WHERE DOES THIS performance rank in the pantheon of signature Limerick showings?
Consider the backdrop as they arrived in Ennis at lunchtime yesterday.
Stung by last week’s reversal at the hands of Cork and on the backfoot early in the Munster round-robin race, Limerick were also aiming to halt a losing streak of four championship games. Caveats applied to those results as they fielded a changed side against Clare last May and only lost on penalties in June’s epic Munster decider against Cork, yet it remained an unwelcome trend for their camp.
Having operated without Aaron Gillane last week, they were shorn of Cian Lynch’s presence here, both crowned Hurler of the Year winners since 2021.
And yet with those concerns swirling around, Limerick forcefully dismissed any doubts about their well being. This was as powerful a response as John Kiely could have wished for, as they blew Clare away by 15 points.
If Kiely lamented their inaccuracy at times against Cork a week previously, that issue did not surface here. Limerick’s conversion rate of 61% (24 scores against Cork) was improved to 76% (32 scores against Clare).
The tone was set early on when Aidan O’Connor found the net, showcasing Limerick’s clinical edge, and the fact that Barry Nash provided the assist, demonstrated that the attacking threats were coming from all over the pitch. If Cork’s poor defending was a root cause of Diarmaid Byrnes goal from a free last week, there was no trace of doubt in his emphatic finish to the net from a penalty in the 19th minute.
It hasn't taken long for the leaky Clare defence to become evident
Periods of in game drift have impacted Limerick of late yet there was no let-up here. Last week in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, they were in electric form early on and had racked up 0-10 inside the opening 16 minutes. For the rest of the game Limerick only scored 1-13, with 1-7 of that registered in the second half.
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Yesterday they had 1-7 on the board by the 16th minute mark and struck 1-23 over the remainder of the match. The Cian Lynch dismissal was a key turning point in a closer game against Cork, but even though they were comfortably clear when Adam English was red-carded against Clare, Limerick still reeled off eight points from there to the finish. There was a contrast between Clare’s meekness and Cork’s improvement influencing the respective outcomes, yet Limerick’s consistency of performance shone through as they hammered their foot to the floor throughout.
Clare's Peter Duggan and Limerick's Nickie Quaid. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
As the question persisted about who would take up the creative and scoring slack in the absence of Gillane and Lynch, there was a rush of players to answer it. Limerick had ten different scorers and their starting forward line hit 1-18 from play. The trio of Cathal O’Neill, Shane O’Brien, and Aidan O’Connor – the new generation that Limerick are looking to become dominant characters – registered 1-12 between them from play, while O’Connor’s free-taking was on the money.
Limerick's Barry Nash and Aidan O'Connor celebrate after yesterday's game. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Limerick hit the high notes throughout and restored the front-running status they had assumed in the wake of their league final triumph. This was the biggest championship scoring tally they have recorded since their 2021 All-Ireland final destruction of Cork and their highest in a round-robin game in Munster.
They have two home matches to come against Waterford and Tipperary. Across the six matches they have played against that pair in the Gaelic Grounds in the round-robin era, Limerick’s return is a perfect six wins. Having navigated their way through away days, the return of home comforts hardens the view that qualification for another Munster final is on the cards.
In the opposition camp, where does this performance rank in the Clare era under Brian Lohan?
Their manager specifically put the first-half showing at the bottom of the pile since he took charge in October 2019.
“I’d say the first half performance was probably the most disappointing (now in his seventh campaign as manager), yeah.
“We probably did turn around performances (before) but I don’t think we had a performance as poor as that. We have a lot of soul searching to do now over the next while.”
Clare manager Brian Lohan. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
In the post-Covid period in Munster hurling, Clare have prided themselves on the blend of aggression and forcefulness they brought to the party on championship days against Limerick. Across 2022-2025, Clare played Limerick on seven occasions in Munster, winning twice, drawing once and losing four times.
Clare didn’t always enter the winners enclosure but they could always be satisfied in the aftermath that they had been highly competitive. They lost one Munster final after extra-time and were defeated in another by a point. Limerick hoovered up the majority of the trophies yet Clare were an outfit that tested them in several ways.
That didn’t happen yesterday, a game that was a throwback to 2019 before Lohan took charge, when Limerick ruthlessly mowed Clare down in the Gaelic Grounds by 1-28 to 0-13. There hasn’t been a sizeable gulf between the two sides since ,but it was on show in this latest instalment.
All the defensive shortcomings in evidence when they shipped four goals against Waterford were ruthlessly exposed here. Having conceded 14 goals in their last six championship matches, it’s a clear area that needs to be rectified. Clare’s forward line could not bail them out, the team’s overall hopes undone by the frequency of their turnovers and a display that was pockmarked by errors.
For Clare there is a crumb of comfort as they head to Thurles next time out, a location they have found favourable. In the round-robin series they have won there in 2018, 2022 and 2024. Not all of those games were weighted with the same kind of pressure as this one will be.
Clare's Cathal Malone. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
The most relevant comparison is the fixture eight years ago – a match that hinged on the dramatic late swing when Jake Morris saw his goalbound effort collide with the upright as Tipperary were four points clear, and Clare counter-attacked off the rebound to net through Ian Galvin.
Clare will hope to extract something from that standout moment in their modern hurling history. When the need was greatest, they stood tall.
After yesterday’s hammering, they need hope from any source they can find, whereas for Limerick there is positivity everywhere they look right now.
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Limerick deliver emphatic Munster response as Clare left dazed and confused
WHERE DOES THIS performance rank in the pantheon of signature Limerick showings?
Consider the backdrop as they arrived in Ennis at lunchtime yesterday.
Stung by last week’s reversal at the hands of Cork and on the backfoot early in the Munster round-robin race, Limerick were also aiming to halt a losing streak of four championship games. Caveats applied to those results as they fielded a changed side against Clare last May and only lost on penalties in June’s epic Munster decider against Cork, yet it remained an unwelcome trend for their camp.
Having operated without Aaron Gillane last week, they were shorn of Cian Lynch’s presence here, both crowned Hurler of the Year winners since 2021.
And yet with those concerns swirling around, Limerick forcefully dismissed any doubts about their well being. This was as powerful a response as John Kiely could have wished for, as they blew Clare away by 15 points.
If Kiely lamented their inaccuracy at times against Cork a week previously, that issue did not surface here. Limerick’s conversion rate of 61% (24 scores against Cork) was improved to 76% (32 scores against Clare).
The tone was set early on when Aidan O’Connor found the net, showcasing Limerick’s clinical edge, and the fact that Barry Nash provided the assist, demonstrated that the attacking threats were coming from all over the pitch. If Cork’s poor defending was a root cause of Diarmaid Byrnes goal from a free last week, there was no trace of doubt in his emphatic finish to the net from a penalty in the 19th minute.
Periods of in game drift have impacted Limerick of late yet there was no let-up here. Last week in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, they were in electric form early on and had racked up 0-10 inside the opening 16 minutes. For the rest of the game Limerick only scored 1-13, with 1-7 of that registered in the second half.
Yesterday they had 1-7 on the board by the 16th minute mark and struck 1-23 over the remainder of the match. The Cian Lynch dismissal was a key turning point in a closer game against Cork, but even though they were comfortably clear when Adam English was red-carded against Clare, Limerick still reeled off eight points from there to the finish. There was a contrast between Clare’s meekness and Cork’s improvement influencing the respective outcomes, yet Limerick’s consistency of performance shone through as they hammered their foot to the floor throughout.
As the question persisted about who would take up the creative and scoring slack in the absence of Gillane and Lynch, there was a rush of players to answer it. Limerick had ten different scorers and their starting forward line hit 1-18 from play. The trio of Cathal O’Neill, Shane O’Brien, and Aidan O’Connor – the new generation that Limerick are looking to become dominant characters – registered 1-12 between them from play, while O’Connor’s free-taking was on the money.
Limerick hit the high notes throughout and restored the front-running status they had assumed in the wake of their league final triumph. This was the biggest championship scoring tally they have recorded since their 2021 All-Ireland final destruction of Cork and their highest in a round-robin game in Munster.
They have two home matches to come against Waterford and Tipperary. Across the six matches they have played against that pair in the Gaelic Grounds in the round-robin era, Limerick’s return is a perfect six wins. Having navigated their way through away days, the return of home comforts hardens the view that qualification for another Munster final is on the cards.
In the opposition camp, where does this performance rank in the Clare era under Brian Lohan?
Their manager specifically put the first-half showing at the bottom of the pile since he took charge in October 2019.
“I’d say the first half performance was probably the most disappointing (now in his seventh campaign as manager), yeah.
“We probably did turn around performances (before) but I don’t think we had a performance as poor as that. We have a lot of soul searching to do now over the next while.”
In the post-Covid period in Munster hurling, Clare have prided themselves on the blend of aggression and forcefulness they brought to the party on championship days against Limerick. Across 2022-2025, Clare played Limerick on seven occasions in Munster, winning twice, drawing once and losing four times.
Clare didn’t always enter the winners enclosure but they could always be satisfied in the aftermath that they had been highly competitive. They lost one Munster final after extra-time and were defeated in another by a point. Limerick hoovered up the majority of the trophies yet Clare were an outfit that tested them in several ways.
That didn’t happen yesterday, a game that was a throwback to 2019 before Lohan took charge, when Limerick ruthlessly mowed Clare down in the Gaelic Grounds by 1-28 to 0-13. There hasn’t been a sizeable gulf between the two sides since ,but it was on show in this latest instalment.
All the defensive shortcomings in evidence when they shipped four goals against Waterford were ruthlessly exposed here. Having conceded 14 goals in their last six championship matches, it’s a clear area that needs to be rectified. Clare’s forward line could not bail them out, the team’s overall hopes undone by the frequency of their turnovers and a display that was pockmarked by errors.
For Clare there is a crumb of comfort as they head to Thurles next time out, a location they have found favourable. In the round-robin series they have won there in 2018, 2022 and 2024. Not all of those games were weighted with the same kind of pressure as this one will be.
The most relevant comparison is the fixture eight years ago – a match that hinged on the dramatic late swing when Jake Morris saw his goalbound effort collide with the upright as Tipperary were four points clear, and Clare counter-attacked off the rebound to net through Ian Galvin.
Clare will hope to extract something from that standout moment in their modern hurling history. When the need was greatest, they stood tall.
After yesterday’s hammering, they need hope from any source they can find, whereas for Limerick there is positivity everywhere they look right now.
*****
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