GAA
If recent meetings between the teams are anything to go by, there promises to be a bite in Pearse Stadium this weekend.
Salthill beckons for the Limerick senior hurlers this Sunday in round three of the National Hurling League as Galway host the All-Ireland champions.
Throw-in is 2.30pm with the game live on TG4. Sunday’s tie will be a first between the sides since their epic All-Ireland semi-final last July. For the second time in three years, Limerick got the better of the Tribesmen in the last four before going on to claim the All-Ireland title.
Four months previously in the League, Galway came to the TUS Gaelic Grounds and overcame the Shannonsiders with a dominant 0-27 to 1-18 victory. That was Limerick’s second successive league loss as they had to wait for the fifth round for a first win over Offaly.
Indeed, the loss to Galway was the second on the trot to the Tribesmen in the league, as they lost by a similar margin in Salthill twelve months previously. The defeat to Galway in 2021 was Limerick’s first since the All-Ireland semi-final of 2019.

This time around, however, John Kiely’s men have begun the league akin to their championship form despite numerous personnel changes in both contests. Limerick handed out three debuts in their opener with Cork whilst only starting with seven of the XV that won the All-Ireland the previous July. Defeat was their lot but it was a positive performance nonetheless as the Shannonsiders put neighbours Clare to the sword in the second round.
Again rotation was the policy but with five making their first league appearances, Limerick dominated the Banner from start to finish with a flurry from Clare late on putting a gloss on the result. And the victory puts Limerick in a solid position to qualify for the League semi-finals should they get past Galway this Sunday.
The Tribesmen come into the contest after being beaten by Cork in the previous round, the concession of four goals proving costly against the Rebels, who also found the net twice against Limerick. Galway did start the league with an impressive 0-23 to 0-15 win in Wexford Park and will have their own semi-final ambitions.

If recent meetings between the teams are anything to go by, there promises to be a bite in Pearse Stadium this weekend. Five years ago, John Kiely’s youthful charges set out their stall for 2018 with a two-point win in Salthill to earn promotion to the top tier of the league for the first time in eight years, condemning the then All-Ireland champions to another year in 1B. Later in the year, Limerick would be the team to dethrone Micheal Donoghue’s side to win a first Liam MacCarthy in 45 years.
Their next meeting came in the 2020 National League, Limerick once again getting the upperhand in a 1-19 to 0-14 win the Gaelic Grounds. But behind closed doors in Croke Park that November, Galway pushed the eventual All-Ireland champions all the way before succumbing to a three-point defeat. They did get the victory the following May in the league and again in last year’s Spring competition.
But Limerick’s revenge came in another three-point win over the Connacht side in the All-Ireland semi-final last year. Still, many would consider Henry Shefflin’s side as the team most capable of dethroning the Limerick juggernaut as they have run them closer than any over the past three years in the championship.
And with home advantage, they will be hoping to avoid a repeat of the 2018 meeting which coincided with an enormous upturn in fortune for the senior side, leading to an unparalleled period of success. Instead, they will be keen to lay down a marker of their own ambitions for 2023.
However, if a Limerick side who are likely to be without a number of their All-Stars can get the job done it will send a message loud and clear to the chasing pack that they are ready for another tilt on all fronts.
Limerick face Galway in the third round of the National Hurling League on Sunday at 2.30pm in Pearse Stadium.