Seeds of Limerick's dominance sown by Cork missionary

For a long time it wasn't much of a rivalry at all. Before John Kiely took over Limerick, the counties had met 65 times in championship, Cork winning 44 (67%) and their neighbours 16 (25%), with five draws. Even four wins to the Rebels' two over the triumphant last seven seasons has taken Limerick's overall winning record to just 28%.

Historically, the fixture lacked the competitive spice of Cork v Tipperary or Limerick against Clare as the men in red had held the upper hand since the heyday of Mick Mackey.

When The Treaty won Munster in 1980 it was their first provincial hurling final victory over the Rebels for 40 years and first in championship at all since 1971.

That also stopped the first Munster six-in-a-row - until last month - but it took another 14 years for Limerick to get the better of their neighbours again, which they did twice en-route to losing All-Ireland finals in 1994 and '96.

Limerick were one-point winners in the 2001 provincial quarter-final but Cork reeled off another four victories in a row until 2013, when they came up against a team managed by one of their own.

Aghabullogue's John Allen came on as a sub and scored against Limerick in the 1976 Munster final but was concentrating more on the big ball by the time his county men went awry four years later. He was later full-forward on the team that beat the Kerry footballers in 1983, having lost the previous eight provincial deciders.

Allen was a selector with Donal O'Grady when Cork gained revenge over Kilkenny in the 2004 hurling All-Ireland final and in the hotseat when they retained Liam MacCarthy the following year. He stepped down after the Cats denied them three-in-a-row and that seemed to be that, for a man who freely admits to not enjoying the demands of inter-county management.

Until a serendipitous approach in September 2011.

"I swore when I finished with Cork at the end of 2006 that I wouldn't [manage again]," the former primary teacher tells RTÉ Sport.

"I had been asked every year from 2006 by some county or another would I go back and I never let the conversation go beyond the first two sentences.

"But I retired from school that summer and this call came mid-September when I was panicking saying 'Jesus, what am I going to do now?'

"I met people who seemed very good and very progressive, Jim Woulfe, Damien Quigley and Paudie Fitzmaurice. They sounded very impressive in what they were selling and the rest is history."

Donal O'Grady had restored some competitiveness in 2011 after Justin McCarthy's divisive final year in charge of Limerick - when a dozen players were dropped and 11 more stepped away in solidarity - but his side made a quarter-final exit to Anthony Daly's improving Dublin.

In their first year under Allen, they lost a Munster quarter-final to eventual finalists Tipperary and were beaten in the All-Ireland quarters by reigning, and soon to be retaining, Kilkenny.

Allen says he "felt welcome from the beginning" but, gathering the panel before the 2013 campaign, Limerick's third Cork manager in a row asked what their ambitions were and was stunned to hear they only extended to winning a match in Munster.

"I remember that night when we were goal-setting and being surprised that there seemed to be a lack of belief that we could win anything," he says.

"Particularly so, given that the previous year, we should have beaten Tipperary. We were up going into the last quarter and they brought on Bonner Maher, who got a goal and they scrambled a win really.

"We hammered Laois and Antrim, beat Clare and fell to Kilkenny, who were still very good and had Henry Shefflin, who turned the game with two goals.

"I felt surprised that didn't create some hope for the next year."

Confidence may have come easier to Cork men with All-Ireland medals in their pockets but they were welcome to try and share it.

Niall Moran had been hurling senior with Limerick since 2003. He suffered his first defeat to Cork in the following year's Munster semi-final – when the returning Brian Corcoran scored a memorable point from his knees in the Gaelic Grounds in a 1-18 to 2-12 win. Limerick then lost by a single point in the 2006 All-Ireland quarter final, the year before they were runners-up to Kilkenny.

"The biggest differences in '04, '06 is that tactically and in the professionalism of their setup Cork were miles ahead," he says. "We struggled with the running game. Now when we compare the two of them, most inter-county setups would be consistently professional but Limerick would have stolen a march maybe in more recent years on that count, and tactically they are the front-runners in terms of tactical know-how.

"We had a team that was loaded with potential: guys who had featured on the '96 and 2001 Munster final teams, the culmination of those three U21-winning teams (2000-02). But there had been a lot of expectation and it seemed that every year we were going into new management. There wasn't much patience.

"We garnered a lot of belief from having Cork men over us. The one consistent feature of all the Cork managers, from Dave Keane, of the successful Under 21 teams, to Justin McCarthy, on to Donal O'Grady and John Allen, was the belief. The innate belief that they had in themselves, in winning. The confidence that they brought. When you're dealing with people who have achieved what they achieved you do take note. They carried huge weight in the dressing-room."

Moran says that in 2013 Allen "created a culture where he allowed lads to believe there were no boundaries. In the proceeding years, we felt we had boundaries in front of us, from negative experiences, negative press. John kind of cleared the decks.

"He stopped the room dead in its tracks when he spoke about winning an All-Ireland. With previous management you might have said you wanted to win the All-Ireland but in some ways it was pie in the sky because you knew you were fundamentally flawed before you started.

"But John believed in the talent that was in the group and that gave lads an awful lot of belief to go and achieve.

"Belief was something that sometimes crippled Limerick, having not won an All-Ireland since '73 and having had some very close runs in the meantime. Above all, John Allen instilled that belief in 2013, and that sowed the seeds for the core group that were still present in '18 when the opportunity arose in an All-Ireland final."

Allen's confidence in 2013 was reinforced by a rematch with the All-Ireland champions in May that must rank among the more consequential friendlies in GAA history.

"Kilkenny at the time were so dominant and didn't generally play challenge games," he says.

"JP McManus persuaded them to take part in the opening of Martinstown pitch, where he's from. It was kind of a re-enactment of the '73 final.

"Limerick beat Kilkenny, who had a strong enough team out, which marked my card that there wasn't much difference between us."

The draw put them straight into the Munster semi-finals for a June rematch against Tipperary. Current captain and centre-back Declan Hannon was a forward in those days and he top-scored with nine points as Limerick dominated the final quarter to claim their first provincial victory since 2007 on a 1-18 to 1-15 scoreline.

The opposition in the decider was Cork, who retained Tom Kenny from the team Allen led to glory in 2005, which is still the county's most recent All-Ireland success. The game was delicately balanced at 10 points each when Patrick Horgan was sent off just before half-time. It remained a close battle until Limerick once again pulled away in the closing minutes, scoring seven in a row to win 0-24 to 0-15. Donal O'Grady became the first Limerick man to lift the Munster Cup since Ciaran Carey 17 years previously.

"My three kids were there wearing Cork colours," recalls Allen. "But at the same time, this was a year and a half into a project with these players and backroom team, three nights a week. So there's a bond and dedication to what you want to achieve. I was there to do a job and I had to be as professional as I could be and put my Corkism aside.

"It was a beautiful day. Everybody who saw the game and the crowds on the pitch after realised how much it meant to Limerick people.

"I always remember coming into the dressing-room after and Nickie Quaid saying to me 'That was my first time beating Cork in a championship game'. I shouldn't have been surprised but I was given he had player Under 21 and minor."

The summer ended 35 days later with a disappointing All-Ireland semi-final defeat to eventual champions Clare and shortly after, Allen was gone too.

"There was a lot of pressure on me to stay in 2013 after Clare beat us. It suits some people and doesn't suit others but I don't like the pressure of the whole thing to be honest, and it has become even more of a pressure pot today."

Before he left, he recommended selector Kiely as his successor: "I have no doubt he would have got it except that he was after applying for his job as principal.

"I thought John Kiely was very able from the first time I met him. And he has proved to be. It's a golden era and he's well able to handle the players and all that goes with being an inter-county manager.

"It has become a 24/7 job. While the manager is now a manager rather than a coach, in a lot of counties, there's still a lot of responsibility and accountability. Social media has added a huge weight as well."

Moran initially retired that December himself before coming back for one more spin and he is convinced Limerick would have made the breakthrough even sooner if Allen had remained. He traces the county's current dominance back to that summer 11 years ago and the confidence the Cork man inspired.

"We were awfully disappointed to see John go," he says. "I think that with John that Limerick group could have gone on to ultimate success. We obviously went very close the next year under TJ Ryan, who was also an excellent manager, but John believed in the group. He dared to dream.

"John Kiely was an integral part of that management group in 2013. I think John Allen would have had a huge influence on him. Donal O'Grady [now Limerick selector] was also John Allen's captain.

"That's a huge transformation in the mindset that might have crippled us going back to the years. It has come full circle. The Cork influence may not be directly in Limerick's backroom team but I think its footprints are all over the current management team.

"In 2018, we probably would have said as Limerick people that we can die happy now we've seen Limerick win one. But John Kiely has stretched out the boundaries as to what is possible, and continues to stretch out the boundaries, if the spirit and honesty of a group is there."

Cork avenged their defeat in the 2014 Munster final and the counties didn't meet in championship again until 2018. That was when Limerick won their first All-Ireland title in 45 years, after edging past the Rebels in an epic semi-final perhaps best remembered for a Quaid wonder save from Seamus Harnedy.

They have won every Munster and four out of five All-Ireland titles since, including the 2021 final when they hammered the Rebels by 16 points, scoring a record tally of 3-32. Cork have had their moments, round-robin wins in 2019 and this May, to keep their season alive, but there is little question where the psychological edge now lies between the counties.

"This team has beaten all before them and performed so brilliantly in the bigger matches," says Allen of Limerick. "They were very impressive again in the Munster final against Clare and you'd have to say would be fairly hot favourites for Sunday.

"Cork did beat them, and though they had a bit of luck at the end of the match it was a hugely significant win for Cork. Confidence has been tempered a bit by the performances over the past few weeks [against Offaly and Dublin]. Though the reported bug in the camp might have upset fellas before the Dublin game.

"Getting their tactics right, which they have done once, means they have a plan that they know can work but it's going to be very difficult I would say. The work-rate is a huge thing. There was a ferocity in Limerick's tackling against Clare that Cork will have to bring to the game. We all know what Limerick bring but no team has beaten them in a knock-out game for five years.

"They have to want to win this more than anything else they've done in the years this team has been together. If they have that huge want to win that they had the first day, they have a very pacy team and that can cause problems for the Limerick half-back line."

Moran suggests Cork have a "a right to believe that they can beat Limerick, given that they already have" but doesn't see lightning striking twice.

"In the recent fixtures, with the exception of the 2021 All-Ireland final, they have put it up to Limerick as much as anybody else has. But you have to go to a different place to land the killer blow. Until they knock them out of a championship, that belief will still have an asterisk beside it.

"Limerick now play with that sense of 'Corkness' that they always believe they can win, no matter how the game is going or what obstacles are in their way. Cork, until they achieve silverware, will still have a little bit of a question mark as to whether they really have that belief."

"Of the three other teams left in the championship, I would feel that Cork are a year or two off the other in development and Clare or Kilkenny would possibly represent a bigger challenge. But when you get to a semi-final, above any game, strange things can happen. The best team doesn't always win.

"That's the challenge for Cork and the challenge for Limerick is to keep on extending those boundaries. Achieve a huge feat in winning a five-in-a-row and who knows then after, maybe stretching out the boundaries even further. As John Allen said, keep on reaching for the stars."

Cork's hurling missionaries might have done too good a job instilling faith in their rivals.