Success at All-Ireland U21 level in recent seasons has raised expectations that Limerick can deliver a comparable title in the senior grade.
It’s 1973 since the Shannonsiders last lifted the Liam MacCarthy Cup. They have been to finals since, most notably in 1994 where they led for most of the game, only to be overhauled by a flurry of Offaly scores in the final few minutes.
In the early noughties, the U21s were again blazing a trail when lifting the James Nowlan Cup for three consecutive years. Again, there was to be no dividend at the next level.
Richie Bennis did bring Limerick to the senior decider in 2007, but Brian Cody’s Cats were just about at the peak of their powers and the outcome was never in doubt after ten minutes.
A Munster title in 2013 and a close call against Kilkenny in the following year’s All-Ireland semi-final have been the highlights so far in this decade. That is until this year. Limerick finally escaped from the clutches of Division 1B in March after getting the better of Galway in a Salthill do-or-die clash.
And then came the championship. Wins over Tipperary and Waterford and a draw with Cork had most observers talking Limerick up into a position where they were the ones best equipped to stop Galway’s quest for back-to-back All-Irelands.
Such talk receded after Clare put Limerick to the sword in Ennis.
All involved had time to recover. A facile win over Carlow was a nice workout before the Black and Amber came into the view again.
On a dreary day in Thurles, John Kiely’s men rediscovered their zest for the battle. Stung by a Richie Hogan goal as clocked ticked towards 70 minutes, they responded immediately and points from Tom Morrissey, Peter Casey, Shane Dowling and Aaron Gillane saw them finally end a 45-year wait to beat the Cats. Just three of their 27 points came from placed balls.
On Sunday next, Limerick will face Cork for the second time this season – 70 minutes away from gracing hurling’s biggest day. There is an All-Ireland in this Limerick team, but it may not come this year. Then again, it might.
For manager Kiely, Croke Park is another step on the road since he guided some of the current squad to an U21 title in 2015.
"It’s great for our lads to take another step on the journey and we want to challenge ourselves to achieve an even higher level of performance," he told RTÉ Sport.
That said, the Limerick boss is keen to keep things on an even keel among players and supporters despite the sense that something big is about to happen.
"Look, the prize is big, but you can’t airlift guys out of the county. The players have to understand what is appropriate and what isn’t appropriate.
"The supporters have to enjoy the success of their team and we have fantastic supporters in Limerick. Let the players get on with their preparation. Back them when it counts in the last 10 or 15 minutes. That’s when you have to give them that added shove.
"We took a serious knock when Clare beat us but we rebounded well. Before that we took an awful lot of belief in getting the draw against Cork despite losing a man (Aaron Gillane) in the first half.
"Get the preperation right and hopefully a performance will follow. That's where our focus is."
Follow all the hurling this weekend via our live blogs on RTÉ.ie and the News Now App, watch television coverage of Galway v Clare on The Saturday Game Live, RTÉ 2, from 4.15pm and Cork v Limerick on The Sunday Game Live, RTÉ 2, from 2.45pm, or listen to exclusive national radio commentary of both games on Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport, RTÉ Radio 1.
