In the history of the senior hurling championship only two counties have a
positive record in clashes against Kilkenny. One is Tipperary. It may
surprise some that the other is Limerick.
One explanation for this statistic, some will say, is the fact that next
Sunday’s clash is only their eight meeting in the championship. It is a
clash that is unique for a couple of reasons. One being that it’s the first
time that the counties have met in a championship game that is not the All
Ireland final. The other reason is that it’s the first time Limerick will
go in to face Kilkenny not as Munster champions.
The first meeting of the counties was the 1897 All Ireland final. This took
place in Tipperary in November of that year. Limerick, who were represented
by Kilfinane, triumphed over Kilkenny, who were represented by Tullaroan on
a scoreline of 3-4 to 2-4. It was the first success at this level for
Limerick. Their opponents would have to wait seven years to win their
first, which they did by defeating St. Finbarrs of Cork.
The counties did not meet again for another thirty six years. They were due
to meet in the 1911 final. Limerick were crowned Munster champions but
refused to take any further part in that year’s championship and so the
Munster council nominated Tipperary to take their place. Kilkenny
subsequently triumphed over their neighbours. Twenty two years later they
defeated Limerick in the All Ireland final. This was a very strong Kilkenny
team which contained legends such as Lory Meagher and this win was their
second in a row.
This was also the start of a golden era for Limerick hurling. Undoubtedly
the team of this time was the best Limerick team of all time and would rank
high in comparison to any of the great hurling teams prior to or after that
the thirties. Indeed their five league titles in a row in this decade is
still the only five in a row that any county has managed at national level
in senior intercounty, league or championship, hurling or football. They
returned to win the Jubilee All Ireland in 1934 in a replay over Dublin but
lost the following year, again to the cats, this time by a solitary point.
1936 was to be their year though as they claimed league, munster and All
Ireland crowns. The 1933 and 1935 defeats was avenged in spectacular
fashion as the side captained by Mick Mackey won on a scoreline of 5-6 to
1-5. 1940 saw the last success of that great Limerick side as they beat
Kilkenny by two goals in the final, again captained by Mackey.
Limerick hurling then suffered a thirty three year drought of All Ireland
success. This is still the longest the county has been without an All
Ireland, though one suspects this particular statistic may be surpassed in
the very near future. 1973 saw the end of that drought in “The Umbrella All
Ireland” where they defeated an injury hit Kilkenny side. Jackie Power who
had been such an integral part of the great side of the thirties was the man
who masterminded this success from the sideline along with the help of 28
year old trainer Mick Cregan, brother of Eamon, who used his army backround
to ensure Limerick were a super fit outfit that year.
To this day the debate rages as to whether or not Limerick would have
prevailed that day had it not been for injuries suffered by Kilkenny which
ruled Kieran Purcell, Jim Treacy, Eamonn Morrissey and Eddie Keher out of
the final. Many from the Limerick side maintain nothing would have stopped
them that day while their Kilkenny counterparts understandably maintain the
opposite view point.
The Limerick argument is that they were so focused and confident after their
dramatic success in Thurles, which had removed such a collective weight from
their shoulders, that no team in Ireland would have stopped them. That was
certainly the view of Jackie Power who stated that he agreed with Mick
Mackey’s assertion who had said, “I think the way Limerick played on
All-Ireland day they would have beaten any team. Here you had fifteen men
who went out with one aim and one aim only – to win the title and I was
never really worried that they were going to fail.”
The Kilkenny argument was that with a full side they would have had too much
class for Limerick given their magnificent performance in their Leinster
final win over Wexford of that year which Eddie Keher described as the best
Kilkenny team he had played in. He stated his opinion after the 1973 final
that “had Kilkenny played as they did in the Leinster final they would not
have been beaten.”
Some of the neutral opinion of the time which I have read, if it can be
called neutral, seems to have come down on the Limerick side of the
argument. Len Gaynor of Tipperary stated he felt after losing to Limerick
in that year’s dramatic Munster final that no team would stop them winning
the ultimate honour. This he says he was convinced of before he heard of
any Kilkenny injuries. It was something the great Cork player Brian Murphy
also agreed with. “They would say that, wouldn’t they”, I’m sure would be
the response from most Kilkenny folk but they might be interested to hear
that their own former great Jim Langton also felt that Limerick were not
going to be beat by anyone that day.
There are many ‘what ifs’ on both sides of this argument. Kilkenny fans
will wonder what if Keher was fit and produced a performance like he did in
the finals of 1971 and 1972. What if Pat Delaney hadn’t the shoulder all
the responsibility in the forward line that day? They can speculate all
they want but nobody can prove the argument either way. Who is to say that
had Keher lined out that Limerick wouldn’t have held him? He wouldn’t be
the first or last great forward to be held in an All Ireland.
Limerick saw that Pat Delaney was the biggest threat in the forwards left
and so decided to move Eamonn Cregan back centre back to mark him, which he
did so successfully. Limerick fans may ask, what if Kilkenny were at full
strength and that decision not taken? Who’s to say that Cregan wouldn’t
have been the games highest scorer, as he had proven in Thurles that year to
be Limerick’s biggest goal threat?
One can glean precise definite answers from performing a “what if scenario”
on a Microsoft excel spreadsheet. Unfortunately there is no such formula
yet invented to give one a definite answer to questions of bygone hurling
days. Until there is neither Limerick or Kilkenny fans can say what would
have happened had Kilkenny been at full strength but it is a debate which
will not die. Each side will understandably stick to their own viewpoints.
Kilkenny gained revenge for that defeat in emphatic style in the following
year by defeating Limerick 3-19 to 1-13. Supporters from the marble city
point to this as more evidence that they would have won they previous year
but for the injuries suffered. It should be remembered that they were
different circumstances. In1973 Limerick’s hunger was at it’s maximum. The
drive that was there to win the county’s first title in thirty three years
was not matched by the drive to win back to back titles. Similarly one
could argue that Kilkenny’s motivation to regain their crown was greater
than it had been the previous year to retain it. A modern day comparison
that can be drawn would be to the last two years clashes between Cork and
Waterford. The fact that Cork have beaten them twice this year doesn’t
change the fact that Waterford were deserving of their Munster crown last
year.
Since Kilkenny’s win of 1974 the sides have not met in a senior championship
match. Indeed clashes of any kind between the counties in championship have
been rare. Limerick defeated Kilkenny in the centenary minor final after a
replay. Kilkenny were victors over the treaty men in the 1986 junior All
Ireland final. Their last championship meeting of any kind came in Thurles
in 1998 when Limerick claimed the intermediate crown over a side that
included a 19 year old Henry Shefflin.
The counties have never met at U-21 level. Some pundits from Kilkenny and
other neutrals, including Ger Loughnane have said that Limerick’s three in a
row feat in this grade from 2000 to 2002 is tainted somewhat by the fact
they never beat Kilkenny to do so. This is a very unfair viewpoint to take.
To win one All Ireland is an achievement but to win three is a great feat
and what has happened, or more accurately not happened, to Limerick hurling
since should not take away anything from this success. Each year they won
hard games and beat the best teams in the country in the U-21 grade. The
fact that Kilkenny were not among the best in these three years is not
Limerick’s concern. Indeed if one were to look at it another way you could
point out that Cork are the most successful county in the sport in the
country and Limerick beat them on their way to All Ireland glory in each of
the three years. Throw in the names of Tipperary, Galway and Wexford as
other counties Limerick beat and it’s clear they beat strong opposition each
time. I’m sure Loughnane would not demean either of Clare’s senior
successes in the nineties by saying that they never beat a Kilkenny side who
were Leinster champions on their way to claiming the Liam McCarthy.
So next Sunday the counties renew acquaintances at senior level after a gap
of thirty one years. The score stands currently at Limerick four, Kilkenny
three. One gets the feeling that by half five next Sunday Kilkenny will
have evened things up on that particular score. With the new championship
format it’s unlikely we’ll have to wait another thirty one years for the
next meeting.
Liammac1973@hotmail.com
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