YOU CAN NEVER discount Limerick from burying their rivals under an avalanche of white flags, but their 0-36 haul against Tipperary was hardly expected this early in the season.
It’s only three weeks since the Treaty were under the microscope after Waterford overturned them at Walsh Park. That day, John Kiely felt some “soul-searching” was required after being “outfought”.
On Saturday night, it was Liam Cahill declaring that Tipp were “outfought” by Kiely’s resurgent side.
What stood out a mile about Limerick’s display was the sheer hunger. Their unanswered seven-point streak to open the contest was mined primarily from turnovers.
Tipp’s first shot, from Jake Morris, was blocked down by Dan Morrissey, who, alongside Kyle Hayes, was making his first start of the season. They quickly countered with a long ball for the first of Shane O’Brien’s six points.
Next, Aidan O’Connor rumbled a sideline cut to split the posts and snatched another interception to assist Peter Casey.
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They turned over possession again for a Cathal O’Neill wide and an Aaron Gillane shot, which resulted in a pointed 65.
Adam English’s second turnover resulted in a hard-earned O’Brien point and Matthew Fitzgerald’s high fielding led to O’Connor’s point for 0-7 to 0-0.
Fourteen of their 20 first-half points originated from turnovers. They added another 0-7 from that source in the second half.
Cahill noted that Tipp were “second to the breaks” and swamped by Limerick’s aggression in rucks and tackles.
“Everything that Limerick have been renowned for down the years, they produced it again tonight,” said Cahill.
“It’s not that we didn’t see it coming. Of course we did. We just weren’t able to compete.”
He added: “Anyone that had any thoughts of them being gone away, they’re far from it.”
The chasm was such that Limerick topped 50 shots across the 70 minutes.
Counting only scores from play, the scale of Limerick’s superiority was particularly evident. They accumulated 0-31 against Tipp’s 0-10. The Premier were reliant on veteran stickman Noel McGrath for six of those. His 34th-minute opener was their first from play.
Limerick’s usual cast of multiple All-Ireland winners was supplemented on Saturday with relative newcomers in every line. Kiely included five of his Fitzgibbon Cup contingent, who scored a combined 2-26 in UL’s triumph over Mary I.
Some of those youngsters are moving towards their mid-20s and have more than developed the requisite physicality for inter-county action. Yet they have yet to feature on the biggest day of the hurling calendar, which can only reinvigorate the team’s bid to get back there.
The man of the match against Tipp, for example, was a coin toss between O’Connor and O’Brien. Both scored 0-6 from play. O’Connor added five placed balls and plenty of middle-third industry. O’Brien gave the assist or was fouled for another six points.
Limerick's Shane O'Brien signing autographs for young fans. James Lawlor / INPHO
James Lawlor / INPHO / INPHO
Kiely has hinted that Gillane will return to free-taking duties in time. If the Ballybrown prospect continues his current form, that call will become harder to make.
The youngest of the lot, Matthew Fitzgerald, has played every minute apart from a sin-bin spell against Waterford. Kiely heaped praise on the teenager for how he bounced back from that moment.
With a new wave doing more of the heavy lifting, Kiely has been using Tom Morrissey as a scripted substitute for Gearóid Hegarty in the past two games. The Ahane man has scored upon his introduction both days.
Among the over-30 cohort, Darragh O’Donovan’s form stands out, having been hampered by injuries in recent years. Since the 2023 All-Ireland final, he has started just one championship match: last year’s dead-rubber against Clare.
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On Saturday, he, too, appeared revitalised in a busy performance where he handled plenty of ball, scored two points, and could’ve added a goal.
Due consideration must be granted to the weak Tipp challenge. They were down four of their back seven from the All-Ireland final and looked all at sea when it came to winning possession in the opening spell. It’s hard to imagine a similar disparity in Munster Championship fare.
Yet it’s 13 games without victory against Limerick, which signals significant ground to be made up in their head-to-head battle.
The past three league finals have been repeated later that summer, either on All-Ireland final or semi-final day. Given their 2025 league fade-out, LimeriHowck may well decide to keep the foot down and see how far it carries them.
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How Limerick found their mojo and kickstarted their season against Tipp
YOU CAN NEVER discount Limerick from burying their rivals under an avalanche of white flags, but their 0-36 haul against Tipperary was hardly expected this early in the season.
It’s only three weeks since the Treaty were under the microscope after Waterford overturned them at Walsh Park. That day, John Kiely felt some “soul-searching” was required after being “outfought”.
On Saturday night, it was Liam Cahill declaring that Tipp were “outfought” by Kiely’s resurgent side.
What stood out a mile about Limerick’s display was the sheer hunger. Their unanswered seven-point streak to open the contest was mined primarily from turnovers.
Tipp’s first shot, from Jake Morris, was blocked down by Dan Morrissey, who, alongside Kyle Hayes, was making his first start of the season. They quickly countered with a long ball for the first of Shane O’Brien’s six points.
Next, Aidan O’Connor rumbled a sideline cut to split the posts and snatched another interception to assist Peter Casey.
They turned over possession again for a Cathal O’Neill wide and an Aaron Gillane shot, which resulted in a pointed 65.
Adam English’s second turnover resulted in a hard-earned O’Brien point and Matthew Fitzgerald’s high fielding led to O’Connor’s point for 0-7 to 0-0.
Fourteen of their 20 first-half points originated from turnovers. They added another 0-7 from that source in the second half.
Cahill noted that Tipp were “second to the breaks” and swamped by Limerick’s aggression in rucks and tackles.
“Everything that Limerick have been renowned for down the years, they produced it again tonight,” said Cahill.
He added: “Anyone that had any thoughts of them being gone away, they’re far from it.”
The chasm was such that Limerick topped 50 shots across the 70 minutes.
Counting only scores from play, the scale of Limerick’s superiority was particularly evident. They accumulated 0-31 against Tipp’s 0-10. The Premier were reliant on veteran stickman Noel McGrath for six of those. His 34th-minute opener was their first from play.
Limerick’s usual cast of multiple All-Ireland winners was supplemented on Saturday with relative newcomers in every line. Kiely included five of his Fitzgibbon Cup contingent, who scored a combined 2-26 in UL’s triumph over Mary I.
Some of those youngsters are moving towards their mid-20s and have more than developed the requisite physicality for inter-county action. Yet they have yet to feature on the biggest day of the hurling calendar, which can only reinvigorate the team’s bid to get back there.
The man of the match against Tipp, for example, was a coin toss between O’Connor and O’Brien. Both scored 0-6 from play. O’Connor added five placed balls and plenty of middle-third industry. O’Brien gave the assist or was fouled for another six points.
Kiely has hinted that Gillane will return to free-taking duties in time. If the Ballybrown prospect continues his current form, that call will become harder to make.
The youngest of the lot, Matthew Fitzgerald, has played every minute apart from a sin-bin spell against Waterford. Kiely heaped praise on the teenager for how he bounced back from that moment.
With a new wave doing more of the heavy lifting, Kiely has been using Tom Morrissey as a scripted substitute for Gearóid Hegarty in the past two games. The Ahane man has scored upon his introduction both days.
Among the over-30 cohort, Darragh O’Donovan’s form stands out, having been hampered by injuries in recent years. Since the 2023 All-Ireland final, he has started just one championship match: last year’s dead-rubber against Clare.
On Saturday, he, too, appeared revitalised in a busy performance where he handled plenty of ball, scored two points, and could’ve added a goal.
Due consideration must be granted to the weak Tipp challenge. They were down four of their back seven from the All-Ireland final and looked all at sea when it came to winning possession in the opening spell. It’s hard to imagine a similar disparity in Munster Championship fare.
Yet it’s 13 games without victory against Limerick, which signals significant ground to be made up in their head-to-head battle.
The past three league finals have been repeated later that summer, either on All-Ireland final or semi-final day. Given their 2025 league fade-out, LimeriHowck may well decide to keep the foot down and see how far it carries them.
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