EVER SINCE LIMERICK matched the four-in-a-row record for consecutive All-Ireland titles, they have been in the discussion for the greatest team of all time.
Now that they’ve come back after a break and won another, they’ve added another significant feather to their cap.
After Kilkenny’s five-in-a-row bid was derailed in 2010, they came back and won two further doubles. When the Kerry footballers were denied their drive for five in 1982, they came back after a two-year gap and won three more.
It was a marker of their greatness, that regenerative ability to slip off the pedestal and climb back up.
The Cork four-in-a-row team of the 1940s came back for one more and young Christy Ring would add another treble in the next decade. Dublin kept the roll going longer than anyone with six-in-a-row, but still came back for another in 2023.
Limerick’s proximity to the legendary Kilkenny team that managed 11 Liam MacCarthy triumphs in 16 seasons – cramming in eight across one 10-year span – means they will forever be this team’s benchmark.
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In terms of raw numbers, the Cats remain a handful ahead of Limerick’s six, although the age profile of this Treaty team remains favourable enough.
John Kiely has previously referenced the extended playing careers possible for players willing to “stretch the envelope” with advances in strength and conditioning, nutrition, and medical programmes.
“They’re not made of metal or steel. They don’t rust, they don’t corrode. The body is designed to renew, to heal, to get stronger. It’s what you do with it rather than what it’ll do to you,” he said last year.
“The support that’s there for the players now means that they can go on for many more years than what they would have done 20 years ago, even.”
Limerick’s story is not yet fully written. Where Cork had traded favouritism with the Treaty for spells during the past two seasons, Kiely’s side will enter 2027 in pole position.
Limerick's Adam English and Aaron Gillane celebrate with the Liam MacCarthy Cup. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
What Limerick can lay claim to, above all other legendary teams, is their finals record. In 18 major finals (six All-Irelands, seven Munsters, and four National Hurling Leagues), Limerick have won 17. The only one they lost was in a penalty shoot-out. What other team in any sport can compete with that conversion rate?
Even without producing the untouchable standard of hurling from their 2020-23 era across the season, Limerick still unfurled a comparably brilliant final performance to wrap up a clean sweep of titles for the third time in seven seasons.
Look at the numbers behind some of those deciders. Limerick have won their six All-Irelands by an aggregate total of 50 points. Their average score has been 1-29, exactly the mark they achieved on Sunday. Their average concession has been 1-21.
Speaking about the double-digit gap between Limerick and Galway at the weekend, Kiely said: “That might have shown a margin of difference, but it was one that we earned by sheer application and quality in what we did. It wasn’t anything to do with Galway.
“It was our quality, our intensity that we brought to the game, the way we physically went after it, and we just were relentless in that regard, and when we got chances, we took them.”
Paying tribute, Micheál Donoghue said: “You want the biggest performance of the year on the biggest day… On the biggest day, they gave their best performance in a long time.”
Amid an answer about Gearóid Hegarty’s influence, Kiely added: “We have a room full of leaders and that has been a key feature of this group. When it mattered most, there was always somebody willing to put their hand up and make the hard yards.”
Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
With one more national title, this Limerick team would account for exactly half of the All-Irelands brought into the city across almost 140 years of hurling. They have transformed the county’s sporting identity and self-image.
Their legacy may be told for decades to come. Last month, Limerick produced their first All-Ireland minor title since the GAA’s centenary year, 1984. Senior selector Liam Cronin characterised it as a “very Limerick-like performance” built around resilience, work rate, and “a lot of traits that our boys would pride themselves on”.
This Limerick team will forever be in the conversation for hurling’s greatest team. Unlike their competitors for that crown, they have more medals to win.
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Where do Limerick sit in the pantheon of hurling’s greatest teams?
EVER SINCE LIMERICK matched the four-in-a-row record for consecutive All-Ireland titles, they have been in the discussion for the greatest team of all time.
Now that they’ve come back after a break and won another, they’ve added another significant feather to their cap.
After Kilkenny’s five-in-a-row bid was derailed in 2010, they came back and won two further doubles. When the Kerry footballers were denied their drive for five in 1982, they came back after a two-year gap and won three more.
It was a marker of their greatness, that regenerative ability to slip off the pedestal and climb back up.
The Cork four-in-a-row team of the 1940s came back for one more and young Christy Ring would add another treble in the next decade. Dublin kept the roll going longer than anyone with six-in-a-row, but still came back for another in 2023.
Limerick’s proximity to the legendary Kilkenny team that managed 11 Liam MacCarthy triumphs in 16 seasons – cramming in eight across one 10-year span – means they will forever be this team’s benchmark.
In terms of raw numbers, the Cats remain a handful ahead of Limerick’s six, although the age profile of this Treaty team remains favourable enough.
John Kiely has previously referenced the extended playing careers possible for players willing to “stretch the envelope” with advances in strength and conditioning, nutrition, and medical programmes.
“They’re not made of metal or steel. They don’t rust, they don’t corrode. The body is designed to renew, to heal, to get stronger. It’s what you do with it rather than what it’ll do to you,” he said last year.
Limerick’s story is not yet fully written. Where Cork had traded favouritism with the Treaty for spells during the past two seasons, Kiely’s side will enter 2027 in pole position.
What Limerick can lay claim to, above all other legendary teams, is their finals record. In 18 major finals (six All-Irelands, seven Munsters, and four National Hurling Leagues), Limerick have won 17. The only one they lost was in a penalty shoot-out. What other team in any sport can compete with that conversion rate?
Even without producing the untouchable standard of hurling from their 2020-23 era across the season, Limerick still unfurled a comparably brilliant final performance to wrap up a clean sweep of titles for the third time in seven seasons.
Look at the numbers behind some of those deciders. Limerick have won their six All-Irelands by an aggregate total of 50 points. Their average score has been 1-29, exactly the mark they achieved on Sunday. Their average concession has been 1-21.
Speaking about the double-digit gap between Limerick and Galway at the weekend, Kiely said: “That might have shown a margin of difference, but it was one that we earned by sheer application and quality in what we did. It wasn’t anything to do with Galway.
Paying tribute, Micheál Donoghue said: “You want the biggest performance of the year on the biggest day… On the biggest day, they gave their best performance in a long time.”
Amid an answer about Gearóid Hegarty’s influence, Kiely added: “We have a room full of leaders and that has been a key feature of this group. When it mattered most, there was always somebody willing to put their hand up and make the hard yards.”
With one more national title, this Limerick team would account for exactly half of the All-Irelands brought into the city across almost 140 years of hurling. They have transformed the county’s sporting identity and self-image.
Their legacy may be told for decades to come. Last month, Limerick produced their first All-Ireland minor title since the GAA’s centenary year, 1984. Senior selector Liam Cronin characterised it as a “very Limerick-like performance” built around resilience, work rate, and “a lot of traits that our boys would pride themselves on”.
This Limerick team will forever be in the conversation for hurling’s greatest team. Unlike their competitors for that crown, they have more medals to win.
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