Will back-to-back prove a step too far?

WINNING the Liam MacCarthy Cup is no easy feat, and the challenge now facing reigning champions Limerick is whether they can go one better and defend the famous trophy in 2019.

If John Kiely’s men can manage to make it back-to-back All-Irelands, they will join an elite club.

Of the 13 counties to have won an All-Ireland Hurling Championship – London, Laois and Kerry all tasting success before the introduction of the Liam MacCarthy Cup in 1923 – only five have successfully defended it the following year.

The first county to win back-to-back All-Irelands was Cork, who managed to win three-in-a-row between 1892 and 1894, before Tipperary came to the fore and won five of the next six All-Irelands.

The Liam MacCarthy Cup was introduced in 1923, and Cork were again the first to bring the new trophy home two years in a row, beating Galway in the 1928 and 1929 finals.

In 2010, Kilkenny chased immortality as they looked to go one better than the famed Cork team of 19411944 by winning five All-Irelands in a row, only to suffer defeat in a thrilling final against Tipperary.