There was never any shortage of great hurlers in Limerick. There was never any shortage of great fans in Limerick either. All too often though, the county was regarded as the third-best county in Munster behind Cork and Tipperary. Limerick was a hurling superpower in all, bar the number of titles. Remarkably, this was a county with only one All-Ireland win in the space 78 years. From the legendary Mick Mackey-inspired team in 1940, winning its third title in a decade, the county then had to wait all the way to 1973, with Éamonn Grimes lifting the trophy. There followed an unmerciful famine of 45 years, as Limerick fans watched on as Galway, Offaly and Clare, along with Wexford, would break the stranglehold of the big three of Kilkenny, Cork and Tipperary. Limerick reached five finals, only to come up short, most notably in “the five-minute final” of 1994 when Offaly scored 2-5 in the closing minutes to snatch victory. Limerick, it seems, just couldn’t catch a break. Truly great hurlers like Ciarán Carey, Mark Foley and Gary Kirby would go without a Celtic Cross medal.