2018 Limerick county hurling team season
| Irish: | Luimneach |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s): | The Shannonsiders The Treaty County |
| Province: | Munster |
| Dominant sport: | Hurling |
| Ground(s): | Gaelic Grounds, Limerick |
| County colours: | Green and white |
| County teams | |
| NHL: | National Hurling League Division 1B |
| Hurling Championship: | All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship |
The 2018 Limerick county hurling team season was the Limerick senior hurling team's 127th active season of participation in inter-county hurling. During the season, Limerick played in the Munster League, the National League, the Munster Championship and the All-Ireland Championship. It was the team's most successful season in nearly half a century.
Veteran players James Ryan and Gavin O'Mahony retired from inter-county hurling within days of each other at the end of the previous season, while 2017 championship panellist Stephen Cahill was also an absentee.[1][2] Notable players returning included Kevin Downes, who missed the 2017 season due to a cruciate injury, and David Reidy, who rejoined the Limerick panel after a year with the Kildare senior hurling team. Other additions included several players from Limerick's 2017 All-Ireland Under-21 Championship-winning team, such as Séamus Flanagan.[3]
On 19 August 2018, Limerick won the All-Ireland title for the 8th time in their history after a 3-16 to 2-18 defeat of Galway in the All-Ireland SHC final at Croke Park.[4] Leading by nine points at one stage in the second half and by eight with just two minutes of normal time remaining, Limerick withstood a sensational Galway comeback, which included late goals by Conor Whelan and Joe Canning, to win by a single point. It was their first All-Ireland title since 1973.
Limerick were described as the "worthiest All-Ireland champions" of all time after playing eight games to win the title, including defeats of the traditional big three - Kilkenny, Cork and Tipperary - as well as the 2017 All-Ireland champions Galway and runners-up Waterford.[5] Over 80,000 fans lined the streets of Limerick to welcome the team home the day after the final.[6]
Players and staff[edit]
Backroom staff[edit]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | John Kiely |
| Selector | Brian Geary |
| Selector | Jimmy Quilty |
| Selector | Aaron Cunningham |
| Coach | Paul Kinnerk |
| Strength and conditioning coach | Joe O'Connor |
| Goalkeeping coach | Timmy Houlihan |
| Performance coach | Caroline Currid |
| Statistician | Seán O'Donnell |
| Statistician | Kieran Hickey |
| Statistician | Conor Reale |
| Statistician | Ruairí Maher |
| Logistics | Eamon O'Neill |
| Logistics | Conor McCarthy |
| Kitman | Ger O'Connell |
| Maor Camáin | Alan Feely |
| Doctor | James Ryan |
| Physio | Mark van Drumpt |
| Physio | Mark Melbourne |
All-Ireland Championship[edit]
Knockout stages[edit]
| Date | Round | Opponents | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 July 2018 | Preliminary Quarter-final |
Carlow | 5-22 - 0-13 | A Gillane 1-6 (0-2fs), P Casey 1-3, T Morrissey 0-5, G Mulcahy, D Byrnes (0-1 '65') 1-1 each, K Hayes 1-0, G Hegarty 0-2, C Lynch, B Nash, S Flanagan, D O'Donovan 0-1 each. |
6,000 |
| 14 July 2018 | Quarter-final | Kilkenny | 0-27 - 1-22 | A Gillane 0-5 (2f), T Morrissey 0-4, K Hayes, G Mulcahy, G Hegarty, D O'Donovan (1 sideline) 0-3 each, P Casey 0-2, S Flanagan, D Byrne, D Hannon, S Dowling 0-1 each. |
18,596 |
| 28 July 2018 | Semi-final | Cork | 3-32 - 2-31 (aet) |
A Gillane 0-13 (0-7 fs); S Dowling (1-0 pen; 0-1 f) 1-4 (0-1 f); C Lynch 1-1; G Mulcahy 0-4; P Ryan 1-0; G Hegarty 0-3; D Byrne (f), D O’Donovan, S Flanagan, K Hayes, T Morrissey, B Nash, D Reidy 0-1. |
71,073 |
| 19 August 2018 | Final | Galway | 3-16 - 2-18 | G Mulcahy 1-2, K Hayes 0-4, T Morrissey 1-1, S Dowling 1-0, A Gillane 0-3 (0-2f), D Hannon 0-2, D Byrnes, D O’Donovan, C Lynch, S Flanagan 0-1 each. |
71,073 |
Statistics[edit]
Scorers[edit]
| Player | Munster League | National League | Munster Ch. | All-Ireland Ch. | Overall | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Total | Score | Total | Score | Total | Score | Total | Score | Total | |
| Aaron Gillane | 1-21 | 24 | 6-67 | 85 | 0-10 | 10 | 1-27 | 30 | 8-125 | 149 |
| Tom Morrissey | 0-08 | 8 | 0-14 | 14 | 0-15 | 15 | 1-11 | 14 | 1-48 | 51 |
| Séamus Flanagan | 3-05 | 14 | 0-14 | 14 | 0-09 | 9 | 0-03 | 3 | 3-31 | 40 |
| Graeme Mulcahy | — | 2-04 | 10 | 1-06 | 9 | 2-10 | 16 | 5-20 | 35 | |
| Diarmaid Byrnes | 0-03 | 3 | 1-13 | 16 | 0-06 | 6 | 1-04 | 7 | 2-26 | 32 |
| Gearóid Hegarty | 0-01 | 1 | 1-11 | 14 | 1-05 | 8 | 0-08 | 8 | 2-25 | 31 |
| Shane Dowling | — | — | 0-19 | 19 | 2-05 | 11 | 2-24 | 30 | ||
| Cian Lynch | 0-02 | 2 | 0-07 | 7 | 0-09 | 9 | 1-03 | 6 | 1-21 | 24 |
| Kyle Hayes | — | 1-03 | 6 | 0-05 | 5 | 1-08 | 11 | 2-16 | 22 | |
| Darragh O'Donovan | 0-03 | 3 | 0-03 | 3 | 0-05 | 5 | 0-06 | 6 | 0-17 | 17 |
| David Reidy | — | 0-15 | 15 | — | 0-01 | 1 | 0-16 | 16 | ||
| Barry Nash | 1-07 | 10 | 0-01 | 1 | — | 0-02 | 2 | 1-10 | 13 | |
| Paul Browne | 0-02 | 2 | 0-09 | 9 | — | — | 0-11 | 11 | ||
| Pat Ryan | 0-01 | 1 | 1-03 | 6 | — | 1-00 | 3 | 2-04 | 10 | |
| Peter Casey | — | — | — | 1-05 | 8 | 1-05 | 8 | |||
| Colin Ryan | — | 0-06 | 6 | — | — | 0-06 | 6 | |||
| Oisín O'Reilly | — | 1-02 | 5 | — | — | 1-02 | 5 | |||
| Barry O'Connell | 0-01 | 1 | 0-04 | 4 | — | — | 0-05 | 5 | ||
| Barry Murphy | — | 0-01 | 1 | 1-00 | 3 | — | 1-01 | 4 | ||
| Declan Hannon | 0-01 | 1 | — | — | 0-03 | 3 | 0-04 | 4 | ||
| Andrew La Touche Cosgrave | 0-02 | 2 | — | — | — | 0-02 | 2 | |||
| Dan Morrissey | — | — | 0-02 | 2 | — | 0-02 | 2 | |||
| Paddy O'Loughlin | 0-01 | 1 | — | — | — | 0-01 | 1 | |||
| David Dempsey | — | — | 0-01 | 1 | — | 0-01 | 1 | |||
| Total | 5-58 | 73 | 13-177 | 216 | 3-92 | 101 | 11-96 | 129 | 32-423 | 519 |
Clean sheets[edit]
| Player | Munster League | National League | Munster Ch. | All-Ireland Ch. | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickie Quaid | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| Barry Hennessy | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
References[edit]
- ^ "Gavin O'Mahony retires from intercounty hurling". RTÉ Sport. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^ "Limerick captain Ryan announces inter-county retirement". RTÉ Sport. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^ O'Toole, Fintan (16 November 2017). "Downes back from cruciate, Reidy back from Kildare and U21 winners added to Limerick panel". The 42. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^ McGoldrick, Seán (19 August 2018). "Limerick are All Ireland hurling champions for the first time in 45 years following epic victory over Galway". Irish Independent. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
- ^ McEvoy, Enda (18 August 2018). "The victors will be the worthiest All-Ireland champions in history. That'll be Limerick". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^ Raleigh, David (21 August 2018). "80,000 plus fans pay tribute as Limerick's All Ireland-winning team return home". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^ O'Connell, Jerome (16 August 2018). "Who's who in the 20-strong Limerick hurling management". Limerick Leader. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
| Stadiums | |
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| Key historical figures | |
| Rivalries | |
| Competitions | |
| All-Ireland SHCs | |
| Seasons | |
