![\"Brian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/5029865_4_articleinlinemobile_3416926_1_.jpg\" "\\"Brian")
Brian Hayes in action against Mike Casey. Pic: Piaras \u00d3 M\u00eddheach\/Sportsfile<\/p>\nA first Division 1 title for Limerick in three years and fourth under John Kiely was delivered in a free-strewn final in TUS Gaelic Grounds.<\/p>\n
Losing their league crown, Cork won\u2019t be perturbed by their second defeat to their neighbours here in four weeks. The game lacked intensity at times and an atmosphere despite the 41,678 crowd. The same is unlikely to be said of SuperValu P\u00e1irc U\u00ed Chaoimh in three weeks.<\/p>\n
Aaron Gillane helped himself to 1-7 as Limerick pushed away in the closing minutes of normal time having seen a six-point lead cut to two by the 66th minute.<\/p>\n
After losing his way a little towards the end of the first half, Aidan O\u2019Connor rediscovered his marksmanship skills with three converted frees in the opening 12 minutes, On a day when frees were conceded cheaply, the third of them sent Limerick five points clear and Gillane\u2019s second point put them six up in the 48th minute.<\/p>\n
Gillane\u2019s third point eight minutes later restored Limerick\u2019s six-point cushion before Cork sprang back with three in less than two minutes, Hugh O\u2019Connor, Tim O\u2019Mahony and William Buckley with his third the scorers.<\/p>\n
Gillane forced another save from Patrick Collins in the 64th minute. Diarmaid Byrnes converted the resultant 65 only for Alan Connolly to restore the three-point difference.<\/p>\n
The new 30-metre dissent rule was utilised by referee Shane Hynes when Mark Coleman contested a free awarded to Gear\u00f3id Hegarty and Gillane duly capitalised with the free. Hegarty then posted a point himself and Gillane weaved his way to a fifth point to seal the victory for Limerick.<\/p>\n
Limerick\u2019s attacks were bellowed by the breeze in the first half. It was so strong it was a question of not whether they would be ahead at half-time but by how much.<\/p>\n
Brian Hayes in action against Mike Casey. Pic: Piaras \u00d3 M\u00eddheach\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n
Three points, 1-13 to 1-10, was a disappointing margin when they had been nine between the teams in the 18th minute. Gillane\u2019s goal in that minute sent them 1-11 to 1-2 ahead.<\/p>\n
The first six scores in the opening seven minutes were Limerick\u2019s, two of them directly from Cork puck-outs. Adam English picked off the first couple of points, the second after a Cork restart was preyed upon.<\/p>\n
Diarmaid Byrnes rose above Darragh Fitzgibbon to claim another Collins puck-out in the seventh minute and sent it back over the Cork goalkeeper\u2019s head.<\/p>\n
Two minutes later, Byrnes was in the red when he inexplicably sent a pass intended for Nickie Quaid to Brian Hayes who couldn\u2019t believe his luck as he found the net.<\/p>\n
Limerick hit back rapidly with a Cathal O\u2019Neill point. They twice led by six points prior to Gillane\u2019s goal, a score so cleverly created by the Patrickswell man getting first to the ball ahead of Se\u00e1n O\u2019Donoghue and touching it into space to run onto.<\/p>\n
At that stage, nobody would have predicted Limerick scoring just two further points in the half. Four consecutive Alan Connolly frees gave Cork a foothold in the game that they craved.<\/p>\n
A couple of Aidan O\u2019Connor wides from placed balls deflated Limerick and Fitzgibbon and Connolly (free) scored either side of a Gear\u00f3id Hegarty point.<\/p>\n
Tommy O\u2019Connell, one of Cork\u2019s best, made a great hook on English as he attempt to unload towards the Cork net in the 34th minute.<\/p>\n
Another Limerick goal opening came seconds later as Cian Lynch\u2019s shot was parried by Collins. Hynes had played advantage and blew for it just before Lynch bungled the sliotar over the line.<\/p>\n
A row ensued which saw English and O\u2019Connell booked and the free was altered to a throw-in, which Cork won, O\u2019Connell broke from and found Hayes to give the Munster champions a seismic boost before half-time.<\/p>\n
\n Scorers for Limerick: A. Gillane (1-7, 3 frees); A. O\u2019Connor (0-8, 7 frees, 1 65); A. English, D. Byrnes (1 free, 1 65) (0-3 each); C. O\u2019Neill, G. Hegarty (0-2 each); S. O\u2019Brien, D. Reidy (0-1 each).<\/p>\n
\n Scorers for Cork: A. Connolly (0-7, frees); B. Hayes (1-3); W. Buckley (0-3); T. O\u2019Mahony (1 free), D. Fitzgibbon (0-2 each); S. Harnedy, T. O\u2019Connell, M. Coleman, H. O\u2019Connor (0-1 each).<\/p>\n
\n LIMERICK: N. Quaid; S. Finn, M. Casey, B. Nash; D. Byrnes, W. O\u2019Donoghue, K. Hayes; A. English, C. Lynch (c); A. O\u2019Connor, G. Hegarty, C. O\u2019Neill; A. Gillane, S. O\u2019Brien, D. Reidy.<\/p>\n
\n Subs: P. Casey for C. O\u2019Neill (temp, 32-ht); P. Casey for S. O\u2019Brien (54); D. O\u2019Donovan for A. O\u2019Connor (58); E. Hurley for C. Lynch (67); C. Coughlan for D. Byrnes (70+3).<\/p>\n
\n CORK: P. Collins; N. O\u2019Leary, C. Joyce, S. O\u2019Donoghue; E. Downey, R. Downey, M. Mullins; T. O\u2019Mahony, T. O\u2019Connell; S. Harnedy, S. Barrett, D. Fitzgibbon (c); A. Connolly, B. Hayes, W. Buckley.<\/p>\n
\n Subs: G. Millerick for S. O\u2019Donoghue (inj 35+1); M. Coleman for M. Mullins (48); H. O\u2019Connor for S. Harnedy (50); R. O\u2019Flynn for T. O\u2019Connell (62); D. Dalton for W. Buckley (69); D. Cahalane for R. Downey (70+2).<\/p>\n
\n Referee: S. Hynes (Galway)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A first Division 1 title for Limerick in three years and fourth under John Kiely was delivered in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384192,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2110,23713,1964,42,17406,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-384191","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-cork-sport","9":"tag-irish-examiner-instagram-sport","10":"tag-cork-gaa","11":"tag-headlines","12":"tag-limerick-gaa","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-top-news","15":"tag-top-stories","16":"tag-topnews","17":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}