Ruthless Limerick put Clare to the sword in Munster Hurling Championship:

Ruthless Limerick put Clare to the sword in Munster Hurling Championship:

By Joel Slattery Limerick Leader Sport

LIMERICK’S Championship 2026 is back on track after a superb all-round display saw John Kiely’s men secure a 2-30 to 1-18 victory over Clare at Zimmer Biomet Pairc Chisoig on Sunday afternoon.

An eighth consecutive Munster final is back firmly in control of Kiely’s charges as they overpowered Clare in Ennis.

After defeat in Cork the previous weekend, any questions lingering over Limerick were well and truly answered.

A superb team move saw Limerick rattle the Clare net in the fourth minute.

Barry Nash tore through the defence before passing to Peter Casey. The Na Piarsaigh man in turn passed to Aidan O’Connor who blasted the ball low and hard past Eibhear Quilligan.

Casey and Nash got early points themselves before a long-range Diarmaid Byrnes free gave Limerick a 1-3 to 0-3 lead after eight minutes. The dangerous Shane O’Donnell, Mark Rodgers (f) and David Reidy got Clare’s early scores but the ‘Treaty’ defence started the game firmly.

Limerick had a second major midway through the opening half. A clever pass from O’Connor to O’Brien saw the Kilmallock man pulled to the ground. A black card for Adam Hogan and a green flag from the Byrnes penalty.

Now well on top, Limerick added points from Adam English and an O’Connor free to lead 2-10 to 0-6 after 24 minutes.

After the penalty, the visitors outscored Clare 0-5 to 0-2 with the one-man advantage during Hogan’s ‘sin-bin’ period.

Clare were reliant on Mark Rodgers to keep the scoreboard ticking but the Shannonsiders were noticeably sharper than in Pairc Ui Chaoimh seven days previous.

Still on top when the ‘Banner’ were back to their full complement, scores from Casey and Hegarty stretched the lead to 13 points, 2-14 to 0-7 approaching the short whistle.

Clare nearly got a goal back on the stroke of half time. Rodgers rushed through the Limerick rearguard but Nickie Quaid stood strong making a smart diving save.

Rodgers and O’Connor swapped frees late in the half as Limerick took a 2-15 to 0-8 advantage into the interval.

Quaid was called again early in the second half, this time at full stretch to deny Rodgers a sure goal.

While the intensity was just as high after the break, an O’Connor free was the only score in the first 10 minutes after the restart.

A pair of placed balls from Rodgers got Clare off the mark in the second half with Nash scoring at the other end ensuring the ‘Treaty’ lead remained at 13.

Scores from play from Diarmuid Ryan, Niall O’Farrell and Rodgers saw Clare have their first real purple patch midway through the period.

Quick-fire points from Byrnes and Casey settled and nerves that may have been felt by those in green.

Shane O’Brien added two more in quick succession to extend the lead to 14 – all the good work done by Clare in the third quarter cancelled out.

With Limerick so close to the finish line, they were reduced to 14 players – Adam English dismissed for a second yellow card.

Clare then were awarded a penalty of their own – Barry Nash fouling Tony Kelly in the large rectangle. The Ballyea man stepped up and blasted the ball into the roof of the net.

But Limerick were able to keep the scoreboard ticking at the other end to ensure a comeback didn’t occur. There was time for Fintan Fitzgerald to mark his championship debut with a well taken score.

O’Brien’s fourth point from play – after a wonderful pass from O’Connor – after 68 minutes, ensured a comfortable victory for Limerick.

Kiely’s men have well and truly arrived in Championship 2026.

SCORERS:

Clare: Mark Rodgers 0-10 (7f, ‘65); Tony Kelly 1-2 (1-0 pen 1 ‘65); Shane O’Donell, David Reidy, Diarmuid Ryan, Niall O’Farrell, Jack O’Neill, Ian Galvin 0-1 each.

Limerick: Aidan O’Connor 1-8 (5f); Diarmaid Byrnes 1-2 (1-0 pen, f); Shane O’Brien 0-5; Peter Casey, Cathal O’Neill 0-3 each; Gearoid Hegarty, Barry Nash 0-2 each; Tom Morrissey, Adam English, Fintan Fitzgerald 0-1 each.

CLARE: Eibhear Quilligan; Rory Hayes, Conor Cleary, Adam Hogan; Diarmuid Ryan, Niall O’Farrell, Cathal Malone; Darragh Lohan, Ryan Taylor; Tony Kelly, David Reidy, Sean Rynne; Mark Rodgers, Peter Duggan, Shane O’Donnell.

Subs: Diarmuid Stritch for Tony Kelly (6-7 mins); Jack O’Neill for Sean Rynne (ht); David McInerney for Conor Cleary (41 mins); Diarmuid Stritch for David Reidy (41 mins); Ian Galvin for Mark Rodgers (62 mins).

LIMERICK: Nickie Quaid; Sean Finn, Mike Casey, Barry Nash; Diarmaid Byrnes, William O’Donoghue, Kyle Hayes; Adam English, Darragh O’Donovan; Cathal O’Neill, Aidan O’Connor, Tom Morrissey; Gearoid Hegarty, Shane O’Brien, Peter Casey.

Subs: David Reidy for Shane O’Brien (23-27 mins); David Reidy for Tom Morrissey (53 mins); Dan Morrissey for Sean Finn (58 mins); Ethan Hurley for Darragh O’Donovan (62 mins); Fintan Fitzgerald for Peter Casey (68 mins); Hugh Flanagan for Cathal O’Neill (70 mins).

REFEREE: Michael Kennedy (Tipperary).