WHEN PETER CASEY received his man of the match award after Limerick’s seven-point win over Kilkenny on Sunday, he was surprised to hear that his side had just broken a four-game losing streak.
Limerick ended their 2025 season with defeats to Clare (Munster round-robin), Cork (Munster final) and Dublin (All-Ireland quarter-final). Losing to Waterford in the opening round of their 2026 league was a continuation of that trend, but it was news to Casey who had just picked off five points from play against Kilkenny.
And when the stat was put to him by TG4, he assuredly dismissed any worries of a pressure to perform.
“I didn’t even know that to be honest. There’s no real pressure on us. It’s probably within ourselves [that] we just want to get better every day. Today was another good chance to do it.”
After the Waterford loss, manager John Kiely called on his players to produce a response against Kilkenny.
And Casey, who didn’t feature last week, took his chance to combine with Aaron Gillane for 1-7 in the full-forward line, and earn a first win of the league.
Among Casey’s highlights was this point in the 21st minute. A brilliant pass from Diarmaid Byrnes initially found Gillane but the ball spilled out and came to Casey. Mikey Butler applied some pressure but Casey used his physicality to shrug off the challenge and swing the ball between the posts from a narrow angle.
He showcased his strength in the air to get another point on the half-hour mark, turning quickly to shoot and level the tie at 0-11 to 1-8. (Skip to 1.47 for score)
Here is again in the 42nd minute when Limerick were leading 0-15 to 1-10. Casey receives the ball around midfield and is being closely marked by Rory Garrett along the sideline. He uses his quick feet to lose Garrett twice and score from distance.
He gave an exhibition of shooting and lively forward play throughout.
And now that his team are off the mark in Division 1A, Casey will be hoping to establish a foothold in the Limerick attack and increase his game time from last year when he was on the comeback trail from a second long-term injury in three seasons.
Casey has been part of the Limerick set-up since their breakout All-Ireland success in 2018. And in the interim, he has endured a punishing run of setbacks. To compound matters, those injuries always seemed to occur when he was in sizzling form.
It started in the 2021 All-Ireland final. Having already left his imprint on the game with five points from play, he suffered the dreaded ACL tear just before half-time.
He came off in added time but the injury actually took place in the 28th minute while running in to assist Aaron Gillane who had just made a big fetch in front of the Davin End goal. Point number six was surely on the way for Casey. There was a potential goal chance in the offing too. But as he tried to collect the ball, Casey slumped to the ground in agony. After a few minutes of trying to run it off, he surrendered and was replaced by Graeme Mulcahy.
The Na Piarsaigh man was instrumental in helping Limerick retain the Liam MacCarthy by 16 points that day. And that performance brought some redemption after he was sent off in the All-Ireland semi-final against Waterford.
He capped it all with a deserved All-Star award that year. But a long injury lay-off was the price of his efforts. His brother Mike – a key Limerick defender – was also cursed by the cruciate in 2020, and subsequently had cartilage trouble too.
Peter returned from his cruciate misery and produced a man-of-the-match display in the 2023 All-Ireland final. Another five-point haul as Limerick inflicted a 0-30 to 2-15 defeat on Kilkenny to lift the Liam MacCarthy for the fourth year in a row. It was also Casey’s first time to complete a full All-Ireland final after making three substitute appearances in 2018, 2020 and 2022 along with the abrupt end to his 2021 showing.
Limerick's Peter Casey, Mike Casey and Gearoid Hegarty after winning the 2023 All-Ireland final. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
Limerick were chasing that unprecedented five-in-a-row in 2024 when Casey suffered another significant injury. This time, it was a broken ankle during a 15-point win over Tipperary in the Munster SHC. It was another man-of-the-match display as Casey registered 1-2, but his goal in the 53rd minute brought another unfortunate end to his involvement in the game. Tipperary’s Ronan Maher jumped to try and block his shot, resulting in a tangle of legs that left Casey visibly distressed.
The images looked worrying at the time as he was stretchered off, and a statement followed the next day to confirm the severity of Casey’s injury and that he would need to undergo surgery.
Casey mounted another mammoth recovery and was back in the Limerick jersey during the 2025 league. He made a substitute appearance in their Round 6 win over Galway and marked his return with a point from play.
Kiely pointed to the depth of Casey’s resilience when he spoke to the media after that game. But, as quoted by the Irish Examiner, he also outlined the challenge involved in clocking more game time.
“I must credit the medical team with the work that they’ve done with him, and the effort he’s put in himself to get himself back on the pitch again. Many of us leaving the Gaelic Grounds that day never thought we’d see him in a green jersey again and it’s great to see him back.
“But I think he’d be the first to put his hand up and say, ‘listen, I need plenty of games to get up to the match pace of it and get the sharpness going.’”
Casey didn’t feature in their last league game against Wexford and was largely restricted to match minutes off the bench during the championship.
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He came on in the 58th minute of their Munster opener against Tipperary and scored two points off the bench against Cork. Casey was deployed again for their second meeting with the Rebels in the Munster final. He was introduced in the second half of normal time and scored a point as Limerick fell short after a dramatic penalty shootout.
His only start of the provincial competition was against Clare where he clipped over two points before concluding his 2025 campaign with another substitute appearance in the All-Ireland quarter-final. But his point from play wasn’t enough to prevent a shock defeat to Dublin.
After all that suffering, the runway appears to be clear for Casey. His club form should also be noted in his latest comeback, scoring three points in last year’s Limerick SHC final as Na Piarsaigh defeated Doon for their ninth senior county title since 2011.
With injury worries hopefully behind him, he will be determined to be a first-choice forward for Limerick this year. There’s even more for the team to fight for in 2026. Their Munster seven-in-a-row charge was thwarted by Cork last year, while their last All-Ireland title was in 2023.
A fully fit Casey could be a crucial factor in conquering both of those missions. The All-Ireland champions Tipperary will be next up for Limerick on Saturday, 21 February.
Kiely called on his players to produce a response this week, but Casey is making a strong case for what he can do across the whole season.
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All-Star Casey putting injury horrors behind him to fight for more central Limerick role
WHEN PETER CASEY received his man of the match award after Limerick’s seven-point win over Kilkenny on Sunday, he was surprised to hear that his side had just broken a four-game losing streak.
Limerick ended their 2025 season with defeats to Clare (Munster round-robin), Cork (Munster final) and Dublin (All-Ireland quarter-final). Losing to Waterford in the opening round of their 2026 league was a continuation of that trend, but it was news to Casey who had just picked off five points from play against Kilkenny.
And when the stat was put to him by TG4, he assuredly dismissed any worries of a pressure to perform.
“I didn’t even know that to be honest. There’s no real pressure on us. It’s probably within ourselves [that] we just want to get better every day. Today was another good chance to do it.”
After the Waterford loss, manager John Kiely called on his players to produce a response against Kilkenny.
And Casey, who didn’t feature last week, took his chance to combine with Aaron Gillane for 1-7 in the full-forward line, and earn a first win of the league.
Among Casey’s highlights was this point in the 21st minute. A brilliant pass from Diarmaid Byrnes initially found Gillane but the ball spilled out and came to Casey. Mikey Butler applied some pressure but Casey used his physicality to shrug off the challenge and swing the ball between the posts from a narrow angle.
He showcased his strength in the air to get another point on the half-hour mark, turning quickly to shoot and level the tie at 0-11 to 1-8. (Skip to 1.47 for score)
Here is again in the 42nd minute when Limerick were leading 0-15 to 1-10. Casey receives the ball around midfield and is being closely marked by Rory Garrett along the sideline. He uses his quick feet to lose Garrett twice and score from distance.
He gave an exhibition of shooting and lively forward play throughout.
And now that his team are off the mark in Division 1A, Casey will be hoping to establish a foothold in the Limerick attack and increase his game time from last year when he was on the comeback trail from a second long-term injury in three seasons.
Casey has been part of the Limerick set-up since their breakout All-Ireland success in 2018. And in the interim, he has endured a punishing run of setbacks. To compound matters, those injuries always seemed to occur when he was in sizzling form.
It started in the 2021 All-Ireland final. Having already left his imprint on the game with five points from play, he suffered the dreaded ACL tear just before half-time.
He came off in added time but the injury actually took place in the 28th minute while running in to assist Aaron Gillane who had just made a big fetch in front of the Davin End goal. Point number six was surely on the way for Casey. There was a potential goal chance in the offing too. But as he tried to collect the ball, Casey slumped to the ground in agony. After a few minutes of trying to run it off, he surrendered and was replaced by Graeme Mulcahy.
The Na Piarsaigh man was instrumental in helping Limerick retain the Liam MacCarthy by 16 points that day. And that performance brought some redemption after he was sent off in the All-Ireland semi-final against Waterford.
He capped it all with a deserved All-Star award that year. But a long injury lay-off was the price of his efforts. His brother Mike – a key Limerick defender – was also cursed by the cruciate in 2020, and subsequently had cartilage trouble too.
Peter returned from his cruciate misery and produced a man-of-the-match display in the 2023 All-Ireland final. Another five-point haul as Limerick inflicted a 0-30 to 2-15 defeat on Kilkenny to lift the Liam MacCarthy for the fourth year in a row. It was also Casey’s first time to complete a full All-Ireland final after making three substitute appearances in 2018, 2020 and 2022 along with the abrupt end to his 2021 showing.
Limerick were chasing that unprecedented five-in-a-row in 2024 when Casey suffered another significant injury. This time, it was a broken ankle during a 15-point win over Tipperary in the Munster SHC. It was another man-of-the-match display as Casey registered 1-2, but his goal in the 53rd minute brought another unfortunate end to his involvement in the game. Tipperary’s Ronan Maher jumped to try and block his shot, resulting in a tangle of legs that left Casey visibly distressed.
The images looked worrying at the time as he was stretchered off, and a statement followed the next day to confirm the severity of Casey’s injury and that he would need to undergo surgery.
Casey mounted another mammoth recovery and was back in the Limerick jersey during the 2025 league. He made a substitute appearance in their Round 6 win over Galway and marked his return with a point from play.
Kiely pointed to the depth of Casey’s resilience when he spoke to the media after that game. But, as quoted by the Irish Examiner, he also outlined the challenge involved in clocking more game time.
“I must credit the medical team with the work that they’ve done with him, and the effort he’s put in himself to get himself back on the pitch again. Many of us leaving the Gaelic Grounds that day never thought we’d see him in a green jersey again and it’s great to see him back.
“But I think he’d be the first to put his hand up and say, ‘listen, I need plenty of games to get up to the match pace of it and get the sharpness going.’”
Casey didn’t feature in their last league game against Wexford and was largely restricted to match minutes off the bench during the championship.
He came on in the 58th minute of their Munster opener against Tipperary and scored two points off the bench against Cork. Casey was deployed again for their second meeting with the Rebels in the Munster final. He was introduced in the second half of normal time and scored a point as Limerick fell short after a dramatic penalty shootout.
His only start of the provincial competition was against Clare where he clipped over two points before concluding his 2025 campaign with another substitute appearance in the All-Ireland quarter-final. But his point from play wasn’t enough to prevent a shock defeat to Dublin.
After all that suffering, the runway appears to be clear for Casey. His club form should also be noted in his latest comeback, scoring three points in last year’s Limerick SHC final as Na Piarsaigh defeated Doon for their ninth senior county title since 2011.
With injury worries hopefully behind him, he will be determined to be a first-choice forward for Limerick this year. There’s even more for the team to fight for in 2026. Their Munster seven-in-a-row charge was thwarted by Cork last year, while their last All-Ireland title was in 2023.
A fully fit Casey could be a crucial factor in conquering both of those missions. The All-Ireland champions Tipperary will be next up for Limerick on Saturday, 21 February.
Kiely called on his players to produce a response this week, but Casey is making a strong case for what he can do across the whole season.
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GAA Hurling Limerick GAA Peter Casey Star Man