Ahead of Sunday's clash between Cork and Limerick in the All Ireland final we're looking back at four memorable championship meetings between the sides
June 20, 2010
Cork 2-19 Limerick 0-12
The Limerick of 2010 were a far cry from the all-conquering side we’ve become familiar with in recent years. Internal camp politics were all the rage at the time and Denis Walsh’s Cork side were the ones to benefit from Limerick’s off-field issues. Having comfortably dispatched of Tipperary in the Munster quarter final, the Rebels were hot favourites for this Munster semi-final clash and they duly delivered. One of the star men on display 11 years ago was none other than Patrick Horgan who scored 1-2. He’ll be hoping to replicate that performance on Sunday.
Cork eventually lost the Munster final to Waterford after extra-time.
July 14, 2013
Limerick 0-24 Cork 0-15
2013 was the year Cork last reached an All-Ireland decider but what is often overlooked about that season is that they were soundly beaten by Limerick in the Munster Final.
Limerick, who were picking up their first provincial title since 1996, were coached by former Cork supremo John Allen .
Cork rebounded to beat Kilkenny in the quarter final and Dublin in the semis before losing to Clare in the final after a replay.
July 29, 2018
Limerick 3-22 Cork 2-31
Epic is an oft-overused adjective to describe a game of hurling but the All Ireland semi-final meeting between Cork and Limerick in 2018 is more than deserving of it. This was arguably the beginning of the current period of dominance that John Kiely’s Limerick have been enjoying in recent years.
With 63 minutes on the clock, Cork were six points to the good and looked home and hosed. But Limerick were far from finished and buoyed by the likes of Shane Dowling, Peter Casey, and Pat Ryan, they forced their way back into the game.
Extra-time followed and with the momentum behind them the Treaty-men booked their place in the final for the first time since 2007. The rest, as they say, is history.
May 19, 2019
Cork 1-26 Limerick 1-19
Coming off the back of their 2018 All Ireland triumph, Limerick were hot favourites to retain in 2019.
And having been beaten by Tipperary in their opening round robin fixture the week prior, the feeling was that John Meyler’s Cork were in for a torrid summer. So the predictions ahead of this meeting were simple. Limerick to blow Cork away. Eoin Cadogan and Patrick Horgan had other ideas however.
Cork’s defence restricted Limerick to two second half scores from play and the man from Glen Rovers was in sparkling form, shooting 1-9. Limerick went on to claim the Munster title, while Cork were beaten by a resurgent Kilkenny at the quarter final stage. But this win was a sign that maybe, just maybe, this young team had bright futures ahead of them.
