The talking points from Limerick's Tailteann Cup final defeat to Kildare

Limerick fell agonisingly short of Tailteann Cup history on Saturday afternoon after the Shannonsiders were edged out by Kildare on a scoreline of 2-19 to 1-24 in Croke Park. 

READ MORE: Limerick fall short against Kildare in Tailteann Cup final 

Leader Sport takes a look at some of the main talking points from this Saturday's final. 

1. Limerick's fast start 

Limerick came out swinging from the outset. Tony McCarthy opened the Shannonsiders' account with a fine long-range effort after four minutes. A point a minute later from Emmet Rigter followed by Cillian Fahy's well-taken goal signaled to the Limerick supporters that their side wasn't there to simply make up the numbers. A further point from Rob Childs gave Jimmy Lee's side a 1-03 to 0-03 point advantage after five minutes.

2. Weather conditions

Anyone who was in Dublin on Saturday can attest to how warm and humid playing conditions were. According to Met Éireann, it reached as high as 24 degrees in Croke Park yesterday, which was taxing on both sets of players. That can be seen in the fact that Jimmy Lee and Brian Flanagan opted to use their benches relatively early on in the tie. After the match Jimmy Lee highlighted just how tough playing conditions were. 

"For both teams, the heat, the exhaustion of it, we just felt we needed to freshen things up and you're trying to do that in the middle of trying to keep the scoreboard ticking as well which can be tricky because you can lose that momentum as well with subs at times and unfortunately that's the way it happens," he said. 

3. Limerick not giving into the 'underdogs' tag

Kildare were heavily fancied coming into the game. The Lilywhites, paired with Westmeath, were earmarked as the pre-tournament favourites by the bookies. Limerick made it clear from the opening exchanges that they had paid no heed to the pre-match discussion surrounding Kildare's 'favourites' tag. Cillian Fahy raised a green flag after five minutes and in general Limerick's forward play and directness was causing Brian Flanagan's side defensive headaches.

Kildare responded well to Limerick's quick start, leading 1-10 to 1-04 after 19 minutes but Limerick rallied, showing that same grit and determination that we have so often seen in this year's Tailteann Cup campaign. Points from Neville, Ryan and Naughton ensured that the Treaty men stayed within touching distance of the division three runners-up. Limerick could and should have had more goals. Cian Burke in the Kildare net pulled off a fine save to deny Fahy a second and wing-forward Paul Maher dragged an effort wide of the post.

The second-half ebbed and flowed and in truth, it could have gone either way. Unfortunately for Limerick, it was Kildare who held their nerve and ran out two-point victors, a kick of the ball deciding the tie.

4. Campaign as a whole

Despite missing out on the trophy in Saturday's final, Limerick and those involved, in time, will reflect on what was a sensational campaign that gave Limerick football supporters some of their greatest days in the stands and terraces.

The Shannonsiders enjoyed a perfect group phase. Winning all three of their games. Jimmy Lee's side dispatched of London in round one (0-25 to 1-15) in Newcastle West followed by a victory away to Antrim (1-18 to 1-10) in Corrigan Park. In their final group game Limerick signaled their intent for this year's Tailteann Cup with a one-point victory over Westmeath (0-19 to 0-18) in O'Moore Park. 

Statement victories over Wexford in the quarter-final (4-21 to 2-19) and a comeback victory over Oisín McConville's Wicklow (2-18 to 1-16) ensured Limerick would play in this year's decider and although they fell just short, it can be a campaign in which they can build on in 2026. 

5. What the final display does for Limerick football

Although Limerick were on the receiving end of a loss yesterday, this year has put Limerick football back on the map. Jimmy Lee's side backed up their division four title win with a near perfect Tailteann Cup campaign, giving the football faithful of Limerick some of their best days following the Treaty county. 

After the match Lee spoke about the impact this campaign will have on the younger generation in Limerick, stories of children wanting to be James Naughton, scoring 4-12 on the schoolyard. 

"You look out into the stands there today and there was a lot of support out there, from my point of view that's special. Even during the week, I was in the shop and there is people asking for their autographs and I was talking to a woman yesterday, her young fella plays with Claughan and this young fella wants to play football again, that's what the lads have done," Lee said.

The Newcastle West native also spoke about building on this campaign in 2026.

"This is a journey that I hope we stay on," he said. 

"Division three is next year, it's a phenomenally competitive division on paper looking at it but we're hoping to build something, it has to be sustainable. Limerick football has been through peaks and throughs, even if we could get to a flatline and be sustaining that year on year but whatever we build has got to be sustainable in my eyes."