OPINION: Strap yourself in because summer's just beginning - Shane Dowling

IF you followed the narrative, you didn’t believe. If you judged with your own two eyes and saw the reality, you believed. Because the narrative did not reflect the reality of what was actually going on.

And like that, two points away from been dumped out of the championship in May, and now we look forward to a Munster final, for the fifth time in a row, in June.

All-Ireland quarter final at worst - folks, strap yourselves in, our summer is only beginning. And what a game we have to look forward to, again our oul' buddies across the border.

There is no greater certainty from knowing all them boys who would have been sitting at home with their feet up - and deserved in fairness - but roaring at the Cork boys to get over the line.

They wanted Limerick gone, out the gap, and they probably would have been favourites for the All-Ireland - but sorry lads, we’re going nowhere!

Clare came to the TUS Gaelic Grounds and turned us over in April, and fair play to them, they were gallant winners. The sign of them though is can they beat us twice in six weeks? Anyway, that’s next week. So what about last Sunday?

I was lucky. I stayed in my house to watch the Galway comeback against Dublin in Leinster and then tipped away down the road around 3.32pm and was sitting in my seat at the TUS Gaelic Grounds for 3.45pm.

All the hustle and bustle and parking and crowds doesn’t exist for me with matches in the Gaelic Grounds. I was tempted to go for a pint beforehand and soak in the atmosphere, but there was too much happening around the country to miss out.

If you told me beforehand that Cork would score 1-30, I would have said we would all be drowning our sorrows in Kilkee for the summer, but there you go. We went for the onion sack on Sunday evening, and we needed it.

There wasn’t six minutes gone in the game and I turned to the lad beside me and said I have no fears here. Barry Nash took off up the field, and Declan Dalton, who was marking him, just looked at him. Barry got the ball, tipped it over the bar and ran away back to his position.

If you can watch it back, do. When I saw that, I said Cork haven’t changed their mindset. Have they improved? Yes, they have. But improved enough to be All-Ireland contenders? No. I’m sorry now, but the game was not half as close as what the final scoreline suggested.

Limerick went seven points up and were in cruise control. Declan Hannon could have smoked a cigar with the space they afforded him for his point. Cork were dead and buried, and I thought it was going to be an 11 to 12 point win.

Out of nowhere, a long ball ended up around the house, Horgan pulled, and just like that the Limerick lead was back to four. Darragh O’Donovan, who was immense, came off, Hannon came off, Mike Casey came off. Lads were out on their feet, and all of a sudden from cruise control, all bets were off. And credit Cork, the goal gave them some life, they won some frees and got them back to a one point game.

I was flat out refreshing the Tipperary GAA Twitter account at this stage to see would Waterford hold on by five points. Tipp got it back to a six point deficit, Cork had it back to one, and with only a few minutes remaining I didn’t know were we going to be playing Offaly, going to a Munster final or going to have to listen to our neighbours for a few months reminding us that we were out of the championship.

We got two lucky ‘65’s. Could have been goals, could have been cleared, could have been bloody anything! It was a mad finish. Conor Lehane hitting the side netting. It had it all.

Anyway, in the end we got what we wanted. When John Cregan, former Limerick Chairman and legend, announced on the PA system the score from Thurles, a massive cheer went around the stadium. [Freed from Desire] belted out over the speakers and the party had started. I’d never seen the Gaelic Grounds like that before with no cup handed out.

It was said to me during the week that the hunger was gone from the Limerick supporters. Whoever said that to me was badly mistaken. The scenes afterwards was unreal.

Raw passion, raw emotion, Limerick GAA to the core. I’ve said the hardest thing for Limerick this year, was to get out of Munster. Teams have built themselves up for a go every time, and we are still standing. Mentally, players in other counties are sickened. We are one game away from Croke Park, and if we get there, nobody will take this ship down. A big challenge awaits.

Tipperary, for me, have an ideal run-in. Three weeks off, a bit of a breather, a wake-up call, just like Limerick in 2018. Tipp play Offaly and they will be spot on then for whoever they meet in an All-Ireland quarter final. But guess what, they can’t win a Munster final. They can’t create history, we can. Go on you good thing!