They secured it in comfortable fashion, washing away an already eliminated Tipperary side in a blitz at the start of the first and second halves. The reality of their display is that the margin could have been more but for the level of inaccuracy in their shooting. It is always nice to have a work-on ahead of a blockbuster rematch with Cork in two weeks. With the All-Ireland champions only playing for pride, Limerick’s best route forward was to put the tie to bed early.
Aaron Gillane did exactly that with a goal inside the opening 15 seconds. With six minutes played, he went for goal again only to earn a 65. Aidan O’Connor’s strike was short and Rhys Shelly misread it as it dropped into the net. It’s been one of those seasons. They did similar at the start of the second half. Leading 2-12 to 0-14, Adam English took off from the throw-in to send Darragh O’Donovan clear until he was fouled. Kyle Hayes raced away from Eoghan
Connolly to earn a penalty and a black card. Diarmuid Byrnes stepped up to bury it. That long ball did serious damage. O’Connor benefited from another soon after and Gillane found the bottom corner before he came off. In the evolution of this phenomenal group, green flags haven’t always been plentiful. Their return from the round-robin has been ten. “It is a piece that for some years we found challenging,” said John Kiely post-match. “This year, it is without doubt something that has gone better
for us. We are after it all the time in terms of our intent, in terms of our discussion around it.” They ticked all the boxes it is possible to tick in a contest like this. All of their front eight scored. The bench impact was considerable with Tom Morrissey hitting four points. Every player who was withdrawn received a warm reception from an appreciative stand. All the while, there is no doubt that what awaits them on June 7 is another world. “Getting to
a Munster final is obviously important to give yourselves opportunities, but the most important part is taking them,” said Kiely. “This is another opportunity. It is on us now to go and seize that opportunity.” For Liam Cahill, the initial spirit his side showed to fight back from a disastrous start and head in for the turnaround just four down should provide small comfort. Noel McGrath impressed in difficult circumstances before he came off to a huge ovation. Stefan Tobin showed throughout but the stinging
penalty of being reduced to 14 ended any prospect of the game sparking into life. It was a glorious day of summer sunshine that signalled the end of their 2026 action. “We were just not at the pitch we needed to be at this year,” he said. “Our league didn’t go to plan. We didn’t get back into action early enough maybe to get a bit of hard work into the legs and the lungs and, as a result, we arrived not fully ready to
go to war against Cork in the first round of the championship. You are fighting uphill after that.” As for reaching that pitch, Cahill felt the schedule was up against them. For the second year in a row, just like Clare last season, the All-Ireland champions finished second bottom. “I don’t know what the answers are but what I do know is that there are so many matches. These players are not professionals. They are not machines. “But yet, they are playing in front of
packed-out houses, creating huge revenue. They pull a hamstring in the morning, ‘Tough.’ Six weeks gone and their year is over. There doesn’t seem to be any thought put into how we can make sure our best players can perform regularly on the big stage without that duress. “I feel sorry for other teams that are out of the championship as well, Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny. It is the first day you could walk the sideline in a T-shirt, the first time the weather is conducive
to proper championship hurling, and a couple of big teams in Ireland are out of their championship with nothing to look forward to for their supporters. “I know the club scene is everything, and it is right, but for young boys and girls to be inspired, they have to see their county players regularly on the big stage.” Scorers for Limerick: A. O’Connor 2-7 (1-0 65, 0-5 frees); A. Gillane 2-0; D. Byrnes 1-3 (0-1 pen, 0-3 frees); T. Morrissey 0-4; G. Hegarty, C. Lynch,
C. O’Neill, S. O’Brien 0-2 each; M. Casey, B. Nash, A. English, D. O’Donovan, P. Casey 0-1 each. Scorers for Tipperary: D. McCarthy 0-7 frees; E. Connolly 0-4 (2 frees); S. Tobin, J. Morris, C. Stakelum 0-3 each; N. McGrath 0-2; R. Maher, S. O’Farrell, P. McCormack 0-1 each. LIMERICK: N. Quaid; S. Finn, D. Morrissey, M. Casey; D. Byrnes, W. O’Donoghue, K. Hayes; A. English, D. O’Donovan; G. Hegarty, C. Lynch, C. O’Neill; A. Gillane, A. O’Connor, P. Casey. Subs: B. Nash for Casey
(half-time); T. Morrissey for English, D. Reidy for Casey (both 48); S. O’Brien for Gillane (58); C. Coughlan for Hayes (61). TIPPERARY: R. Shelly; R. Doyle, R. Maher, K. Ryan; E. Connolly, B. O’Mara, S. Kennedy; C. Stakelum, A. Tynan; O. O’Donoghue, J. Morris, N. McGrath; D. McCarthy, J. McGrath, S. Tobin. Subs: S. O’Farrell for Tynan (42); J. Caesar for Kennedy (45); M. Breen for N. McGrath (50), P. McCormack for J. McGrath (54); J. Ormond for McCarthy (61); B. McGrath for Ryan (68,
Temp). Black card: E. Connolly (38). Referee: C. Lyons (Referee).
Liam Cahill, Limerick, Tipperary, Munster final, 2026 action, Aaron Gillane, Diarmuid Byrnes, John Kiely, schedule, black card, hamstring