RTÉ Sport Journalist
For Limerick fans raised on the heartbreak of the 90s and 2007 this must all seem like a mad, wonderful dream.
Back-to-back Munster and Allianz League titles. The chance of a second All-Ireland title in three years and a final that, for a change, they are hot favourites to win.
What has changed? A lot.
A long-term development strategy embarked upon in 2011 has yielded a steady stream of underage talent.
Manager John Kiely took over for 2017 and rebuilt a team that had peaked with a memorable All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Kilkenny three years previously.
The secondary school principal accelerated the introduction of players he had managed to U21 success in 2015 and was able to add more from the 2017 vintage like Aaron Gillane.