On This Day | Limerick retain Liam MacCarthy with all-time great performance in Croke Park

It is twelve months to the day since Limerick retained the Liam MacCarthy for the first time in history.

The 22nd of August 2021 will forever be etched into the memories of the Limerick faithful as the day John Kiely’s men hit their peak.

Aiming to become the first Limerick side to retain the All-Ireland title, the Shannonsiders had put the game to bed before the half time whistle with a display for the ages.

Countless records were broke along the way as many collected a third All-Ireland medal in just four years as they truly etched their names into the history books as one of the best teams of all time.

Gearoid Hegarty set the tone with his second minute goal, being set free by the eventual man of the match Cian Lynch who finished with 0-6 in one of the great All-Ireland final displays.

At the half, Limerick had already plundered 3-18, more than Cork would manage on the day, taking a 13-point lead into the dressing rooms.

That was stretched out to sixteen by the final whistle as Limerick broke the record for most scored in an All-Ireland final (3-32).

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Indeed, Lynch had signalled his intent from the throw in, receiving a pass from Will O’Donoghue and firing over from the sideline. A neat, but sublime piece of skill allowed him the space to set Hegarty in on goal a minute later.

But Cork, who Limerick had brushed aside in the Munster quarter-final replied in kind, Shane Kingston hitting the roof of the net just over thirty seconds later.

Limerick found their scores easier to come by but approaching the quarter hour mark, Cork only trailed by a point.

But some lax marking allowed Seamus Flanagan the space to find an unmarked Aaron Gillane who hit the corner of the net for a 2-5 to 1-4 lead.

Peter Casey then began to assert himself, the Na Piarsaigh man hitting five from play in an exhibition like first half.

His last was a thing of beauty before his display was abruptly ended after 25 minutes as he suffered a knee ligament injury.

But the Limerick train continued to roll and once more Lynch was the man to find Hegarty as the St Pats man grabbed his second with a classy finish.

Barry Nash then put the stamp on a first half for the ages firing over from distance.

3-18 to 1-11, game over.

Naturally, the second half couldn’t live up to the first in terms of excitement with the result never in doubt. Cork were clearly shell shocked while the 40,000 in attendance were similarly awestruck at the events of the first half.

Nonetheless, Limerick continued to tag on score after score with Lynch shifting his efforts from playmaker in chief to scorer.

He added five points in the second, each as good as the next with thirteen Limerick men in total finding the target.

Pat Ryan’s 71st minute effort broke the record for most scored in an All-Ireland final as Limerick became the first team to break the 40-point barrier.

Aaron Gillane rounded out the scoring as Fergal Horgan brought the game to an end with the scoreline reading 3-32 to 1-22 in Limerick’s favour.

Declan Hannon duly climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand to collect the Liam MacCarthy Cup that Limerick had won just eight months previously in a novel Christmas All-Ireland following the pandemic affected championship.

But while there were none in attendance to watch Hannon the previous Christmas, the limited Limerick contingent that attended the 2021 decider made their voices heard in praising the side.

The team were then recognised for an incredible season as they smashed the record for most All-Stars in a single year with twelve of Kiely’s men chosen to the team, beating the record number of nine they matched in 2020.

Lynch, unsurprisingly was named as Hurler of the Year for the second time in four seasons.

The history books will tell us that Limerick made it three on the spin in 2022, seeing off Kilkenny in an epic.

But 2021 will standalone as the greatest All-Ireland final display of all-time with Limerick on a different level to the rest.

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