All-Ireland champions return to action as Limerick play Kerry in Munster Hurling Cup

ALL-IRELAND senior hurling champions Limerick are back in action this Sunday afternoon for their first fixture since their Croke Park final victory over Cork last August.

Kerry will provide the opposition in the Munster Hurling Cup semi final with the January 16 tie taking place in the TUS Gaelic Grounds at 2pm.

The sides are battling to reach the final of the early season provincial competition against Clare on Saturday January 22.

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Due to Covid-19 restrictions the attendance is capped at 5,000 and the last tickets sold out this Sunday morning.

Today will be the first time that John Kiely's hurling heroes have played in front of supporters in the TUS Gaelic Grounds since March 2020. They have won two All-Ireland and Munster SHC titles as well as an Allianz League since that March 7, 2020 tie which was attended by 9,097.

Limerick enter this early season competition as defending champions  – defeating Cork in the final when the Munster League last took place in January 2020.

While Sunday will be the first outing of the new season and the first of 10 guaranteed games for Limerick, Kerry did have a quarter final tie in the Munster Hurling Cup and it returned their first ever competitive victory over Tipperary.

Now managed by former Waterford hurler Stephen Molumphy, The Kingdom have called upon three Limerick club hurlers to bolster their panel for 2022 – Mungret duo Louis Dee and Nial Mulcahy and Kileedy’s Paudie Ahern. Before Christmas a the Kerry County Board were successful in receiving a special derogation from Central Council in Croke Park to allow them the same privilege as the Carlow, Laois and Westmeath hurlers to draft players into their squad under the parentage or granny rule and thus the inclusion of the Limerick trio in their panel against Tipperary last weekend. Ahern is selected to start today at centre forward, while Dee is listed as substitute goalkeeper.

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The Munster Cup is of course preparation for the Allianz League. The Limerick senior hurlers will have home advantage for three of their five games. The men in green have home ties with Galway, Cork and Offaly, with trips to Wexford and Clare.

The Limerick hurlers open their five game group campaign on February 6 away to Wexford and then play the Henry Shefflin managed Galway in their first home game on Saturday February 12, which is the only Saturday fixture for the hurlers.

The Allianz Hurling League semi finals are set for March 26/27 with the final on April 2/3 and the Munster SHC to begin on April 17 in Pairc Ui Chaoimh.