The joy of six: The Limerick hurlers who featured in every Kiely final
For Nickie Quaid, Diarmaid Byrnes, Kyle Hayes, Gearoid Hegarty and Aaron Gillane, Sunday was their sixth time starting an All-Ireland final
AN ERA-defining success for Limerick as John Kiely’s men added to the considerable medal haul they have claimed since the 2018 breakthrough.
Eight of the starting team that day eight years ago - Nickie Quaid Sean Finn, Mike Casey, Diarmaid Byrnes, Kyle Hayes, Cian Lynch, Gearoid Hegarty, Aaron Gillane - started both the 2018 and 2026 finals.
For Quaid, Byrnes, Hayes, Hegarty and Gillane Sunday was their sixth time starting an All-Ireland final.
Even more remarkable - Effin’s Quaid and Patrickswell’s Byrnes have played every minute of six All-Ireland finals.
Other starters in 2018 were Tom Morrissey, Dan Morrissey and Darragh O'Donovan - the three of whom came off the bench in Sunday’s win.
On the other side of the coin, Will O’Donoghue and Peter Casey started last week but were used substitutes when Limerick broke their 45-year famine.
O’Donoghue has started the five finals since while Casey has three starts and three substitute appearances in title deciders.
David Reidy, Barry Nash and Colin Ryan were all part of the 38-man Limerick panel that year - sub goalie Ryan part of the squad as an outfield player.
The Pallasgreen man is the only one of the players listed above not to have earned a sixth Celtic Cross on Sunday - before moving back between the posts he was out of the panel for a number of years.
Both Tom and Dan Morrissey as well as O’Donovan had started the previous five finals since Kiely took charge in 2017.
Some regular starters have missed finals due to injury over the incredible run that has seen six MacCarthy Cup triumphs in nine seasons.
Mike Casey (2020/21), Cian Lynch (2022) and Sean Finn (2023) were all forced to sit out All-Ireland finals in years where they missed a lot of hurling with various injuries.
Seamus Flanagan and Graeme Mulcahy had all played in five All-Ireland finals but are no longer part of Kiely’s panel.
For the group with six medals, they are among the most decorated players ever to play the game. Given the respective age profiles it will be tough for this crop of players to hit the record 10 Celtic Crosses in the possession of the legendary Henry Shefflin.
Kilkenny quartet JJ Delaney, Tommy Walsh, Jackie Tyrrell, and Noel Hickey all won nine All-Irelands in their illustrious careers.
Certainly an achievable target is the mark of eight medals won by legendary duo Christy Ring (Cork) and John Doyle (Tipperary).
Seven Kilkenny men - Dick Doyle, Jack Rochford, Dick Walsh and Sim Walton from the early 20th century as well as Brian Hogan, TJ Reid and Richie Hogan from more contemporary times - have seven medals.
While this Limerick team pride themselves on staying in the moment and taking it game-by-game and year-by-year, this incredible group are making history along the way.