A team on the edge of historic hurling greatness. Standing in their way, the sport's most successful county but one enduring their longest title drought in almost 30 years.
Today’s All-Ireland final is a mouth-watering rematch of last year's decider, when Limerick were pushed to the finish by Kilkenny but held firm for a third Liam MacCarthy Cup in a row and a fourth in five years.
John Kiely’s Green Machine can become just the third team to secure four in a row, after Cork (1941-44) and the Cats (2006-09), whose current manager Derek Lyng played for the winners that record-equalling day against Tipperary.
Kilkenny needed a bit of luck to get over the line that afternoon and eventually came unstuck during the 'Drive for Five’ against the same opposition the following September.
The question now: is the ‘Fight for Four’ destined to end the same way or do this superb Limerick team have another title in them? It would arguably be their greatest achievement.
Having been taken to the brink of elimination in Munster before securing a fifth consecutive provincial crown - avenging their first loss in four years at the hands of Clare in the process - Limerick coldly dissected Galway from the 29th minute of the semi-final. Even more impressively, they did so without Sean Finn and captain Declan Hannon, two multiple All-Stars and mainstays of their defence.
Kiely likes to talk about the role his entire squad plays but all of today’s named starting XV, except for David Reidy and Barry Nash, saw action in the 2018 final victory that ended 45 years of hurt. Former forward Nash has become the prototype ‘playmaker corner back’ while Reidy’s three points in the Munster final helped to ensured he finally nailed down a starting jersey, ahead of Cathal O’Neill.
O’Neill and veteran Graeme Mulcahy are the most potent threats on the bench, both came on against Galway and scored, but Richie English - a starter in ‘18 - is injured, and if defensive reinforcements are required then Colin Coughlan is the most likely candidate.
Will O’Donoghue is more effective at midfield than centre-back but Darragh O’Donovan has been superb in the centre and two-time Hurler of the Year Cian Lynch lines out alongside him having played almost the full 70 against Galway. Not bad, as replacements go. A fit-again Lynch is likely to try and disrupt Richie Reid’s ability to set up attacks from centre-back.
Up front, only the red-hot Aaron Gillane (3-13 from play) and Tom Morrissey (0-16) have been in anything like peak form but Seamus Flanagan has still scored four goals and then there’s the big man for the big day – in the last two All-Ireland finals Gearóid Hegarty scored 1-05 and 2-02, having been held to a point in each semi. He got two against Galway this year.
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Limerick might have lost their aura of invincibility but they are still masters at closing out a game. Do Kilkenny have what it takes to hand them a second championship defeat of the season, with a trophy on the line this time?
Mentally, yes.
Comparisons between teams of completely different men from the same county can be lazy but the dramatic Leinster final comeback against Galway and holding off Clare’s semi-final surge suggest that Kilkenny under first-year manager Lyng share some core DNA with the Brian Cody version he served for six years as a selector.
They don't give up. They fight till the last second. They go for goals.
Kilkenny will not accept they are beaten as Galway seemed to as early as the 46th minute, having endured a 10-point swing. Kilkenny will trust themselves to take on Limerick man for man, and not resort to tactical gambles like the untried sweeper that backfired so badly for Clare.
True, the Banner had them on the ropes in the second half, but the guile of all-time record scorer TJ Reid and the unmarkable brilliance of 22-year-old captain Eoin Cody (4-21 this year) steadied the ship. Goalkeeper Eoin Murphy was there to perform heroic gymnastics when Clare almost got the goal they needed.
The bigger question around Kilkenny is whether they can put it up to Limerick physically. Their ferocious will to win is one thing but there remains a suspicion that Clare might have been better equipped for that task. As one of their bigger men, they could do with 6'3" David Blanchfield - named to start despite a chest injury - being fully fit to take on the giants in green. Darragh Corcoran would be a close replacement in terms of build but they will need to outwork Limerick, a rare feat they managed in the 2019 semi-final, to contend today.
Not far off 36, TJ is now more of an aerial and placed ball threat – he top-scored with nine frees in last year’s final but probably won't get as many opportunities in the second half – though as well as setting up that crucial goal for Cody in the semi-final, the Ballyhale man was also seen back winning a free inside his own 20. He wants this eighth All-Ireland as badly as many of his team-mates want their first.
Some of the newer recruits will be key men today: Huw Lawlor, who held Gillane to three from play last year, no mean achievement, and Mikey Butler (aka Tony Kelly suppression services). Blanchfield has stepped up admirably to replace Mikey Carey at wing-back while the return of Adrian Mullen to fitness is as, if not more important, than Lynch to Limerick. They need a big game from Cody to be in with a chance.
The likes of final debutant Tom Phelan and John Donnelly are big grafter/creators in the half-forwards and Martin Keoghan (5-19) is a goal threat as he showed last year when Finn held Cody to a point. Mike Casey or Nash will be man of the match if they can repeat that trick. Billy Ryan raised the other green flag last year and they will need another performance from him or scoring substitutes if Derek Lyng is to join the first-year winning manager club.
The bench is stacked with veterans of Kilkenny’s most recent success in 2015: Cillian Buckley, scorer of the injury-time goal that secured a Leinster four in a row, and a married man as of yesterday, Padraig Walsh, Walter Walsh, Richie Hogan. Cian Kenny would seem a more likely option but Billy Drennan, the star of the league who has seen only a few minutes of action since, would be an interesting Brian Cody-style final wildcard.
There was a lot of fuss made about the questionable stoppage in the semi-final but if Nickie Quaid decides Limerick need a tactical adjustment, so what? Kilkenny should be ready with their own response.
Any shift is likely to come around puckouts, at which Limerick annihilated Galway after bringing their forwards deeper. The Cats only won 57% of their own restarts to Limerick’s 70% last year and they need to improve those ratios to stand a chance. It was even worse on long puckouts (40% to 73%) so will likely require greater enthusiasm for the short ball if the Treaty concede it to them again. Will they push up on Limerick’s puckout, as Clare had some success with?
They never got in front but down the closing stretch last year, Kilkenny matched Limerick in every department and their 2-26 (a two-point defeat) was the highest losing score in a final. If the July deluge continues today, scoring tallies will be lower and goals even more important - you would expect Kilkenny to need another couple.
Fifty years ago, the meeting of these two counties was Limerick’s last All-Ireland victory for another 45. Kilkenny won the rematch in '74.
Kilkenny have only been waiting eight years now, and though winters without Liam are measured like dog years on Noreside, they'll need bite as well as hunger today.
Twelve months ago, Declan Hannon lifted the cup beside an injured Cian Lynch. This year their roles would be reversed.
It's a more likely outcome than Eoin Cody becoming the youngest winning captain since his county man Billy Fitzpatrick (21) in 1975.
If the youngster from Ballyhale can deliver on the biggest stage and build them a lead, then Kilkenny will be in with a chance of ending Limerick's winning run. Otherwise it looks like another glorious chapter being written in the book of Kiely.
Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Mike Casey, Dan Morrissey, Barry Nash; Diarmuid Byrnes, Will O'Donoghue, Kyle Hayes; Darragh O’Donovan, Cian Lynch (capt); Gearoid Hegarty, David Reidy, Tom Morrissey; Aaaron Gillane, Seamus Flanagan, Peter Casey.
Subs: David McCarthy, Conor Boylan, Ronan Connolly, Aaron Costello, Colin Coughlan, Adam English, Graeme Mulcahy, Barry Murphy, Aidan O Connor, Cathal O Neill, Oisin O Reilly.
Kilkenny: Eoin Murphy; Mikey Butler, Huw Lawlor, Tommy Walsh; David Blanchfield, Richie Reid, Paddy Deegan; Conor Fogarty, Adrian Mullen; Tom Phelan, Martin Keoghan, John Donnelly; Billy Ryan, TJ Reid, Eoin Cody (capt).
Subs: Darren Brennan, Conor Delaney, Cillian Buckley, Pádraig Walsh, Darragh Corcoran, Alan Murphy, Cian Kenny, Timmy Clifford, Walter Walsh, Richie Hogan, Billy Drennan.
Watch the All-Ireland Hurling Championship final, Limerick v Kilkenny, this Sunday from 2.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to live commentary on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio
