Thrilling hurling season ends with terrific finale

ATHRILLING finale to an enthralling hurling season saw underdogs Limerick beat the favourites Galway in Croke Park yesterday. Not even the most ardent Tribesman would begrudge John Kiely’s youthful squad their well-deserved success.

From early morning, the Treaty County fans thronged the capital, hoping against hope that the 45-year wait was finally over and that the Liam MacCarthy Cup would come back to Limerick for the first time since 1973.

The pundits had mostly predicted a Galway victory, adding that Limerick’s time would come, but not yet. They were wrong – but only just. The game could have gone either way in added time, when Galway finally woke up and clawed their way back to within a point of their opponents.

The Shannon men were always expected to come out fighting but the pundits had predicted that the Galway team would quickly show its skills and superiority.

It didn’t happen and Limerick seized the initiative from the beginning. Then Graeme Mulcahy pushed them ahead with a goal after 17 minutes of play and they stayed ahead, right to the last nail-biting minute of the contest.

A good game of hurling is truly a spectacle to behold. Yesterday’s final was not always elegant, but there is no doubting the fact that the country has been treated to an exhilarating season of hurling this year.