Munster hurling final: Limerick 'hold nerve' against Clare in another job well done 

John Kiely's side made it an historic six in a row. 

EASY BEING GREEN: Limerick players celebrate with their supporters at FBD Semple Stadium. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

LIMERICK 1-26 CLARE 1-20 

At the final whistle, a litter of Limerick hurlers remained in the Kinane Stand dugout across the field as Declan Hannon lifted the Mick Mackey Cup.

One bemused supporter enquired as to why they weren’t under the Ryan Stand cheering on their captain. A player pointed to the sheer size of the green legions populating the pitch and shrugged.

This Limerick team haven’t grown tired of winning or celebrating but they are practical people. As they showed in toasting their All-Ireland success among themselves on the night of last year’s final, they like their space too.

As their folk basked in the glory of conquering unchartered territory in the form of a sixth consecutive Limerick title, men like Kyle Hayes, Tom Morrissey, Barry Nash and David Reidy were simply soaking it in. There were no great hoots or shouts as Hannon raised the silverware named after the county’s most famous hurling son, just applause for him and themselves, these outstanding conquistadors, on a job well done.

Beneath them at the front of the stand tunnel stood disconsolate Clare figures like John Conlon, Tony Kelly and Aidan McCarthy. Keen to pay their respects to Hannon as Peter Duggan was to a couple of Limerick players when he reached up to shake hands with them afterwards.

There was emotion. For a third time, Clare had given them chase but on this occasion Limerick were out of sight and may forever be for this valiant Banner bunch. Getting back on the road, likely against Wexford on Saturday week, won’t be an easy task but what else are they supposed to do? Shane O’Donnell surely can’t be underutilised again.

Watched by a 45,148 crowd in FBD Semple Stadium, Gearóid Hegarty was again a thorn in Clare’s side and there were stunning return-to-form displays by Diarmaid Byrnes and Tom Morrissey, the pair scoring nine points between them.

Limerick had another belter of a third quarter here, sending over the first four points of the new half. Hegarty’s groundstroke goal in the 46th minute doubled the gap to six points.

Like their championship opener in Ennis, the 6ft5in forward had ghosted himself into a free space in the right corner and benefitted from Eibhear Quilligan’s brief if crucial uncertainty in closing down the angle.

Mark Rodgers twice went close to making it a one-point game. He rose superbly to retrieve a ball in the 56th minute but his strike was straight at Nickie Quaid. There was consolation in the form of a converted Aidan McCarthy free, though.

Kelly, who collected three second-half wides, teed Rodgers up for an opening close to goal but his effort bounced off the post and Limerick soon won a relieving free. McCarthy and substitute Ian Galvin twice made it a four-point game but wing backs Kyle Hayes and Byrnes provided the insurance scores.

Rodgers did send over two frees to slice the margin to four once more but there were the rejuvenated Morrissey and Byrnes sending over placed balls to cap an almighty win for Limerick.

“I think we held our nerve well,” assessed Kiely. “There were times in the second half for maybe eight or so minutes, 10 minutes, when we just got a little bit ragged. We were failing to win our puck-out. Clare were getting a couple of attacks into space off of it as you would when you’re playing with the breeze and the opposition win your puck-out.

“There’s space naturally there for them to expose. But we got on top of it again, we got reset, we got a bit of structure in. It was a bit of a challenge as it is with getting messages into the field – little tweaks here and there.” 

A game delayed by 30 minutes to a power outage, the Clare wags maintained they could wait that bit longer having done so for the previous 26 years. And this was supposed to be their great chance. Kelly back and Limerick without Seamus Flanagan and Peter Casey and hardly match fit Seán Finn and Darragh O’Donovan on the bench.

Yet the result felt like it was on the cards in the first half. Like Kelly, Clare had played in pockets but they were productive cameos. The game was drawn level for a sixth time in the second minute of additional time in the opening half when Peter Duggan reacted quickest by a blindingly good save by Quaid from a long-range Kelly free.

The Limerick goalkeeper had also been called on in the 17th minute when he was able to get enough of his hurley on McCarthy’s shot and Byrnes cleared the ball away from danger.

Limerick didn’t threaten Clare’s goal half as much but they were the better team in general play over the half. Scoring three points, Byrnes was back in the form that had shortlisted him for hurler of the year in 2023 having won the award the season previous.

After a first quarter when the sides were tied five times, Limerick’s intensity began to tell. They went two up in the 21st minute and branched three ahead four minutes later when Aaron Gillane converted a point over his shoulder under the Ryan Stand.

Against the wind, they were far more efficient than Clare and restored a three-point advantage on the half-hour mark when Gillane caught brilliantly over Conor Cleary and supplied David Reidy.

Gillane was getting the better of Cleary, winning a free off him two minutes later that he put wide. Limerick’s cushion grew to four when Shane O’Brien registered his first point but Clare’s finish of 1-1, David Fitzgerald sending over his third score before Duggan’s major, reeled them in going into the break.

The score kept Clare believing. But that was the extent of their ambitions. They believed, Limerick expected. That’s what conquerors do.

Scorers for Limerick: A. Gillane (4 frees), D. Byrnes (3 frees) (0-5 each); G. Hegarty (1-2); T. Morrissey (0-4, 1 free); D. Reidy, D. Hannon, S. O’Brien, K. Hayes (0-2 each); C. O’Neill, A. English (0-1 each).

Scorers for Clare: A. McCarthy (0-8, 6 frees); D. Fitzgerald (0-4); ); P. Duggan (1-1); T. Kelly (0-3); M. Rodgers (0-2, frees); S. O’Donnell, I. Galvin (0-1 each).

LIMERICK: N. Quaid; B. Nash, M. Casey, D. Morrissey; D. Byrnes, D. Hannon (c), K. Hayes; W. O’Donoghue, C. Lynch; G. Hegarty, C. O’Neill, T. Morrissey; D. Reidy, A. Gillane, S. O’Brien.

Subs for Limerick: C. Boylan for G. Hegarty (temp 23-23); A. English for C. Lynch (53); C. Boylan for C. O’Neill (63); D. Ó Dalaigh for A. Gillane (68); A. O’Connor for D. Reidy (69); G. Mulcahy for T. Morrissey (inj 70+3).

CLARE: E. Quilligan; A. Hogan, C. Cleary (c), C. Leen; J. Conlon, D. Ryan, D. McInerney; C. Malone, D. Lohan; D. Fitzgerald, M. Rodgers, P. Duggan; A. McCarthy, T. Kelly.

Subs for Clare: P. Donnellan for C. Malone (temp 29-30); D. Reidy for D. Lohan (62); I. Galvin for A. McCarthy (63); R. Hayes for C. Cleary (66).

Referee: C. Lyons (Cork).