LIMERICK suffered an unexpected 3-20 to 0-24 loss to rivals Clare to close out their round-robin phase of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship at the Gaelic Grounds.
Ahead of the outing, John Kiely’s side were already more or less assured of a berth in the Final, which will now be against Cork – who were 2-25 to 1-22 winners over Waterford at Páirc Uí Chaoimh – at the Ennis Road venue on Saturday week (6pm, throw-in).
Tipperary qualify for the All-Ireland series as third-placed seeds from Munster.
In Leinster, the Final will involve Kilkenny and Galway, with Dublin also through to the business end of the national competition.
- External Walls: Up to €8,000 Grant
- Attic: Up to €1,500 Grant
- Cavity Walls: Up to €1,700 Grant
- Internal Dry Lining: Up to €4,500 Grant
As Joe McDonagh Finalists, Kildare and Laois are both still in the mix for All-Ireland honours.
In the wake of the loss to the Banner, Kiely simply commented: “We’ve parked the round-robin. It’s over now. We’ve qualified out of Munster, we’ve qualified for a Munster final, and we’re very much looking forward to that.”
Limerick: Shane Dowling; Barry Murphy, Dan Morrissey, Mike Casey; Diarmaid Byrnes (0-4), Declan Hannon, Colin Coughlan; Darragh O’Donovan, William O’Donoghue, captain; Gearóid Hegarty (0-2), Cathal O’Neill (0-3), Tom Morrissey (0-7); Séamus Flanagan (0-2), Shane O’Brien, Peter Casey (0-2).
Substitutes: Adam English (0-1), Barry Nash (0-1), Aidan O’Connor (0-1), David Reidy, Donnacha Ó Dálaigh (0-1), Patrick O’Donovan.