PHOTOS Electrifying Munster Final ends Limerick’s reign in heartbreaking defeat to Cork

Electrifying 2025 Munster Final ends Limerick’s reign in heartbreaking defeat to Cork. Photo: Cian Reinhardt/ilovelimerick

A historic 2025 Munster Senior Hurling Championship Final at TUS Gaelic Grounds saw an end to Limerick’s championship reign, as the six-in-a-row Munster champions lost out to Cork on penalties

Saturday, June 7, was a historic evening at the TUS Gaelic Grounds as the six-in-a-row Munster champions, Limerick, couldn’t reach seventh heaven as Cork claimed their 55th provincial title in what was a pulsating game which needed to be decided on penalties.

Limerick had come into the decider off the back of a dominant 16-point win over Cork in the round-robin phase, but the Cork team came into the game hoping to make a statement.

Following a Cork 1-30 to 2-27 Limerick draw after extra time, the 2025 Munster Senior Hurling Championship was decided by a penalty shootout, with Cork lifting the Mick Mackey Cup in front of a packed TUS Gaelic Grounds, winning 3-2 in the shootout.

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Cork set a marker in the first half, coming out of the blocks to take a quick score and adding two more to give the Rebels a 0-3 to 0-0 lead after the first six minutes through scores from Patrick Horgan and Seamus Harnedy. Limerick didn’t register a score until the seventh minute, a slow start by the Treaty men’s standards, when Tom Morrisey fired a beautiful score over, but Limerick would be playing catch-up for much of the first half.

Not until the 19th minute did Limerick draw level through a spectacular piece of work from Aidan O’Connor who broke free from Cork defenders on the right corner and some quick thinking with the hurley allowed him to play the ball past Cork’s Patrick Collins, the sliotar didn’t rattle the net, but it still registered the first goal of the game and brought the Treaty men level.

Both teams level, they exchanged scores over the coming minutes, until Cork restored their momentum when Patrick Horgan snatched the ball under the pressure, passing it out to Brian Hayes, and the full forward line rounded off a great piece of play when their captain, Shane Barrett fired home restoring Cork’s lead, helping them take a 1-14 to 1-10 lead at the break.

Limerick took the opening score in the first half within seconds of the restart, the game with see an exchange of points until Cork again began to pull away, but when Aaron Gillane and Shane O’Brien linked up on the 46th minute, O’Brien put it past the Cork keeper to make it level once again.

The game, unable to be decided after 70 minutes, finished Limerick 2-19 to 1-22 Cork and extra-time would be very much the same as the teams exchanged scores throughout, Limerick could have thought they had it won when Aaron Gillane fired over a free in the 91st minute of extra time, but more time added on gave Cork the chance to level it with the last puck of the game when they were given a 65 and Darragh Fitzgibbon put the ball over.

The game, decided on penalties, saw Cork win out 3 to 2, with Conor Lehane, Shane Kingston, and Alan Connolly scoring for the Rebels; and Diarmuid Byrnes and Aaron Gillane being successful from the spot for Limerick.

Following the game, Limerick Manager John Kiely said, “ They [Cork] had the response when we did get ahead, they came back another score. But all told, I just have to be super proud of our lads, the effort they put in. It was just an incredible effort, we’ve won six out of seven Munster finals, that record I think, will stand a long time.”

Speaking about extra time and penalties, the Limerick manager said, “I think Cork got a really good rub of the green there, just in that last piece. But listen, we got to penalties, and there’s no dress rehearsal for this. There’s no practising for this. It’s just put your best foot forward, and you’re taking the shot on behalf of the group.

It’s not on the lads, I thought Declan and Tom and Barry, manfully put their hand up to take these penalties and as far as we’re concerned, it was our men’s senior team who lost this afternoon. It was nothing to do with Barry or Tom or Declan, that’s for sure.”

Limerick still await their opponents for what will be their first All-Ireland Senior Hurling Quarter Final since 2018, the Treaty will face either Kildare or Dublin following Kildare’s victory over Laois in the Joe McDonagh Cup. The game will take place on either Saturday, June 21 or Sunday, June 22, with the venue yet to be decided.

Photos: Cian Reinhardt/ilovelimerick