THIS Sunday Limerick will be appearing in their 18th ever All-Ireland Hurling Final.
Limerick first appeared in the showcase event in 1897 as they captured their maiden crown.
Their next win would come in 1918 as they made it a trio of titles in 1921.
Three more would follow between 1934-1940 as Limerick brought their haul to six.
However, the Shannonsiders have added just two more in the last 80 years, losing five finals in that time.
Below, recap Limerick’s last five All-Ireland final clashes, with some very mixed performances and plenty of heartbreak.
Galway 2-15 : 3-9 Limerick (All-Ireland Hurling Final)
7 September 1980 in Croke Park
Two early goals would prove the catalyst as Galway bridge a 57-year gap to win their second ever All-Ireland title over Limerick.
Early strikes by Bernie Forde and PJ Molloy would give the Tribesmen the ealry incentive as they opened a 2-1 to 0-0 lead in Croke Park.
Eamonn Cregan, who would finish with 2-7 got Limerick’s first of the day as Galway took a 2-7 to 1-5 lead into the dressing rooms.
Joe McKenna’s second half goal brought the margin back to 2-10 to 2-6 in the Connacht sides favour.
Cregan’s penalty late on brought it back to a two-point game but Galway would hold out to claim glory with Joe Connolly’s speech remembered to this day.
Offaly 3-16 : 2-13 Limerick (All-Ireland Hurling Final)
4 September 1994 in Croke Park
A last hour collapse from the Shannonsiders saw Limerick lose out in the most dramatic fashion with 2-5 in the last five minutes from Offaly stealing Liam MacCarthy honours for the Leinster side.
Joe Dooley would get the Faithful County off to the perfect start but Limerick recovered and a couple of Gary Kirby scores got them back on track.
A brace of goals from Damien Quigley would hand Limerick the initiative as his haul of 2-2 helped the Shannonsiders into a deserved 2-8 to 1-5 lead at the break.
Limerick maintained their advantage and with five minutes of time to play they held a five minute lead.
Offaly would win a free 21 yards from goal which would completely turned the tie.
Johnny Dooley’s effort evaded the Limerick rearguard to bring it to within two.
Offaly’s tails were up and Pat O’Connor would goal from the next attack to push the Leinster champions ahead.
While the life was sucked out of Limerick, Offaly came alive and five more unanswered points gave them title as Limerick were left reeling in the wake of the ‘Five Minute Final’.
Wexford 1-13 : 0-14 Limerick (All-Ireland Hurling Final)
1 September 1994 in Croke Park
Wexford condemned Limerick to a fourth successive All-Ireland final loss as they upset the Munster champions by a point in Croke Park.
Two years after the heartbreak of the ’94 decider, Limerick were back in Croke Park and looked determined to avenge that defeat racing into an early 0-5 to 0-1 lead after 15 minutes with Barry Foley notching a brace of points.
However, Tom Dempsey’s 19th minute goal was enough to push Wexford back into the lead, 1-3 to 0-5.
Wexford’s Eamonn Scannell was sent off just prior to the half time whistle for a pull on Stephen McDonagh but nonetheless, Wexford were 1-8 to 0-10 the the good at the half.
While he first half, was a thunderous affair, the second period was far more cautious as Wexford maintained their advantage despite the numerical disadvantage.
Indeed they would go four clear early in the second half, as Limerick only tacked on four scores in the final 35 minutes.
Two of these came late on from Ciaran Carey and Dave Clarke but it was too little too late as a late free into the Wexford square was well defended as the Yellowbellies held on for a famous win.
Kilkenny 2-19 : 1-15 Limerick (All-Ireland Hurling Final)
2 September 2007 in Croke Park
Kilkenny’s early blitz was enough to condemn Limerick to yet another All-Ireland as the Cats retained their title.
Within the first ten minutes, the final appeared to be gone from Limerick as goals from Eddie Brennan and Henry Shefflin gave them a 2-3 to 0-0 lead at Headquarters.
Andrew O’Shaughnessy would get Limerick off the mark and they would get four of the next five scores to leave it at 2-4 to 0-5 middway through the first half.
However, the Cats would reassert themselves and were seven clear at 2-10 to 0-8 at the short whistle.
Limerick would get the first two scores of the half before Kilkenny once again hit their groove.
Ollie Moran would hand Limerick a lifeline on 48 minutes when he blasted to the net.
But Kilkenny would soon reestablish their dominance and kept Limerick at arms length for the remainder of the tie as the Treaty famine continued.
Limerick 3-16 : 2-18 Galway (All-Ireland Hurling Final)
19 August 2018 in Croke Park
Limerick’s 45-year wait for All-Ireland glory finally came to an end as they held on from a late Galway fightback to secure the Liam MacCarthy cup.
John Kiely’s youthful side held an eight point lead heading into as many minutes of additional time before the Galway onslaught.
Graeme Mulcahy’s goal middway through the half helped Limerick into a 1-10 to 0-9 lead at the break which should have been more given Limerick’s dominance.
A trio of scores from Kyle Hayes coupled with goals from Tom Morrissey and Shane Dowling looked to have given the Shannonsiders an unassailable lead approaching added time.
Quickfire goals from Conor Whelan and Joe Canning gave the defending champions hope as they reduced the lead to a point.
Mulcahy would grab Limerick’s final score of the year which was cancelled out by a Canning ’65.
The Galway man would have a chance with a long range free with the final puck off the ball but it dropped short as Tom Condon raced clear with sliotar in hand.
The referee blew his full-time whistle as Croke Park and Limerick as a whole erupted in historic scenes.
The post Remembering Limerick’s Last Five All-Ireland Final Appearances appeared first on Sporting Limerick.
