PHOTOS Limerick overpower Cork at TUS Gaelic Grounds to take command in Munster Senior Hurling Championship

Limerick defeat Cork at TUS Gaelic Grounds to take command in Munster Senior Hurling Championship on May 18, 2025. Picture: Olena Oleksienko/ilovelimerick

Limerick delivered a complete performance to defeat Cork to take control of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship table

Limerick overpowered Cork in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship with a commanding 3-26 to 1-16 victory in a sun-soaked TUS Gaelic Grounds, giving the Treaty Men solid footing in the table ahead of their upcoming fixture with reigning All-Ireland champions, Clare.

Limerick started off at full tilt in front of the sold-out crowd of 42,477 as Aaron Gillane had the Cork net shaking inside the opening three minutes and Tom Morrissey adding a further two points before the Leesiders registered a score. It was another standout performance for Gillane as he went on to tally up 2-7, carrying his form from the Waterford game two weeks ago. Limerick captain, Cian Lynch, orchestrated attacks through Tom Morrisey and Adam English, putting Limerick’s powerful attacking options on display in what was a statement performance for the team.

Cork were able to keep things ticking over through great performances from Patrick Horgan and Mark Coleman, but they struggled match the Shannonsiders fluency going forward and their disruptive defending, as well as some great Nickie Quaid goalkeeping holding Cork at bay, as Limerick took a commanding 2-18 to 0-9 lead in at the half.

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The Rebels came out strong in the second half with Patrick Horgan taking the first score of the half but every time Cork would put a question, Limerick had the answer as Cork pulled the gap back to 10 points with an incredible free from Horgan until a second Aaron Gillane goal put more distance between the teams, an unstoppable penalty put past Patrick Collins.

Kyle Hayes was awarded Man of the Match for his display at the back, setting a solid foundation for Limerick to attack on, while changes from the bench added to Limerick’s performance with great efforts from Cathal O’Neill and Peter Casey, who added to Limerick’s scorers.

With Cork managing just 7 points from play throughout the game, Limerick’s defending was at its best, and fans will be hoping this is just the beginning for the year ahead.

Limerick are now within touching distance of another Munster Final as they sit on top of the Munster Hurling Championship table with Clare to come on Sunday, May 25, with a commanding goal difference it will take a lot from the reigning All-Ireland Championships to upset Limerick, but there is still work to be done in the final game of the round robin.

Speaking about the victory after the game, Limerick manager John Kiely said the team has “to deliver” on days like this, and it meant a lot to the players beating Cork following the Leesiders double over Limerick in 2024, Kiely said, “We got beaten by Cork twice last year, you know, they’re one of the top teams in the country, we’re at home, at the Gaelic Grounds in the championship. We have only two games here, we have to deliver on days like today, you just have to, there’s no out on it.”

The manager noted it was a team effort as well as the Limerick captain stepping up to get the engine running in the team, he said, “ I think Cian [Lynch] got the team off to a really great start, just with his presence of mind in that first two minutes, he could see it. And when the first couple get going, it encourages everybody to follow suit. Use of the ball was very, very good today.

“I think most of all, though, our defence from 15 back to Nickie [Quaid], we defended really well today. We got back in numbers, we got spoils in and we were absolutely dominant on the ground.”

The Limerick side was Nickie Quaid; Sean Finn, Dan Morrissey, Mike Casey (0-01); Diarmuid Byrnes (0-01), Kyle Hayes, Barry Nash; Adam English (1-02), William O’Donoghue; Gearoid Hegarty (0-03), Cian Lynch (capt.) (0-01), Tom Morrissey (0-05); Aaron Gillane (2-07), Shane O’Brien (0-01), David Reidy (0-01)

Subs: Cathal O’Neill (0-02), Séamus Flanagan, Peter Casey (0-02), Colin Coughlan, Aidan O’Connor, and Barry Murphy.

Pictures: Olena Oleksienko/ilovelimerick