Cork supporters flooded onto the pitch at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh to celebrate with their team as the final whistle went on their 3-28 to 3-26 victory over the four-in-a-row All Ireland champions.
The Rebels looked a beaten ticket with four minutes to play as they fell four points behind to an irresistible Limerick surge, inspired by 3-03 from Séamus Flanagan.
However Cork dug deep and rallied back, scoring 1-04 to 0-01 in the closing stages with Patrick Horgan's penalty proving to be decisive.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, McManus enthused over the quality of play from both sides, but was most impressed by the attitude shown by the Rebels when it really counted.
"It was absolutely incredible, an out and out classic and good for the soul really," he said. "
"It was brilliant, the pitch invasion at the end really described how much is meant to Cork, their Championship was over if they didn’t pull off a famous victory against possibly the best team of all time.
"Cork had to win to stay in the Championship so we were going to see what they were made of, everything was on the line.
"They needed leaders and they had them all over the field. I was calling them the big four up front, Hayes, Harnedy, Connelly and Dalton, they brought a level of physicality we haven’t seen from Cork in years.
"At 6 as well, Rob Downey was exceptional, especially in the absence of Ciaran Joyce who has been such a key player for Cork over the last number of years.
"Cork really dominated the first 40/45 minutes but Limerick just did not go away, they’re not chasing five-in-a-row for nothing.
"They stormed back into the game and they almost pulled off a huge comeback again, quite similar to what they had done in Ennis against Clare."
For McManus the real hero of the game was Shane Kingston, who came off to the bench to give the Cork attack an extra dimension in the dying moments, and it was his surging run that earned Cork their crucial late penalty.
"The big play of the game came from a substitution, it came from Shane Kingston off the bench," he said. "He gathered a ball with time almost up on the halfway line and his pace is electrifying.
"[Kingston] carried the ball past three Limerick defenders, he flicked over Diarmaid Byrne's head along the way before being pulled down by Kyle Hayes just inside the 20m line. Kyle will probably regret that one today, but it really set the scene for a grandstand finish.
"When Patrick Horgan set that ball it, it was Mr. Cork delivering for the Rebel county. When the ball hit the back of the net, I think everybody was just delighted to Patrick Horgan."
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