In another compelling eat-or-be-eaten Munster Senior Hurling Championship, Limerick were insatiably ravenous to gobble up their first victory of the campaign in front of 20,751 in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chiosóg, Ennis.
The pre-match narrative centred around how the absence of key protagonists Cian Lynch and Aaron Gillane would impact Limerick but, by the final whistle, it was a stunned Clare that were thankful that the two former National Hurlers of the Year were not available.
A lead of 16 points at one stage thanks to ten different scorers, this was as emphatic a victory as John Kiely could have prayed for as they pummelled their lacklustre hosts into submission with combinational or tactical nous and physical superiority.
That rout commenced as early as the fourth minute when Darragh O'Donovan picked out an unmarked Peter Casey to race through and combine with Barry Nash to tee up Aidan O’Connor for a goal at 1-01 to 0-02.
David Reidy answered immediately but it would only be a temporary reprieve as that goal seemed a release of sorts for Limerick who tacked on seven of the next eight points through six different scorers as Shane O’Brien (2), Barry Nash, Diarmaid Byrnes, Tom Morrissey, Gearoid Hegarty and Aidan O’Connor powered their side 1-08 to 0-04 clear by the end of the opening quarter.
Mark Rodgers stopped the rot but it would be met by another decisive moment a minute later as Shane O’Brien was put through on goal only to be hauled down by Adam Hogan. Referee Michael Kennedy awarded Limerick a penalty that Diarmaid Byrnes inevitably finished to the right corner while Clare’s double whammy would be a black card for Hogan.
By the time he returned Limerick were almost out of sight at 2-14 to 0-07 but any murmurings of a Banner backlash before the break would be dashed by a superb point blank save from goalkeeper Nickie Quaid.
Tony Kelly picked out the run of Mark Rodgers who was first hooked by Sean Finn before getting a second bite that would be somehow repelled by Quaid and Barry Nash to take a 2-15 to 0-08 cushion into the break.
Clare’s attempts to grab a lifeline on the resumption continued to be frustrated as Tony Kelly had a shot deflected for a ’65 while Mark Rodgers would again be thwarted by Quaid, this time a full length stop to tip away his 44th minute strike.
Clare did rally briefly at the end of the third quarter with a four point blitz through defenders Diarmuid Ryan, Niall O’Farrell and Rodgers (2) at 2-18 to 0-14.
However, the home side simply couldn’t sustain that intensity and were soon swallowed up by Limerick’s second wind that saw Shane O’Brien (2), Diarmaid Casey, Peter Casey and Cathal O’Neill hit the next five points to stretch the gap to 15 points by the 58th minute.
Limerick have been superb today, but perhaps the man in between the posts has grabbed the most headlines
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 3, 2026
Nickie Quaid take a bow
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Not even a second yellow card for Adam English and a Tony Kelly penalty on the hour mark that he earned himself could derail Limerick’s buoyancy as Kiely expiated the bench and managed to extend their already handsome lead to a 16-point chasm entering injury-time.
The tireless Shane O’Brien and Aidan O’Connor added a further brace each to complete their biggest ever away derby win over Clare who now need a major reaction themselves against Tipperary in a fortnight’s time.
Limerick meanwhile have home ties against Waterford and Tipperary to come along with the welcome return of key protagonists Cian Lynch and Aaron Gillane.
Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Sean Finn, Mike Casey, Barry Nash (0-02); Diarmaid Byrnes (1-02, 1-00 Pen, 1f), William O’Donoghue, Kyle Hayes; Adam English, Darragh O’Donovan (0-01); Cathal O’Neill (0-03), Tom Morrissey (0-01), Gearoid Hegarty (0-02); Peter Casey (0-03), Aidan O’Connor (1-09, 6f), Shane O’Brien (0-06)
Subs: David Reidy for O’Brien (23-27, BS), Reidy for Morrissey (54), Dan Morrissey for Finn (59), Ethan Hurley for O’Donovan (63), Fintan Fitzgerald (0-01) for P. Casey (69), Hugh Flanagan for O’Neill (72)
Clare: Eibhear Quilligan; Rory Hayes, Conor Cleary, Adam Hogan; Diarmuid Ryan (0-01), Niall O’Farrell (0-01), Cathal Malone; Darragh Lohan, Ryan Taylor; Sean Rynne, David Reidy (0-01), Tony Kelly (1-02, 1-00 Pen, 1’65); Mark Rodgers (0-10, 7f, 1’65), Shane O’Donnell (0-01), Peter Duggan
Subs: Diarmuid Stritch for Kelly (6-7, BS), Jack O’Neill (0-1) for Rynne (HT), David McInerney for Cleary (42), Stritch for Reidy (42), Ian Galvin (0-1) for Rodgers (63)
Referee: Michael Kennedy (Tipperary)
