Limerick county hurling team

Limerick had won the first All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1887 and repeated this success in 1896, when it became the first non-Leinster team to beat the then all-conquering Dublin in a championship match. In 1897, Limerick's first outright success in hurling was achieved when a Kilfinane side defeated Tullaroan of Kilkenny in the All-Ireland SHC final (at that time, counties were represented by champion clubs). The county team won the All-Ireland SHC in 1918, a feat repeated in 1921 when they won the inaugural Liam MacCarthy Cup. The sides that achieved those wins contained many players who were on Limerick teams that contested eight Munster SHC finals in a row (1917 to 1924 inclusive), a record that has never been equaled.

The 1930s were the salad days of Limerick hurling, an era in which the county won five National Leagues in a row, a record still unequalled. They also won four Munster Championships in a row, and remain the only county other than Cork to have done so. After winning All-Irelands in 1934 and 1936, another outright success was achieved in 1940. This team did much to raise the profile of hurling: whereas in 1930 about 30,000 attended the All-Ireland Final, by 1940 it had gone up to 50,000 and the swashbuckling play of the Mackeys, Ryans, Clohesseys, McConkey and Scanlan etc. were recalled for decades after. Victory in 1940 left Limerick, with six All-Irelands, as the only county outside of the 'big three' (Cork, Tipperary and Kilkenny), to have won more than one All-Ireland hurling title. Dublin had also six All Ireland Senior Hurling at that time but no native of the county had played in any of these teams.

The county then fell on quieter times and up to 2018, had added only one more Senior All-Ireland title, in 1973. However six National Leagues were won between 1947 and 1995, and three Under-21 All Irelands in a row in the early 2000s.

In 2007, Limerick beat Tipperary in a thrilling Munster Senior Hurling Championship Semi-Final which is now known as the Trilogy, as it took 3 games to separate these close rivals. The final score line of the 2nd replay was 0.22 to 2.13. 30,608 fans witnessed this now historic occasion as Limerick had not beaten Tipperary since 1996. Indeed, they had not won a match in the Munster Championship since their comeback against Waterford in 2001, to a Munster Final they subsequently lost to their 'monkey on their back' or as Seamus Hickey referred to them, 'gorilla' Tipperary. However, Limerick subsequently lost the Munster Final to Waterford on 8 July in Thurles. They regrouped and beat Clare (1:23 - 1:16) in the All-Ireland Quarter-Final on 29 July. Andrew O'Shaughnessy (Shaughs/Shocks) picked up the Man of the Match (MotM) award in this match. On 12 August, they played Waterford in the semi-final, a rematch of the Munster Final a month previously. The result was not the same. A scoreline of 5:11 - 2:15 was enough to defeat the Deise Men. The goals came from Donie Ryan (2), Andrew O'Shaughnessy (2 - from play & a penalty) and Brian Begley (1). O'Shaughnessy once again picked up the MotM award for his fine display. On 2 September 2007 in Croke Park, Limerick played in the All-Ireland Hurling Final. Lady Luck did not strike twice however and it was to be Kilkenny's day. Final score: Kilkenny 2-19 - 1-15 Limerick.

In 2008, with many predicting that Limerick would secure Munster and All-Ireland titles, the county was drawn against Clare in the first round of the championship. Clare defeated them on a score-line of 4-12 to 1-16. This meant that Limerick were now entered in a newly revised All-Ireland qualifying system against Offaly. Again Limerick were defeated, this time on a score-line of 3-19 to 0-18. With this defeat Limerick were now out of championship hurling. This left many wondering "Was the run of 2007 only a flash in the pan?".

2009 saw Limerick open in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship against Waterford. They drew the 1st day out and were narrowly beaten in the replay. After this Limerick entered the Qualifiers where they dispatched Wexford, Laois and Dublin in tight affairs to reach and all ireland semi final v Tipperary. The semi-final was a disaster with Tipperary winning comfortably by 22 points. In the weeks that followed Justin McCarthy dropped 12 players (who only found out via the Irish Examiner) and a further 12 players withdrew from the panel in protest and would refuse to return as long as McCarthy was in charge.

The County Board held 3 meetings in which it was decided McCarthy would be retained. Limerick were relegated from Division 1 of the National Hurling League with 8 losses from 8 games. In the 1st round of the championship Limerick lost to Cork and were then beaten by Offaly in the qualifiers. In total Limerick lost their 10 matches by an average of 15 points. Subsequently McCarthy resigned as manager. In September 2010 Dónal O'Grady was appointed to be the new Limerick hurling manager.

2011 saw Limerick improved dramatically from National Hurling League to Championship winning nearly every game and being promoted to Division 1 only to be later to Division 1B The Munster Senior Hurling Championship against Waterford. The game proved to be very tight with Waterford eventually snatching with a late goal from John Mullane The "Shannonsiders" had a good run in the Qualifiers where they defeated Wexford and trounced Antrim to reach the All Ireland Quarter Final against National Hurling League champions Dublin where The "Liffeysiders" ran out winners 3-13 to 0-18. A few months later O'Grady resigned as manager after his determination that he was just staying as coach for one year. In October 2011, John Allen was appointed as the replacement. His first year brought early season controversy as inadequate fitness levels contributed to defeats against Clare in the Division 1B Final, and in the Munster Championship against Tipperary. However, an extensive specifically designed summer fitness course led to a huge improvement and a creditable performance against Kilkenny in the All-Ireland Quarter-Final provided hope for 2013. As in 2012, Limerick were beaten by Dublin in the Division 1B Final, losing to Anthony Daly's Dublin. That summer would bring a pitch invasion as Limerick became Munster Champions for the first time since 1996. The epic celebrations led to a predictable loss of focus and Clare won the All-Ireland Semi-Final against Limerick at Croke Park.

Limerick won the 2018 All Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, their first since 1973, with a 3–16 to 2–18 point defeat of Galway in the final.[1]

Team as per Limerick vs Waterford in the All-Ireland SHC final, 13 December 2020

As of December 2020:[2]

• Manager: John Kiely
• Coach–selectors: Paul Kinnerk, Donal O'Grady, Aonghus O'Brien, Alan Cunningham
• Team performance psychologist: Caroline Currid
• Strength and conditioning coach: Mikey Kiely
• Goalkeeping coach: Timmy Houlihan
• Assistant goalkeeping coach: Alan Feeley
• Team doctor: James Ryan
• Physiotherapists: Mark Melbourne, Marc Van Drumpt
• Video analyst: Seánie O'Donnell
• Liaison officer: Conor McCarthy
• Kitman: Ger O'Donnell
• Logistics: Éibhear O'Dea
• Nutritionist: Eoin Murray
• Masseur: Adrian Kearns
• Statistics: Kieran Hickey, Denny Ahern, Ruairí Maher

All-Ireland Championships

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (9) : 1897, 1918, 1921, 1934, 1936, 1940, 1973, 2018, 2020
• All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship (4): 1935, 1941, 1954, 1957
• All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship (1): 1998
• All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship (3): 1940, 1958, 1984
• All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship: (6): 1987, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2015, 2017
• All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship:(1) 1961 (Limerick City)
• Fr C. F. O'Reilly Cup (Poc Fada) (8): 1899, 1900, 1935, 1941, 1942, 1962, 1963, 1964

Munster Championships

• Munster Senior Hurling Championship (21): 1897, 1910, 1911, 1918, 1921, 1923, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1955, 1973,1974, 1980, 1981, 1994, 1996, 2013, 2019, 2020
• Munster Intermediate Hurling Championship (3): 1968, 1998, 2008
• Munster Junior Hurling Championship (10): 1927, 1935, 1939, 1941,1946, 1948, 1952, 1954, 1957, 1986.
• Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship (8): 1986, 1987, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2011,[3] 2015,[4] 2017[5]
• Munster Minor Hurling Championship (8): 1940, 1958, 1963, 1965, 1984, 2013,[6] 2014,[7] 2019
• Waterford Crystal Cup (2): 2006, 2015[8]
• Munster Senior Hurling League (2) 2018,[9] 2020[10]

Other

• National Hurling League (13): 1933–34, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1946–47, 1970–71, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1991–92, 1997, 2019, 2020
• Players Champions Cup (1): 2018[11]

Awards

• RTÉ Sports Team of the Year Award (1): 2020

• 2018 Limerick county hurling team season