THE Limerick senior hurling and football team will return to competitive competition over the coming days in the form of the Munster Hurling and McGrath Cups.
John Kiely’s All-Ireland hurling champions will be in Munster Hurling Cup action on Friday January 14th as they face the winners of Tipperary or Kerry in the semi-final of the competition in the TUS Gaelic Grounds.
If they are victorious, they will advance to the final which is scheduled for Saturday January 22nd with the venue to be confirmed.
Limerick are current champions having won the competition in January 2020 in the Gaelic Grounds. On that same evening, the footballers claimed McGrath cup honours with both sides beating Cork.
Cork vs Limerick
Limerick’s Cian Lynch raises the cup at the end
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Ken Sutton
The opening round of the Co-Op Superstores Munster Hurling Cup will be the first opportunity for new managers Colm Bonnar and Stephen Molumphy to take charge of Tipperary and Kerry respectively in a competitive fixture on Saturday January 8th at 2pm in Austin Stack Park Tralee.
The winners will travel to play the All-Ireland champions Limerick in the semi-final at the TUS Gaelic Grounds in the Shannonsiders first game since last year’s All-Ireland Final success.
Meanwhile, Clare will host Waterford under lights in the other semi-final scheduled for Friday January 14th at Sixmilebridge with the 2022 Co-Op Superstores Munster Hurling Cup Final pencilled in for Saturday January 22nd.
The launch of the competition took place on December 20th at the Co-Op Superstores in Raheen, Limerick which is the flagship store in Dairygold’s retail network, in the presence of players from the participating counties – Diarmuid Ryan (Clare), Fionan MacKessy (Kerry), Barry Nash (Limerick), Barry Hogan (Tipperary) and Austin Gleeson (Waterford).
Commenting at the launch, Munster GAA Chairman Liam Lenihan said:
“The Munster Council is pleased to facilitate this pre-season competition for our counties as it provides participating teams with a great opportunity to prepare for the very competitive Allianz League starting in early February.
“Great work is been done by Coaching and Games Development in all Munster counties and this competition gives counties the opportunity to introduce exciting young talent in to their team set-up and give them a flavour of the standards required at the top level.
“Thanks to Co-Op Superstores for their continued support as competition sponsor and we look forward to working with them in the weeks ahead.”
Cork vs Limerick
Limerick’s Iain Corbett and Donal O’Sullivan with the McGrath Cup
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Ken Sutton
The Limerick footballers will make their return to action first on January fifth when they travel to Austin Stacks Park Tralee to take on Kerry in the McGrath Cup opener. A week later, Limerick will welcome Tipperary to the TUS Gaelic Grounds in their second game.
Should Limerick win both games or top their group, they will face either Clare, Waterford or Cork in the final on Saturday January 15th.
2022 Co-op Superstores Munster Hurling Cup
Quarter-Final – Kerry v Tipperary – Saturday January 8th at 2pm in Austin Stack Park Tralee
Semi-Final – Clare v Waterford – Friday January 14th at 7pm in Sixmilebridge
Semi-Final – Limerick v Tipperary or Kerry – Friday January 14th at 7pm in the TUS Gaelic Grounds
Final – Saturday January 22nd
2022 McGrath Cup Football Fixtures
Group 1
Waterford v Clare – Sunday January 2nd at 2pm in Fraher Field Dungarvan
Clare v Cork – Thursday January 6th at 7pm in Miltown Malbay
Cork v Waterford – Tuesday January 11th at 7pm in Páirc Uí Rinn
Group 2
Kerry v Limerick – Wednesday January 5th at 7pm in Austin Stack Park Tralee
Limerick v Tipperary – Sunday January 9th at 2pm in Mick Neville Park Rathkeale
Tipperary v Kerry – Wednesday January 12th at 7pm in Dr. Morris Park Thurles
Final – Group 1 winners v Group 2 winners – Saturday January 15th
The post FIXTURES | All-Ireland champions Limerick await either Tipp or Kerry in Munster Hurling Cup semi-final next Friday appeared first on Sporting Limerick.
