SUNDAY 3 May
Munster SHC
Clare v Limerick, Zimmer Biomet Cusack Park, 2pm
ONLINE
Follow a live blog on the RTÉ News app and on rte.ie/sport.
TV
Clare v Limerick will broadcast live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player on Sunday from 1.30pm.
Highlights and reaction on The Sunday Game (9.30pm) on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
RADIO
Live commentary and updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday Sport as well as Spórt an Lae on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.
WEATHER
Sunday: Likely to be a cloudy day for most with widespread showers developing, again turning heavy at times with a chance of thunder. Highest temperatures of 12 to 15 degrees in light northeasterly breezes. For more go to met.ie.
Neighbours take centre stage
With no Leinster fixtures this weekend, and the Joe McDonagh, Christy Ring, Nickey Rackard and Lory Meagher not resuming until 9/10 May, it's the Munster championship that is the sole focus of attention.
It may only be one game taking centre stage, but we could be in for another cracker when neighbours Clare and Limerick battle it out in Ennis.
For the first time since 2019, Limerick opened their championship account with a defeat. Having built up an early lead, and recovered from Cian Lynch’s second-half dismissal to once again nudge ahead on Leeside, Cork finished strong to make it two wins from two in Munster.
John Kiely insisted it was a "tremendous" display in defeat and recent history in this fixture will give the Treaty men confidence of getting their provincial ambitions back on track.
Clare meanwhile held off a Stephen Bennett-inspired Waterford to secure a six-point win over the Déise, the Banner prevailing in a thrilling shootout.
It was a result that mirrored their recent Division 1B final win over Dublin – high scoring at one end but leaks aplenty at the other end and manager Brian Lohan, in his seventh year at the helm, will know the 2024 All-Ireland champions will have to tighten up if they are to make serious inroads in this year's championship.
To that end, former Antrim player Neil McManus has suggested the return of John Conlon could bolster the defensive unit.
Now in his 18th season with Clare, Conlon, who nearly lost a finger last year after getting his wedding ring caught in a fence, was an unused sub against Waterford but could see action in Ennis. Two-time All-Ireland winner David McInerney is expected to return after his recent lay-off.
One forward they may not have to worry about is Aaron Gillane, the sharpshooter unlikely to return from the injury that ruled him out of the Cork defeat. With another former Hurler of the Year, Cian Lynch, out through suspension, it allows the likes of Shane O'Brien and Aidan O'Connor more room to take centre stage.
The Treaty men threatened to blow away the Rebels early doors before some uncharacteristic errors and poor shot selection allowed Ben O'Connor's side back into the contest.
Last year's round-robin clash saw Clare leave the Gaelic Grounds with a five-point win, though Limerick's most recent trip to Ennis, in the opening round of the 2024 Munster championship, saw the visitors prevail by three points. Seven weeks later Limerick completed the double by claiming the Mick Mackey Cup at Clare's expense.
Sunday's game will be another sell-out, with the Munster Council confirming earlier this week that both counties have taken their full allocation, with no public sale of tickets for the eagerly-awaited clash.
History
Cork v Limerick has become the main rivalry in hurling in the last couple of years, but prior to that, it was the counties separated by the Shannon that seemed to bring the best out of each other.
The Munster championship in the Nineties was illuminated by some titanic tussles between the sides. From 1993 to 1996 they met in successive seasons and shared two wins each, yet it was the Banner that plundered two All-Ireland titles in and around that period, with Limerick coming up short in two deciders.
After the 1996 classic, which was won by Limerick, they avoided each other for a decade before Clare dished out a humiliating defeat in a round robin qualifier tie in Ennis, winning by 17 points.
An Andrew O’Shaughnessy inspired side saw Limerick topple Clare in 2007’s All-Ireland quarter-final while Treaty colours were lowered in 2013 en route to Clare’s Liam MacCarthy success.
Sunday marks the 64th championship meeting between the counties. Limerick lead that count 40-21, and John Kiely’s reign has overseen some big wins over the Banner.
While Clare have picked off round-robin victories (2018, 2023 and 2025), the men in green have delivered when silverare has been at stake, emerging victorious in the 2022, '23 and '24 Munster finals, though the Banner recovered from the loss two years ago to lift Liam MacCarthy.
What the managers say
John Kiely (Limerick): "You don't go to Ennis any day without the pressure being on. It’s a tough place to go. There’s a great rivalry between the two sides.
"From our perspective, if we can produce a performance as good next Sunday, it’ll give us an opportunity. We’ll obviously try to improve at least 1% if we can in a number of different areas. Our accuracy can be better next week.
Brian Lohan (Clare): "Losing your first home game would have been very difficult to recover from, even though we have recovered from that in the past," the Clare boss said.
"The players were aware of that and it was important that we got a performance (against Waterford). We did get a performance – maybe not a complete performance, but we got a performance."
