Once upon a time, there was a hurling-mad county who hadn't won the All-Ireland in 45 years.
But they broke the curse, became the greatest team ever and everyone was delighted for them. The end.
Maybe.
274 days after lifting Liam MacCarthy for the fourth successive year, and for the fifth time in six seasons, Limerick tomorrow begin what could be the final chapter of the fairytale: securing the first hurling five in a row.
John Kiely’s men are deservedly hot favourites to do so.
The Treaty look invincible at Croke Park, where they haven’t been beaten in almost five years. They even went five points down in last year's final before outscoring Kilkenny 19-5 in the closing half hour.
They won without Sean Finn and captain Declan Hannon last year and without Cian Lynch and Peter Casey (until the latter stages) in 2022.
While there are occasional mutterings about the sponsorship of billionaire JP McManus, resentment of Limerick’s success has yet to reach that of Dublin football proportions.
It might help that their spectacular success has been built around the Under-21-winning teams of 2015 and ’17 rather than a conveyor belt of talent.
They are widely acknowledged as a team of superbly organised, skilful hurlers, who though they might 'play on the edge’ a bit - and why not if it's rarely punished? - are at least not one of the game’s traditional Big Three.
Nonetheless, any sport gets dull quickly when one team dominates, so most neutrals will be hoping that, like Kilkenny in 2010 or Cork in 1945, five proves one too many for Limerick. Or that they at least might have the decency to stop after that.
Everybody’s got to lose some time, as The Korgis almost wrote, but will it be this year?
It could. The simplicity of the roll of honour can belie reality.
Last season’s fifth Munster title in a row was far from comfortably claimed. Limerick were beaten in the round-robin by a coming Clare team and just about turned the tables in the provincial decider. But they were only in that because Tipperary had fluffed their lines against already eliminated Waterford. Two more points for Cork on the final day of the round-robin and they would have been out altogether.
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Munster final 2023 highlights
Kiely admitted the four weeks off for winning a gruelling Munster campaign paved the way for their subsequent dominant displays in Croke Park. So perhaps derailing, or at least rerouting, the Emerald Express at the provincial stage is their challengers’ best hope.
Clare seem best equipped to do that and the perennially fascinating Munster royal rumble begins with the two big dogs tomorrow as the champions take to the field in front of 20,000 in Ennis.
Another victory for the hosts would raise the hopes of the chasing pack, a win for Limerick would reassert their aura of invincibility.
In Brian Lohan’s fifth year in charge, it feels like it’s now or never for him to steer them to an All-Ireland final or at least a provincial title.
The signs are promising: while a talent like Tony Kelly will always be welcomed back he was scarcely missed in the spring as Aidan McCarthy, who seems their most reliable free-taker, and Mark Rodgers flourished. First-time championship starters Conor Leen, Cian Galvin and Darragh Lohan, nephew of Brian, will add steel further back. Kelly, Shane O’Donnell and David McInerney are among a formidable bench.
While more direct in possession than Limerick, Clare have the size and aggression to match them in the free-for-all that is modern hurling tackling. Expect another bone-crunching, loosely refereed battle that could end with a one-score margin for the fourth meeting in a row.
The impending new Division 1 format made the 2024 Allianz Hurling League slightly less meaningless than recent years for everyone, but for Clare the final victory over Kilkenny was psychologically important.
Not just earning a first trophy for eight years but also beating their conquerors in successive All-Ireland semi-finals, whose goal threat probably rattles them more than Limerick's slick long-range point-scoring approach.
Kiely has picked only 19 different starters across the five All-Ireland finals since 2018.
Will this be the year when the old guard start to make way for the likes of Cathal O’Neill, Adam English and Donnacha Ó Dalaigh?
The absence of Darragh O’Donovan (calf injury) and Peter Casey (suspension) made those decisions a little easier for tomorrow but the manager, who notably only agreed a one-year extension for this campaign, is more likely to stick with the players who have served him so well.
Of that veteran core of 19, only Nickie Quaid (34), Graeme Mulcahy (33), Hannon (31), Diarmuid Byrnes and Dan Morrissey (both 30) are in their 30s so it's not like they are on their last legs. Much-lauded sports psychologist Caroline Currid was their most significant post-season departure.
There’s usually a surprise or two in Munster but Cork’s trip to Waterford already appears a must-win for both teams if they want to make the the top three.
Pat Ryan will have spent the last 11 months stewing on how his team managed to finish fourth after running both Limerick and Clare to within a point. Mark Coleman and Alan Connolly are back after missing 2023 and Patrick Horgan, 36 next month, goes again in pursuit of that elusive Celtic cross.
If Waterford are preparing an ambush they have been going the right way about it. Relegation and disappointing attendances at the revamped Walsh Park – tickets for the now 12,000-capacity venue were still on general sale on Friday – have followed 2023’s last-placed finish. Expectations are low.
But Davy Fitzgerald was adamant they would be stronger come the start of his second championship campaign in charge, and the return of key men like Tadhg de Búrca, Stephen Bennett, Conor Prunty and Calum Lyons from injury should make them a tougher proposition.
Tipperary, whose first game is away to Limerick on Sunday week, are the wild card. They beat Clare and could have beaten Limerick last year, then faded badly, losing to the Déise and being flattered to get within five points of Galway. This year’s league, likewise, had ups and downs: a good win over the Tribesmen but deserved defeats to Limerick and Clare where they were reliant on goals, from Jake Morris in particular, to stay in touch.
Presuming the alarming nine wides from frees against Clare (four from Jason Forde) was a one-off, the big question for Liam Cahill is whether they can handle the mad dash of games better this year. Believers in omens might be interested to learn that it was the Premier County who stopped the last two five-in-a-row bids…
The Leinster Championship, as Shane McGrath noted (see below), is also starting this week.
Galway and Kilkenny do pose genuine threats to Limerick’s reign: they both built half-time leads against the champions at Croke Park last year before being overwhelmed.
But the prospect of either county missing out on the Leinster top three seems so remote at the moment that the longer-term interest is whether Henry Shefflin’s men can overturn last year’s provincial final result – stolen by Cillian Buckley’s late winner – and benefit from a month off instead of trying to beat the Munster third-placed team and champions in the space of a fortnight. Who knows how much that has helped Kilkenny edge Clare in the last two seasons? The return of New York-based Johnny Glynn after a four-year absence adds to their armoury.
After losing back-to-back All-Irelands to Limerick, Derek Lyng’s Cats will have been boosted by a comprehensive first victory over their rivals since 2019 in the league semi-final, and they showed customary grit in pushing Clare all the way in the league decider.
All-time championship top-scorer TJ Reid (36.33 years, 30 goals and 551 points, 14 ahead of Horgan) is back in pursuit of an eighth All-Ireland title and first since 2015, which would end Kilkenny's joint-longest drought since 1947-57. He looked as good as ever against Limerick, hitting 1-08 (6fs) of their 3-17.
That was also the Treaty’s first knockout defeat in five years but whether Kiely was as alarmed as he claimed in the aftermath remains to be seen. Limerick looked like a team that been training hard and of a full-back line that cough up few goals only Barry Nash was in his usual spot. Finn looked off the pace on his return from long-term injury and Mike Casey starts at corner-back tomorrow.
Galway host Kilkenny in week two but arguably the most significant group game in Leinster is up first: Dublin’s trip to Chadwicks Wexford Park.
In Micheál Donoghue’s first season in charge, the Dubs beat the Yellowbellies and edged them out for third place. It was the first time Wexford had missed out on the knockout stages under the round-robin system and they even flirted with relegation, needing a final-day win over already-qualified Kilkenny after blowing a 17-point lead in their shock defeat to Westmeath.
The counties appear to have gone in different directions since. Dublin had a miserable league campaign, suffering relegation due to big beatings at the hands of Limerick, Tipp and Galway and a (fortunate) one-point win in Antrim. They did have key man Donal Burke, Chris Crummey and Danny Sutcliffe back on board for a more impressive final-round display against Westmeath and all three start tomorrow, when a big improvement will be needed.
Wexford were the surprise package of the league under new manager Keith Rossiter. Their only defeat came on the final day against Cork when survival was already assured and they have found a few players: forward Séamus Casey (previously a sub-goalkeeper) and corner-back Niall Murphy make their first championship starts while Conor Foley (20) is at full-back. Rory O’Connor is also back after missing the entire league campaign. Starting with a win on home soil could give them the confidence to challenge for a first Leinster final sport since winning in 2019.
Carlow are back in the Leinster Championship for the first time since 2019 after last May’s thrilling Joe McDonagh Cup triumph over Offaly.
Tom Mullally’s men finished top of Division 2A this season and were promoted despite losing the final to Laois. Marty Kavanagh led the scoring charts with 4-46. Carlow’s sole aim will be survival but they have their work cut out to finish higher than an Antrim side who drew with Dublin last year.
The Saffrons have lost key men since - Dunloy quartet Eoin O'Neill, Ryan Elliott, Seaan Elliott and Keelan Molloy are travelling and long-time talisman Neil McManus has retired - but Darren Gleeson’s side have home advantage when they meet in round 5 and a strong record at Corrigan Park.
Both sides begin with tough trips tomorrow - Carlow are in Salthill and Antrim in Kilkenny - but at least the ground might have dried a little after an April that would have Noah taking advice from Jaws’ Chief Brody on ship sizes. Ponchos are surely more profitable than straw hats under the split-season.
Yes, the championship is still too compressed: Five teams’ stories will be novellas, wrapped up in as many weeks. The longer-term solution might be to make the round-robin home and away. But September finals aren’t coming back anytime soon – GAA president Jarlath Burns was surely engaging in a mischievous bout of risk-free speculation when suggesting that could happen if every county ran their club championships to the same schedule – and a slightly later finish would at least ensure no county has to play four weekends in a row, as Cork and Tipperary do this year.
The real ‘what if’ surrounds Limerick and their chance to become the greatest hurling team of all time. Whether they can write fresh history or not, the 2024 championship promises to be a gripping tale.
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