Can Limerick buck the trend to achieve a Munster hurling threepeat?
For 32 years, the three in a row in the Munster senior hurling championship has remained elusive. Not since Babs Keatings Tipperary beat Waterford in 1989 has a team pulled off the feat. That stretch of success followed Corks famous five from 1982 to 1986, which replicated the countys run of provincial triumphs from 1975 to 1979. Tipperary previously pulled off the three in a row in 1962. Cork (eight) and Tipperary (three) are the only counties to threepeat since Limerick in 1936 but the opportunity now presents itself to John Kiely and his group. As accomplished and capable as they are, multiple All-Ireland winning teams like them are among the eight teams since 1989 to have attempted to follow a second Mackey Cup with a third only to come a cropper:  Tipperary 1990. Winners: Cork  The three in a row had already been achieved by the vast majority of the team but for those like John Leahy and Declan Ryan who debuted in 1988 the final against Cork in Semple Stadium was an opportunity to add a third straight Munster medal. All-Ireland champions Tipperary team were put to the sword by a Cork team who had interpreted a Keating quote as a slight against them. Several managers in recent weeks got credit for being great motivators but if you have not the talentyou cant win a derby with a donkey, said Keating. Mark Foleys 2-7 and a brace of goals from John Fitzgibbon helped Cork to a first provincial title in four years and they followed it up with the Liam MacCarthy Cup. Tipperary returned the following year to reclaim both of those titles. Clare 1999. Winners: Cork  Having come through a semi-final replay with a youthful Tipperary side where their own tyro Alan Markham scored 1-4 and Colin Lynch ruled midfield, wily Clare appeared to be nicely prepared to face another group of greenhorns in the form of Jimmy Barry-Murphys Cork team. It wasnt that their legs showed  David Forde had a chance to level near the end but his free went wide and the absence of regular free-taker Jamesie OConnor was felt. But Cork were emphatic in how they saw out the game after that let-off. Joe Deanes goal before half-time was the only time the green flag was raised and Clare never led in the game, which even for a side as experienced as they were was a major psychological factor. Cork 2001. Winners: Tipperary  The first round game between Cork and Limerick was a question of who hurt the most. Cork, now under new manager Tom Cashman, had been stung by losing an All-Ireland semi-final to Offaly the previous season when they backed up their 1999 Munster title along the way beating Limerick by nine points. Limerick had been facing the prospect of a fourth consecutive first round defeat in the province but in Pirc U Chaoimh they were a different entity to the one that wilted so badly the previous season in Thurles. Cork were missing the class of Brian Corcoran and Sen g  hAilpn, the latter who had been in a car crash the week before, and Limerick were missing a lot of scoring chances  they registered 16 wides  but Barry Foleys 66th-minute sideline cut was enough to knock out Cork although Tipperary would halt their progress in the final. Cork 2007. Winners: Waterford  After John Allen resigned the previous September, Gerald McCarthy hoped to do what he did as a player and guide Cork to the three in a row. As far as the opening result went against Clare, it was mission accomplished but it had been preceded by what became known as Semplegate as players clashed upon arriving out onto the field from the Kinane Stand tunnel at the same time. For their semi-final clash with Waterford, Dnal g Cusack, Diarmuid OSullivan, and  hAilpn were suspended and their absence was felt in a thriller where Waterfords five goals  Dan Shanahan providing a couple  proved the difference. Waterford went on to claim the province against a Limerick team weary from their three dates with Tipperary. Cork later faced the Dise in two thrilling All-Ireland quarter-final bouts and in the replay Shanahan executed their downfall. Tipperary 2010. Winners: Waterford  There was to be plenty of consolation for Tipperary in the form of an All-Ireland title four months later but they looked nothing like champions in their 10-point quarter-final defeat to Cork in Pirc U Chaoimh. Having been unfortunate in their 2009 final loss to Kilkenny, this was not where Tipperary were expected to stumble. Aisake  hAilpn gave Pdraic Maher one of his toughest days in a Tipperary jersey as he scored 1-1 and Patrick Horgan found the net twice in a sobering result for Liam Sheedys side. After Tipperary had sent them out of the province the two previous seasons, this was a sweet victory for Cork. A facile win over a troubled Limerick outfit followed but Waterford were once again their bogey team in a pulsating extra-time replay under the lights in Thurles where Shanahan, this time as a substitute, was once again the match-winner. Tipperary 2013. Winners: Limerick  Bearing in mind these two drew 83,167 to their two Munster games in 2019, the 19,507 who attended their semi-final eight years ago was an embarrassingly low number. But then few in Limerick had expected it to turn out like this: Tipperary were on the back of two easily-claimed Munster crowns although the previous years All-Ireland semi-final reverse against Kilkenny had left some supporters disaffected, Limerick hadnt won any of their previous seven outings in the Munster SHC (they had won once in the previous 17) and the 24-point hammering Tipperary gave their neighbours in the 2009 All-Ireland semi-final still lingered. Senie Tobins first-half goal set the tone for Limerick while Tipperary let slip a series of goal opportunities. They did recover to take the lead in the second half but Limerick were indefatigable in the closing stages and scores from Declan Hannon and Donal OGrady contributed to an unlikely win. Guided by John Allen, Limerick followed it up in the final as Cork were left to rue Horgans red card. Tipperary 2017. Winners: Cork  Yet again, the Premier Countys attempt at the three-in a row failed in the first round and yet again it was Cork who, despite giving four players their championship debuts, administered the decisive blow. Coming in as All-Ireland champions and looking to get over Cork in championship for the fifth consecutive time (something they hadnt done since the 1960s), Tipperary seemed to have put their early defensive woes behind them when John McGrath fired in a second-half goal. But Conor Lehane was untouchable on the day and he pushed Cork ahead before Michael Cahalanes crucial goal. Cork grew in stature following that win, seeing off Waterford and Clare by five points each. Both they and Tipperarys campaigns concluded at the All-Ireland semi-final stage. Cork 2019. Winners: Limerick  It wasnt revenge but Tipperary reversed the 2017 result in the first round of the round-robin Munster SHC. That seven-point loss appeared to put Cork behind the eight ball going to the Gaelic Grounds to face All-Ireland champions Limerick but there they produced their own seven-point win. A handsome victory against Waterford back in Pirc U Chaoimh followed but as it turned out a draw was required in Ennis to see them into the final. But they were always in Clares shadow in that final round game, eventually losing by five points which combined with Limericks defeat to Tipperary, meant Cork finished ahead of the Banner in third place on score difference, ending Clares SHC campaign. Limerick transformed themselves in the final to see off Tipperary who once more under Sheedy belied a poor provincial performance to later claim the Liam MacCarthy Cup.