey pointing seconds after Nickie Quaid’s restart.
Looking more settled, Cork were within a white flag of Limerick in the 14th minute when their defence was embarrassingly opened up. Diarmaid Byrnes took receipt of a Quaid puckout and easily found Seamus Flanagan. He squared the ball to an unmarked Aaron Gillane and Collins had little chance of stopping his shot. Having struggled against Seán O’Donoghue previously, Gillane had a point to prove and did so, soon after scoring a point after Declan Hannon expertly dispossessed Robbie O’Flynn.
Limerick led 2-8 to 1-6 at the first water break and then hit Cork for five unanswered points between the 21st and 26th minutes, Casey landing two of them. Another Hegarty goal could have been thrown in too only for his shot to slip past Collins’ far post.
Constantly looked awkward in working their short restarts out from defence and being pummelled when they went long, Cork were swaying. The margin jumped to 10 points in the 31st minute when Gillane pointed a free he had won. It increased to 13 in additional time when Lynch again teed up Hegarty to find the net.
Seconds after, Casey, who was vying with Lynch for man of the match having scored five points, had to make way after picking up a knee injury. But the Limerick juggernaut rolled on. Up 3-18 to 1-11 at half-time, his replacement Graeme Mulcahy and Gillane opened the scoring in the second half and that was that.
Lynch, the wizard in the first half, sent over five second-half points. Collins pulled off a fine save to prevent Tom Morrissey in the 45th minute. With his second point of the game, captain Hannon stretched the difference to 18 points in the 51st minute. Meanwhile, Cork were fumbling and foostering, Shane Kingston and Horgan desperately struggling to lift the sliotar from the sod.
Alan Cadogan and Horgan (free) finished out the third quarter, won 0-6 to 0-5 by Limerick. The final period was drawn largely due to a slew of Horgan frees in additional time but the counting had long stopped.
One of the criticisms thrown at this Limerick team is how much of a closed shop the first 15 seems to be. The starting team here showed one change from last December’s final, three from the team that started the ball rolling in the 2018 decider. Rather than inertia, the lack of change clearly indicates these men are consistently proving themselves in Rathkeale and LIT Gaelic Grounds.
Considering their age profile and insatiable pursuit for perfection, it’s difficult not to believe the same 15, providing Casey’s knee is okay, won’t be featuring in next July’s All-Ireland final. Neutralising Cork’s pace as they did, producing a first-half performance that can only rivalled in brilliance by their second half against Tipperary (they scored 1-1 more in this latest offering), the heights they are hitting are loftier and loftier.
“You want your best performance to be in an All-Ireland final and All-Ireland semi-final,” said Gearóid Hegarty. “To get that performance in the first half was incredible. We scored 3-18 in the first half, we scored 3-16 in the 2018 All-Ireland to win it by a point! We scored two points more in one half this year. It’s incredible.”
No getting away from that and no-one getting any closer to Limerick.
Gearóid Hegarty’s second goal before the half-time break. Cork were yearning for the half-time break to recalibrate and then that happened. Game over.
The greatness and the potential for more greatness in this Limerick group. The alpha and omega of the game right now.
To be a Limerick person. These truly are the halcyon days of hurling in the county. And the chances are there will be more.
After such a great week for Cork GAA, this one started with a walloping that won’t set them back years but is bound to leave scars.
Peter Casey had to retire before half-time with a knee injury after going over awkwardly. He had been a man of the match candidate up until then. Both teams retired walking wounded before the end, Robbie O’Flynn having to go off following a head injury.
Cork will look back with regret at how they dealt with Lynch - the combination of Mark Coleman, who struggled against him in the Munster semi-final, and Luke Meade didn’t work. Their puck-outs were again a source of stress and their defence was so bent out of shape.
Lynch. Hurler of the year three years ago, it’s looking likely he will do so again after crowning a terrific season with his best performance of 2021. It took something special to stand out in this outstanding Limerick team and he is just that.
It’s not often said that Limerick made the referee’s job easier but here their victory was so emphatic Fergal Horgan’s yoke was light. A couple of late hits in the first half might have merited yellow cards but the typically composed display that people have come to expect from the Tipperary official.
The sky remains the limit for this Limerick team. A three-in-a-row looks hard stopped right now.
A. Gillane (1-6, 0-3 frees); G. Hegarty (2-2); C. Lynch (0-6); P. Casey (0-5); T. Morrissey (0-3); D. Byrnes (1 free), D. Hannon (0-2 each); S. Flanagan, D. O’Donovan, B. Nash, G. Mulcahy, D. Reidy, P. Ryan (0-1 each).
P. Horgan (0-12, 10 frees); S. Kingston (1-0); S. Harnedy (0-4); N. O’Leary, J. O’Connor, L. Meade, M. Coleman (free), A. Cadogan, S. Barrett (0-1 each).
N. Quaid; S. Finn, D. Morrissey, B. Nash; D. Byrnes, D. Hannon (c), K. Hayes; W. O’Donoghue, D. O’Donovan; G. Hegarty, C. Lynch, T. Morrissey; A. Gillane, S. Flanagan, P. Casey.
G. Mulcahy for P. Casey (inj 35+1); D. Reidy for C. Lynch (42-44); D. Reidy for G. Hegarty (62); C. Coughlan for D. Hannon (inj 65); B. Murphy for G. Mulcahy (68); P. Ryan for T. Morrissey (70).
P. Collins; N. O’Leary, R. Downey, S. O’Donoghue; E. Cadogan, M. Coleman, T. O’Mahony; D. Fitzgibbon, L. Meade; R. O’Flynn, S. Kingston, C. Cahalane; J. O’Connor, P. Horgan (c), S. Harnedy.
D. Cahalane for C. Cahalane (h-t); S. Barrett for D. Fitzgibbon, S. O’Leary Hayes for N. O’Leary, A. Cadogan for J. O’Connor (all 47); N. Cashman for S. O’Donoghue (inj 53); D. Dalton for R. O’Flynn (temp 55-full-time).
F. Horgan (Tipperary).
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