FOLLOWING ON from ‘Super Sunday,’ six teams remain in the hunt for the Liam MacCarthy Cup, of which Limerick have been in possession for a while.
The field is headed by odds-on shots and holders Limerick, who eventually eased past Waterford in the concluding round of the Munster Championship at a heaving Gaelic Grounds.
That positive outcome sealed a provincial final outing with next-door neighbours Clare at Semple Stadium, Thurles, on Sunday week.
Also still in the chase for All-Ireland honours are dark horses Cork, who finished third in Munster, along with Kilkenny, Dublin and Wexford from Leinster.
The casualties of the weekend were Waterford and Galway, who both exited.
Ahead of the All-Ireland Series are the provincial finals, Limerick/Clare in Munster and Kilkenny/Dublin in Leinster.
A possible absentee for Limerick’s next outing is Séamus Flanagan, who pulled up early with what appeared to be a hamstring issue against The Déise.
His replacement, however, teenager Shane O’Brien (Kilmallock) slotted in well, knocking over three lovely points from play.
Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Mike Casey, Dan Morrissey, Barry Nash (0-01); Diarmaid Byrnes (0-2), Declan Hannon, Kyle Hayes (0-3); Will O’Donoghue (0-1), Cian Lynch (0-1); Cathal O’Neill (0-2), Gearóid Hegarty (0-2), Tom Morrissey (0-4); Aaron Gillane (0-7), Séamus Flanagan, David Reidy (0-2).
Substitutes used: Shane O’Brien (0-3), Adam English (0-1), Fergal O’Connor, Conor Boylan, Donnacha Ó Dálaigh.
