My Favourite Game: Top 10 Limerick Hurling games this Century- 4

With no sport to keep us entertained for the foreseeable future, it is time to get creative and reminisce about all sport has offered us over the years.

As such, I began to examine my favourite hurling games involving Limerick since I first attended the Gaelic Grounds in 2007 as a 10-year-old.

There has been some huge highs and many more lows in Limerick hurling circles over the past thirteen years and for each of the next ten days I will count down my top ten favourite Limerick games.

Earlier this week I went through the honourable mentions, and also,

Number 10.

Number 9.

Number 8.

Number 7.

Number 6.

Earlier we had Number 5 and now I present number 4.

---

#4

Limerick 0-24 : 0-15 Cork (Munster Final)

14 July 2014 at the Gaelic Grounds

The first Limerick Munster Championship win in my lifetime was something special.

Seventeen years Limerick had gone without a Munster Final win, with an elusive last All-Ireland win coming forty years previous.

But on 14 July 2013, Limerick were the top team in Ireland on a memorable day in the Gaelic Grounds.

Having beaten Tipperary the previous month, hopes were high for John Allen’s side as they welcomed Jimmy Barry Murphy and Cork to the Ennis Road.

Nonetheless, the nerves were evident in Limerick’s play and they were heavily reliant on free-taker Declan Hannon who scored half of his sides 0-10 by the half.

On the other end, Cork’s scoring was more spread out with Pa Cronin, Patrick Horgan and Seamus Harnedy all looking threatening.

However, Cork’s wastefulness in front of goal allowed Limerick to keep in touch with Graeme Mulcahy, Seanie Tobin and James Ryan kepping the scoreboard ticking over.

The game was finely poised at 0-10 apiece heading for the break when the game was turned on its head.

A dropping ball into the Limerick square saw Horgan connect with Paudie O’Brien’s helet, with the Glen Rovers man giving his marching orders.

Although it was technically the correct decision, it was soft on the Cork man.

Regardless, Limerick completely swept aside their opponents, using their numerical advantage to great effect.

To their credit, Cork didn’t relent but the tide slowly began to tilt in Limerick’s favour.

They had the opening two points of the half and continued to keep Cork at arms length, but could not shake off the Rebels.

With 59 minutes on the clock, three consecutive scores from Cork brought them back to within two points with the score at 0-17 to 0-15.

However, Limerick would keep the visitors at bay for the remainder of the game, notching seven on the trot to seal the famous win.

The scenes at the end are unforgettable.

Scorers for Limerick: D Hannon (0-8, 5 frees, 1 s/l), J Ryan, S Dowling (0-3 each), G Mulcahy, S Tobin, K Downes (0-2 each), P O’Brien, P Browne, S Hickey, N Moran (0-1 each).

Scorers for Cork: P Horgan (0-4, 2 frees), S Harnedy, P Cronin (0-3 each), J Coughlan (0-2 frees), L O’Farrell, D Kearney, C Naughton (0-1 each).

Limerick: N Quaid; S Walsh, R McCarthy, T Condon; P O’Brien, W McNamara, G O’Mahony; P Browne, D O’Grady (c); D Breen, J Ryan, S Hickey; G Mulcahy, D Hannon, S Tobin.

Subs for Limerick: S Dowling for Breen (46), C Allis for Mulcahy (52), C King for O’Brien (inj. 58), K Downes for Tobin (65), N Moran for Hickey (69).

Cork: A Nash; S O’Neill, S McDonnell, C O’Sullivan; T Kenny, L McLoughlin, W Egan; C Joyce, D Kearney; C Lehane, C McCarthy, P Cronin (c); L O’Farrell, P Horgan, S Harnedy.

Subs for Cork: J Coughlan for McCarthy (35), C Naughton for Lehane (41), M Cussen for O’Farrell (59), S White for McLoughlin (59).

Referee: J McGrath (Westmeath)

Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

YouTube privacy policy

If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

Accept YouTube Content