Limerick show Tipp no mercy

GAA: Munster Senior Hurling Championship Round 5

Limerick 5-27

Tipperary 0-25

Report: Stephen Barry at TUS Gaelic Grounds, Limerick

MATCH DIGEST

Player of the Match: Aidan O’Connor (Limerick)

SCORERS – Limerick: Aidan O’Connor 2-7 (1-0 65, 0-5 frees); Aaron Gillane 2-0; Diarmaid Byrnes 1-3 (1-0 penalty, 0-2 frees); Tom Morrissey 0-4; Gearóid Hegarty, Cathal O’Neill, Cian Lynch, Shane O’Brien 0-2 each; Mike Casey, Adam English, Darragh O’Donovan, Peter Casey, Barry Nash 0-1 each.

Tipperary: Darragh McCarthy 0-7 (7 frees); Eoghan Connolly 0-4 (2 frees); Conor Stakelum, Jake Morris, Stefan Tobin 0-3 each; Noel McGrath 0-2; Ronan Maher, Paddy McCormack, Sam O’Farrell 0-1 each.

Tipperary’s 2026 campaign concluded with a stinging five-goal defeat as Limerick left nothing to chance against their already-eliminated rivals.

Despite a disastrous start, the Premier trailed by just four, 2-12 to 0-14, at half-time in front of 29,069 fans at TUS Gaelic Grounds.

From there, Limerick piled on another 3-15 against Tipp’s 0-11 to book their eighth successive Munster final appearance.

It was the Treaty’s highest goals tally against their neighbours since scoring 6-7 in the 1973 Munster final with braces for Aidan O’Connor (2-7) and Aaron Gillane.

It also tied their record championship win over the Blue and Gold of 17 points, dating back to 1947.

Limerick further extended their dominance against Tipp to 14 games without defeat, comprising 11 wins and three draws. John Kiely’s men closed with 13 different scorers and still tallied 17 wides.

While they head for a Munster final against Cork, Tipp end without a championship win for the fourth time since the round-robin system was inaugurated in 2018. The margin of defeat saw the All-Ireland champions slip behind Waterford to finish last for the third time in five years.

For what marked a dead-rubber contest for Tipp, Liam Cahill drew on experience. He drafted in Noel McGrath and Séamus Kennedy, while also handing a first start to Keith Ryan among five changes.

In a couple of positional switches, Oisín O’Donoghue lined out at centre-back, Eoghan Connolly moved to midfield, and Darragh McCarthy began at centre-forward.

Cahill later gave championship debuts to Paddy McCormack and Jamie Ormond, while Michael Breen came on at wing-forward.

If Gillane was irked by being held scoreless against Waterford, he got it out of his system within 13 seconds here. William O’Donoghue delivered the ball into the full-forward line and Gillane rounded Ronan Maher to bounce home the opening green flag.

Conor Stakelum struck a brace and Alan Tynan won a free for McCarthy to tidy up, but Limerick soon reeled off 1-5 without reply.

The second goal arrived in the seventh minute. Bryan O’Mara initially blocked a goal chance for the wide-open Gillane, but from the resulting 65, O’Connor’s mishit travelled untouched to the net. Mike Casey came forward to complete the scoring streak for 2-6 to 0-3.

Robert Doyle had been switched onto Gillane and his block triggered a Tipp uplift for four consecutive points. Stefan Tobin, Noel McGrath, and Jake Morris got off the mark, while McCarthy added a free from distance.

Another four-point streak soon followed. McCarthy slotted his fourth free, Tobin flashed a half-chance over the bar, and Maher charged out of defence for a long-range effort. A Connolly free, the second won by Oisín O’Donoghue, made it a one-score game, 2-9 to 0-12.

McCarthy twice more narrowed the deficit to one score as Tobin was fouled for a second time, but a Diarmaid Byrnes free left Limerick 2-12 to 0-14 up at the interval.

After a half-time hurley presentation to Team USA Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk, who was clad in a Limerick jersey and cap, O’Connor and Noel McGrath resumed by trading points.

Limerick took a major leap for the finish line in the 37th minute. Cathal O’Neill released a charging Kyle Hayes, who was taken down from behind by Connolly. The Cashel man was sin-binned and Byrnes stepped up to bury the sliotar into the top corner, leaving Rhys Shelly rooted to the spot.

Byrnes immediately added a point from play, cancelled out by a well-earned Stakelum free for McCarthy to convert.

The hosts had goal number four in the 43rd minute. O’Connor gathered Darragh O’Donovan’s ball in, sidestepped O’Mara, and blasted low past Shelly for 4-14 to 0-16.

John McGrath whistled a goal attempt wide in the next play. A sublime Stakelum point, swinging over without taking the sliotar to hand, followed by efforts from Sam O’Farrell and Tobin saw Tipp exit the black-card period 2-2 to 0-4 in arrears.

Morris tacked on the next point as Noel McGrath departed to a standing ovation from the Tipp crowd.

In the 51st minute, the Treaty added their fifth goal. Gillane collected O’Donovan’s delivery, twisted past O’Mara, and fired his second bullet to the roof of the net; 5-16 to 0-20.

After a Connolly point from play, Limerick threaded together the next five in a row. Meanwhile, Nickie Quaid saved a close-range Darragh McCarthy free.

Connolly had Tipp’s next pair, one each from a free and play, either side of a Breen flick towards goal, which was cleared.

Limerick added another five points without reply. Shane O’Brien twice threatened a sixth goal, robbed by Oisín O’Donoghue for one and whizzing the second over. A Colm Lyons consultation over a potential black-card penalty yielded a yellow for Doyle.

The Treaty’s bench contribution amounted to 0-7 as Tom Morrissey added four, O’Brien tagged on two, and Barry Nash landed one.

McCormack grabbed a debut point in stoppage time before Morris’s third.

TEAMS – Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Seán Finn, Dan Morrissey, Mike Casey; Diarmaid Byrnes, William O’Donoghue, Kyle Hayes; Adam English, Darragh O’Donovan; Gearóid Hegarty, Cian Lynch (Capt), Cathal O’Neill; Aidan O’Connor, Aaron Gillane, Peter Casey.

Subs: Barry Nash for M Casey (HT); Tom Morrissey for English (48); David Reidy for P Casey (48); Shane O’Brien for Gillane (58); Colin Coughlan for Hayes (61).

Tipperary: Rhys Shelly (Moycarkey/Borris); Robert Doyle (Clonoulty/Rossmore), Ronan Maher (Thurles Sarsfields, Capt), Bryan O’Mara (Holycross/Ballycahill); Keith Ryan (Upperchurch/Drombane), Oisín O’Donoghue (Cashel King Cormacs), Séamus Kennedy (St Mary’s); Eoghan Connolly (Cashel King Cormacs), Conor Stakelum (Thurles Sarsfields); Alan Tynan (Roscrea), Darragh McCarthy (Toomevara), Noel McGrath (Loughmore/Castleiney); Jake Morris (Nenagh Éire Óg), John McGrath (Loughmore/Castleiney), Stefan Tobin (Carrick Swan).

Subs: Sam O’Farrell (Nenagh Éire Óg) for Tynan (42); Joe Caesar (Holycross/Ballycahill) for Kennedy (45); Michael Breen (Ballina) for N McGrath (50); Paddy McCormack (Borris-Ileigh) for J McGrath (54); Jamie Ormond (JK Brackens) for McCarthy (61); Brian McGrath (Loughmore/Castleiney) for Ryan (69-FT, temp)

Referee: Colm Lyons (Cork).