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17th March 2016
03:44pm GMT

Neil McManus was having an off-day from the dead ball, in the first period at least, and Cushendall could do nothing but succumb to the momentum of their Munster counterparts who just cut through them time after time in a rampant first half in which Shane Dowling was simply unworkable.
McManus wasn't silenced for too long though and it was him who bagged Ruairi Óg's first goal after the break before setting up the second for Karl McKeegan - both courtesy of long, direct balls deep into the area.
Shane McNaughton all the while was producing scintillating stuff for the Antrim champions and, whilst he didn't deserve to finish on the losing team, it was to be Na Piarsaigh's day - they made damn sure of that.
David Breen impressed for the Limerick men too, his deep surging runs piercing countless holes in the Cushendall rearguard whilst Alan Dempsey went through his usual earth-shattering shift around the middle of the park.
When all those parts were added together, the sum total was deserved All-Ireland glory. 2-25 to 2-14 in the end after a hard-hitting, relentlessly breathless game that the scoreline failed to reflect.
As stated, Na Piarsaigh made sure of it. They left nothing to chance. They left nothing in the changing room. They laid it all on the plains of Croke Park. Nothing would stop them on St. Patrick's Day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXT9AFhDG24
Cathal King walked those famous steps - the first Limerick man to do so with his club - to lift the All-Ireland club hurling title.
And didn't he just enjoy it.
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