GAA
This Sunday will be the tenth meeting of the sides in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final.
Historic rivals Limerick and Kilkenny meet this Sunday with Liam MacCarthy honours on the line in a highly anticipated clash.
Limerick are seeking a three in a row while Brian Cody is looking for a 12th title at the helm of the Cats.
Their last meeting in the final came in 2007, in the midst of Kilkenny’s four in a row charge as Limerick had to wait 45 years between wins over the Cats prior to 2018.
Their recent history has been interesting to say the least with the Cats the last team to beat Limerick in the championship, with that win coming three years ago.
Ahead of Sunday’s game we look back on the past five championship meetings which have been dominated by the Cats as they have suffered just one loss in that time.
Kilkenny 4-16 Limerick 1-16 (All Ireland Hurling Quarter Final)
29 July 2012 in Semple Stadium
Four goal Kilkenny did enough to see off John Allen’s men in Thurles after a stellar encounter.
Without a win over the Cats since 1973, Limerick took the game to the Cats from the off. Points from Shane Dowling and Niall Moran kept them in touch early on before David Breen’s 12th minute goal fire them into the lead.
Paudie O’Brien extended the advantage but a quickfire brace from Henry Shefflin prior to the half turned the contest.
The Ballyhale Shamrocks man had two inside three minutes, first capitalising on a mix up in the defence before finishing with a delicate finish for the second.
Limerick responded through Graeme Mulcahy and Dowling to draw level but Kilkenny had the final three scores of the half for a 2-7 to 0-9 lead.
But Kilkenny tightened up at the back in the second half and by the 55th minute, they had put the game to bed, again firing a pair of goals back to back.
Michael Fennelly had the first while his brother Colin followed suit less than a minute later.
Richie Hogan was sent off and Limerick rallied but it was too little too late as Kilkenny ended their season before going on to retain their All-Ireland title.
Kilkenny 2-13 Limerick 0-17 (All Ireland Hurling Semi-Final)
10 August 2014 in Croke Park
An epic encounter in biblical like conditions but Limerick’s 41-year wait for a win over Kilkenny continued as Cody’s men got the win in GAA HQ.
Declan Hannon, who finished with 0-5 from play and Donal O’Grady got Limerick off the mark as Kilkenny couldn’t cope with their intensity.
That lead was 0-6 to 0-4 after the quarter hour mark with five different men getting their name on the scoresheet.
One of those was Shane Dowling and his audacious one handed strike had Limerick three clear with a half an hour on the clock.
But as the rain bucketed down, Richie Hogan gave Kilkenny the lifeline they needed as his goal was enough for a 1-9 to 0-10 lead at the break.
With the conditions somehow worsening, Limerick roared back into the contest and efforts from Dowling and Seanie Tobin had them two clear with just over a quarter of an hour to play.
But on 56 minutes, Kilkenny again had the perfect tonic, Eoin Larkin getting a sublime flick on a high delivery for their second goal.
Hannon reduced the margin to one but Kilkenny doggedly kept the Shannonsiders at bay as they held out for the two point win before going on to win the All-Ireland.
Kilkenny 0-20 Limerick 0-17 (All Ireland Hurling Qualifiers Round 1)
1 July 2017 in Nowlan Park
Kilkenny ended John Kiely’s maiden season in the Limerick job without a win, getting the job done in Nowlan Park in the first round of the qualifiers.
Kilkenny had the first two scores at home but by the 22nd minute the teams were level at 0-4 apiece with Kyle Hayes, Gearoid Hegarty and Shane Dowling finding the target.
Walter Walsh had a trio of first half scores from play and he proved the difference in the first period as it read 0-10 to 0-8 in Kilkenny’s favour at the interval.
But Limerick started the better after the restart and Hayes had levelled within ten minutes at 0-12 apiece.
However, six of the next seven scores came from the Cats as they made their charge. Scores from substitutes Barry Nash and Pat Ryan did Limerick within two approaching extra-time but Kilkenny finished strong for a three point win to conclude the Shannonsiders campaign.
Limerick 0-27 Kilkenny 1-22 (All Ireland Hurling Quarter Final)
15 July 2018 in Semple Stadium
Limerick finally get the monkey off their back with a first win over Kilkenny in the championship in 45-years.
Kiely’s men needed a late rally after the Cats refused to be put down in a titanic quarter-final battle in Thurles.
Late substitute Richie Hogan got Kilkenny on the scoresheet first and while Seamus Flanagan replied in kind, Kilkenny had the next three scores as Kiely’s side were slow off the mark.
That lead was increased to 0-7 to 0-3 after 17 minutes as Limerick rued a missed goal chance from Aaron Gillane, the first of a string of point blank saves from Eoin Murphy.
But Limerick did slowly come into the game and scores from Gillane, Graeme Mulcahy, Diarmaid Byrnes and Declan Hannon had the teams level at 0-8 apiece.
Limerick continued in this vein as Gearoid Hegarty, Darragh O’Donovan and Tom Morrissey all found the target.
Conor Fogarty reduced arrears with the final score of the half as Limerick led 0-15 to 0-12 at the interval.
TJ Reid and Hegarty exchanged scores to start the second period with Murphy again standing in Limerick’s path of goal.
And Kilkenny made Limerick pay for their inaccuracy in front of goal as scores from Richie Leahy pulled them one clear before Mulcahy levelled.
Peter Casey made his mark from the bench and Donovan had Limerick ahead before Hogan struck for the games only goal with less than ten to play.
Kiely’s youthful side showed tremendous spirit to hit three on the bounce to move ahead again but Leahy was on hand to level heading into injury time.
But when needed most, Tom Morrissey produced the goods, with an excellent solo score before Gillane rounded off the scoring for an epic win.
History tells us that Limerick followed the win up with victories over Cork and Galway for a first All-Ireland title since 1973.
Kilkenny 1-21 Limerick 2-17 (All Ireland Hurling Semi-Final)
27 July 2019 in Croke Park
Limerick’s hopes of retaining the All-Ireland title were dashed as Brian Cody’s men avenged the defeat from the previous season, leading from start to finish.
Paying little heed to Limerick’s 2019 form as they headed into the game with All-Ireland, Munster and League titles in tow, Kilkenny tore into the Shannonsiders.
Kilkenny had the first three scores of the game as Adrian Mullen put them 0-6 to 0-1 clear inside 10 minutes.
Colin Fennelly furthered this lead as he goaled from Eoin Murphy’s puck out to make it 1-7 to 0-2.
But bit by bit, Limerick started to gain a foothold with the full forward line of Aaron Gillane, Graeme Muclahy and Peter Casey all scoring from play.
Gillane in particular was causing problems for the Kilkenny rearguard and he was fouled for a penalty in stoppage time.
The Patrickswell man made no mistake from the spot and suddenly Limerick trailed by just three at the half.
Barry Nash brought Limerick within one on 51 minutes but that was followed by four unanswered from the Cats.
And try as they might, Limerick could not get level, even after Shane Dowling’s wonder strike once more brought them within one.
Darragh O’Donovan had a sideline attempt deflected wide but no 65′ was awarded as Kilkenny held out for the win and a place in the final.
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