LIMERICK conclude the group phase of their Munster Senior Hurling Championship with a visit from demoted national kingpins Tipperary to the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday, throw-in 4pm (referee: Colm Lyons, Cork).
At the weekend, the flattering victory by John Kiely’s side over Waterford – an overall 30th in a Championship situation – at the Ennis Road venue eliminated both the Suirsiders and Tipp – who were well beaten by Clare in Thurles the previous night – from the race for Mick Mackey (Munster) and Liam MacCarthy (All-Ireland) honours, and guaranteed Limerick’s progress into the All-Ireland series.
Since the round robin structure was introduced in 2018, Limerick (4 points) have never lost at home to the Premier County and that statistic is unlikely to be altered in a few days’ time.
At the same time, Cork (6) and Clare (4) meet at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
The lineup for the Munster Final on Sunday June 7 will only be confirmed following the results of this weekend’s fixtures, with the participants/venue known by tea time.
A home win for Limerick will catapult Kiely’s outfit into an eight consecutive final.
Goals, neither of which were five-star, from Peter Casey and Gearóid Hegarty in the closing quarter were what won Limerick a second couple of points in Championship 2026.
Veteran Hegarty was selected as Man of the Match.
“They weren’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but there was great desire in our group to try to get those couple of goals,” acknowledged the winning manager John Kiely.
“We’re getting them every day now and that wasn’t always the case in the past. Our goal-scoring rate is well up on previous years. We want to keep that going.”
He added: “For us, next weekend is really a Munster semi-final.”
Sprung from the bench, captain Cian Lynch (0-3), Mike Casey, David Reidy, Colin Coughlan and Tom Morrissey (0-3) all contributed hugely.
There were also some smashing scores early on from Cathal O’Neill and near the end from Darragh O’Donovan.
Interestingly, US Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk will be a guest of Limerick GAA Honorary Life President JP McManus at the Ennis Road grounds in a few days’ time.