Limerick and Kilkenny face off in the 2023 All-Ireland hurling final

LIMERICK'S senior hurlers are gunning for four Liam MacCarthy Cups on the trot when they take to the field in Croke Park this Sunday afternoon.

John Kiely's group of players can join the immortals of the game with victory against Kilkenny and in doing so will win their fifth All-Ireland crown in the space of six years. It has been a stunning run of success for the Treaty county.

Derek Lyng's Kilkenny stand in the way of Limerick matching the Cats' run of four titles on the bounce from 2006 to 2009, a team that Lyng was very much a part of.

Limerick have been hit with the news that Declan Hannon will not be part of the match day panel after he failed to recover from the knee injury that he picked up in the Munster final. Richie English has also been ruled out with rumours abound of another cruciate ligament injury.

William O'Donoghue deputised for Hannon in the All-Ireland semi-final win over Galway and has been named at centre back once again for today's decider.

The meeting in the 2023 final will be the 10th time that Limerick and Kilkenny have faced off against each other at this stage. Limerick currently hold the edge on victories with five to Kilkenny's four.

Limerick come into the game as favourites given their recent record but face an opposition that are well versed in victories of their own at GAA HQ.

Kilkenny saw off Clare in their semi-final and came extremely close to beating Limerick in last year's decider with scores from Gearóid Hegarty, Conor Boylan and Aaron Gillane enough for the Treaty to land their 11th ever Liam MacCarthy Cup.

There are plenty of match-ups to keep an eye on on Sunday with Aaron Gillane and Huw Lawlor arguably the most intriguing.
Lawlor put in an excellent display against Gillane in the 2022 decider but the Patrickswell man has brought his play to a new level in 2023.

At the other end of the field, Kilkenny captain Eoin Cody comes into the final on the back of a sublime semi-final showing that mined 1-5. From Limerick's point of view, Cody will need minding, as will his Ballyhale clubmate, the ageless, TJ Reid.

If Limerick can put on a display like they did in the second half against Galway, they should be champions but Kilkenny will bring a very strong challenge to the table.

However, Limerick's experience and talent off the bench should be enough to land even more glory.