Allianz HL D1A: Limerick cruise to victory

Allianz Hurling League Division 1A

Limerick 0-36 Tipperary 0-21

By Stephen Barry at FBD Semple Stadium

Limerick reasserted their head-to-head supremacy over Tipperary with a 15-point thumping at FBD Semple Stadium to make it 13 games without defeat against blue and gold opposition.

Willie Connors was sent off just after half-time, but the damage had been done by then as the All-Ireland champions trailed 0-20 to 0-7 in calm, but damp conditions.

Aidan O’Connor starred with 0-11 as Limerick featured 12 different scorers from play against Tipp’s five in front of 15,221 fans.

The Treaty jump from fourth to second on the Division 1A table, knocking Tipp down to third on score difference.

The Premier’s winless run against their neighbours extends back to the 2019 Munster round-robin, drawing three games and losing 10 since then.

Following a weekend off, Liam Cahill and John Kiely both made six changes. Without the suspended Jason Forde, Cahill gave first starts of the year to Noel McGrath, Eoghan Connolly, and Seán Kenneally.

For Limerick, Kyle Hayes returned from a neck injury to make his seasonal bow. He started at seven as William O'Donoghue retained the centre-back slot and captained the side. Behind them, newlywed full-back Dan Morrissey made his first start of 2026.

Five of Kiely’s Fitzgibbon Cup contingent were included after scoring a combined 2-26 in UL’s triumph over Mary I. The likes of O’Connor and Shane O’Brien, who finished with 0-6, carried in that form to land the opening points. They weren’t alone, as Limerick unleashed a far more cohesive and intense performance from the outset.

They destroyed Tipp with turnovers and were 0-7 to no score ahead by the 11th minute. The hosts didn’t muster a score from play until the 34th minute.

Limerick’s defensive toughness was evident from the start as Morrissey blocked down a Jake Morris shot. They quickly countered for the first of O’Brien’s three opening-half points.

Peter Casey and O’Connor raised white flags from the New Stand sideline, while Adam English was also off the mark when found by O’Brien.

Kenneally was a rare bright spark and he almost jolted Tipp to life when rattling the crossbar after a dozen minutes. Darragh McCarthy had missed his first free, but would slot his next five for Tipp’s only points of the opening half-hour.

Gearóid Hegarty and Aaron Gillane soon wrote their names onto the scoresheet. Limerick’s hunger was evident when forcing Morris to overcarry in his own half.

Darragh O’Donovan and English, scored in quick succession. O’Donovan could’ve added a goal, but Joe Caesar slid across to block.

When Cathal O’Neill split the posts, the full set of forwards were up and running. That was part of a five-point streak which stretched the lead out to 0-19 to 0-5.

Tipp rallied in the closing moments. McGrath landed their first from play. Darragh Stakelum, who was an early substitute for Sam O’Farrell, got in on goal, but Nickie Quaid advanced quickly to save.

Kenneally opened his account before gathering Bryan O’Mara’s long delivery and drawing a penalty from Morrissey. McCarthy stepped up only to fire low to the left and wide. It remained 0-20 to 0-7 at half-time.

Any hopes of a comeback were all but over within seconds of the restart as Connors received a straight red card from referee Colm Lyons for an off-the-ball clash with O’Donovan.

Tipp did raise their efforts, led by their veteran warrior McGrath. The 35-year-old reeled off five points to take his tally to 0-6. Defender Keith Ryan also landed one on his debut.

Ten points was the closest they got before Limerick responded with three in a row to quell the home resilience. Tom Morrissey and Donnacha Ó Dálaigh clipped two each off the bench, while Mike Casey came forward from defence for one.

Limerick visit Offaly next Sunday, while Tipp get a bye week before travelling to Waterford.

Scorers for Limerick: Aidan O’Connor 0-11 (3f, 2 65s); Shane O’Brien 0-6; Peter Casey 0-4; Adam English, Darragh O’Donovan, Gearóid Hegarty, Aaron Gillane, Tom Morrissey, Donnacha Ó Dálaigh 0-2 each; Mike Casey, Colin Coughlan, Cathal O’Neill 0-1 each.

Scorers for Tipperary: Darragh McCarthy 0-7 (7f); Noel McGrath 0-6; Eoghan Connolly (1f, 1 65), John McGrath (2f) 0-2 each; Jake Morris, Seán Kenneally, Keith Ryan, Darragh Stakelum 0-1 each.

Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Matthew Fitzgerald, Dan Morrissey, Mike Casey; Colin Coughlan, William O’Donoghue, Kyle Hayes; Adam English, Darragh O’Donovan; Gearóid Hegarty, Aidan O’Connor, Cathal O’Neill; Aaron Gillane, Shane O’Brien, Peter Casey.

Subs: Donnacha Ó Dálaigh for O’Brien (44-46, blood), David Reidy for English (52), Tom Morrissey for Hegarty (52), Ó Dálaigh for Gillane (60), Joe Fitzgerald for O’Neill (60), Diarmaid Byrnes for Hayes (63).

Tipperary: Barry Hogan; Cathal O’Reilly, Bryan O’Mara, Eoghan Connolly; Joe Caesar, Craig Morgan, Séamus Kennedy; Willie Connors, Conor Stakelum; Sam O’Farrell, Andrew Ormond, Noel McGrath; Darragh McCarthy, Jake Morris, Seán Kenneally.

Subs: Darragh Stakelum for O’Farrell (30), Oisín O’Donoghue for Ormond (h-t), John McGrath for McCarthy (51), Josh Keller for C Stakelum (56), Keith Ryan for Caesar (61).

Referee: Colm Lyons (Cork).