Five talking points ahead of Limerick's Munster final with Cork

AFTER last Sunday's defeat to Clare, Limerick ended their Munster Senior Hurling Championship round-robin series campaign. John Kiely's side now switch their focus to the Munster senior hurling championship final against Cork on Saturday June 7 at 6pm.

Leader Sport takes a look at some of the big talking points ahead of the provincial hurling final.

John Kiely's record in Munster finals

John Kiely is yet to lose a Munster senior hurling final in his nine years in charge of the Limerick senior hurlers. In 2017, the Shannonsiders suffered a defeat to Clare in the Munster semi-final. Since then, Limerick have went on to win six Munster titles in-a-row.The Galbally native has guided Limerick to unprecedented levels of success and the reigning Munster champions will aim to keep their unbeaten record in provincial finals intact on June 7.

Lack of goals a concern

Limerick scored five goals during the Munster senior hurling championship. Kiely's charges scored goals against Tipperary and Cork during the Munster SHC. However, they failed to hit the net in the games against Waterford and Clare.

The 2023 All-Ireland champions have scored a combined total of 5-101 and conceded 8-81 during the four games of the 2025 Munster SHC to-date.

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Squad depth still as strong as ever

Last Sunday provided John Kiely with the perfect opportunity to give some of the squad game-time. Shane Dowling, Declan Hannon, Darragh O'Donovan, Seamus Flanagan and Peter Casey all received their first starts of the 2025 Munster championship last Sunday.

Limerick had effectively already qualified for the Munster final before last Sunday's clash with Clare. This gave Kiely the opportunity to rest Nickie Quaid, Sean Finn, Kyle Hayes, Aaron Gillane and Cian Lynch who were not included in the 26 man panel against Clare.

Cork next up in Munster final

Cork just did enough against Waterford last weekend to book their spot into the Munster senior hurling final.
The Shannonsiders issued a statement of intent against their Munster rivals cruising to a comprehensive 3-26 to 1-16 victory in round four of the Munster SHC.

Limerick got revenge on Cork after the Rebels got the better of them twice during last year's championship. Both sides have created a real rivalry over the last number of years and they could be set to meet again further down the line in the All-Ireland series.

Limerick and Cork currently sit as the favourites to win this year's All-Ireland senior hurling championship.

Picking the Limerick starting XV

It seemed like breaking into the Limerick team would be a tough task following their commanding win over Cork and that still appears to be the case.

On Sunday, Peter Casey and Seamus Flanagan were among the standout performers who impressed in phases.
Supporters will be curious to see if Kiely, Kinnerk and Co decides to make any changes to his starting XV for the Munster final.

Predicted Limerick starting XV: Nickie Quaid; Sean Finn, Dan Morrissey, Mike Casey; Diarmaid Byrnes, Kyle Hayes, Barry Nash; Adam English, William O'Donoghue; Gearoid Hegarty, Cian Lynch, Tom Morrissey; Aaron Gillane, Shane O'Brien, David Reidy.