A three-peat like no other | Analysing Limerick’s Covid three-in-a-row

Sunday’s All Ireland Final between Limerick and Kilkenny was the first in front of a full Croke Park in three years.

As the final whistle blew in Croke Park on 18 August 2019 and Tipperary were crowned All Ireland champions in front of a roaring 82,000 fans, nobody could have predicted what the following year would have in store.

Fast forward sixteen months as Limerick and Waterford took the field to battle it out in an all Munster final in front of an empty Croke Park in the bitterness of the December cold.

The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a delayed championship that year, where no fans could attend and the majority of the games being played in the winter.

It was a season like no other, with the scenes of the final providing an eerie sensation looking back. With the sound of almost every puck echoing around the empty pitch, it felt like the heart and soul of the game had been taken away.

John Kiely’s men didn’t let the silence of the stands get in their way, as they emerged victorious on the day by eleven points. But with government guidelines in place, there was no room for the usual celebrations for the county.

Nine months later, a half capacity Croker welcomed Limerick and Cork in the 2021 All Ireland Final, a sight to behold for the nation after the previous year and a half that were endured.

Once again, Limerick proved that they had the ability to win on the biggest stage regardless of the circumstances as they inflicted a sixteen point defeat on the Rebels.

That brings us to the present day, with almost all restrictions being abolished since the turn of the year, fans were eagerly awaiting their return to the sport they love.

Over 80,000 fans were in attendance to watch Kilkenny and Limerick provide a hurling masterpiece on a day where the sun was shining and the last two years had been left behind us.

Limerick emerged victorious, beating Kilkenny 1-31 to 2-26, and could finally embrace the winning feeling with their supporters, friends and family.

The win ensured that for the the first time since 2018, the Limerick hurlers were welcomed back to the county with an official homecoming by their supporters.

The win completes a unique three in a row for John Kiely’s side, with all their final wins coming in different circumstances. Captain Declan Hannon touched upon this in his post-match interview.

“We’re a funny group in a sense that we’ve had a Covid All-Ireland (2020), an All-Ireland with half-capacity (2021), we’ve had today full capacity and we had the 2018 win where it was so new to us all, so we’ve experienced the lot.”

The country will be hopeful that the same circumstances will apply for the 2023 championship and normality resumes after a difficult pair of years.

And for Limerick, the hope will be the same result as Kiely and co seek more history when the championship resumes next Spring.