‘A massive achievement, five in a row, we’ll enjoy it now’ – Man of the Match Aaron Gillane

The Patrickswell native was in superb form, as his second-half goal, in the 44th minute, was the catalyst for the Limerick success.

Limerick’s ace marksman, Aaron Gillane, was a deserving winner of the RTÉ Man of the Match award on Sunday, after scoring 1-11 of Limerick’s total of 1-23 in their Munster SHC final victory. As well as eight converted frees, he also scored three points from play to go with a game-changing goal in a powerful third quarter.

“We had to get the job done,” explained the 26-year-old as they completed a Munster five in a row for the first time in the counties history, joining Cork in achieving the feat.

The Patrickswell native was in superb form, as his second-half goal, in the 44th minute, was the catalyst for the Limerick success. Already the counties record championship scorer, Gillane has featured prominently in each of the five successes, starting four of those finals.

Speaking to RTÉ on the TUS Gaelic Grounds pitch just moments after the clash, he was quick to point to his teammates for the quality service the inside forward received all afternoon.

“On a day like that, I had the easy job. I had the likes of Darragh and Declan giving in the perfect ball. It doesn’t really matter who you are marking.

“It is hard to put it into words. There’s nothing between the two teams, you’ve seen that for the last few seasons. What was it in the end? A point or two points? They could have very easily come out on top as well, a super team to be fair, they definitely put it up to us.”

“It’s a great help there going to training on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, to meet the likes of Paul Kinnerk. The stuff that he can teach you is unbelievable, so you’d be foolish not want to keep learning. Its a credit to Paul, he has that impact on the whole team.”

Limerick will recover and celebrate ahead of an All-Ireland semi-final in early July, with the prospect of four All-Ireland titles in a row very much a possibility for John Kiely’s men.

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