John Fogarty: Where would Limerick be without '73?

Now, with Limerick in their greatest hurling era, they can remember it a lot more fondly.

Kilkenny goalkeeper Noel Skehan in action against Ned Rea of Limerick during the All Ireland Hurling Final match between Kilkenny and Limerick at Croke Park, in Dublin. Photo by Connolly Collection/Sportsfile

For a team making their own traditions, who have secured over a third of their county’s 11 All-Ireland senior hurling titles, this Limerick team have never made any secret of their disdain for history.

“We're not a group burdened by past lives,” Tom Morrissey famously declared in 2018 after a first championship win over Kilkenny since 1973. And not a group that looks back for inspiration either, as John Kiely indicated last week when asked if they might lean on this the 50th anniversary of Limerick beating Kilkenny to claim seventh senior All-Ireland.