Limerick 1-27 Cork 1-21
Aaron Gillane starred with 1-7 (3f) for Limerick, who claimed a 15th Division 1 National League title, matching their opponents Cork in the roll of honour.
A first-half mishap, which led to a Cork goal from Brian Hayes, did not prove costly for the side. The hosts did not concede their lead throughout in the TUS Gaelic Grounds.
Despite Cork reducing Limerick’s lead to two with 10 minutes to go, a powerful burst of scores from the latter was more than enough. The side were led by fantastic fielding from Gearoid Hegarty and Gillane (0-3 2f) to get over the line.
It was Limerick who had the ideal start, slotting over six points inside the opening six minutes. Two Adam English early scores were followed by a free and 65′ combo from Aidan O’Connor. Gillane and Diarmaid Byrnes came up with two of their own.
Byrnes was dominating the middle in the opening moments yet his attempted pass across the Limerick goal was intercepted by an eager Hayes who tapped it into an empty net. It was an unlikely goal for John Kiely’s men to concede, and it offered Cork the oxygen they badly needed.
Limerick replied with points from Cathal O’Neill, O’Connor (2f), and English, however, Cork had begun to find their rhythm with Seamus Harnedy and William Buckley adding scores.
Following Shane O Brien’s opening score on 16 minutes, Limerick gobbled up the subsequent puckout. A piece of ingenuity came from Gillane who glided past Sean O’Donoghue, leaving the sliotar follow him. He drilled it into the bottom right corner past Patrick Collins to push Limerick into a nine-point lead.
17 nóim @LimerickCLG 1-11 (14)@OfficialCorkGAA 1-02 (5)
Cúl! Tá sé sin dochreidte ó Aaron Gillane, an-phíosa imeartha uaidh 🤯
What an individual piece of skill that is from Gillane, a fantastic goal!
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— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) April 5, 2026
It’s not the prettiest way of recovering from a goal yet Alan Connolly came with the goods from frees. Four frees contributed to five points on the bounce from the Rebels, the other from Darragh Fitzgibbon.
2020 Hurler of the Year Hegarty stopped the drought for the Treaty with a sweet pointed effort. A scrambled Limerick goal was chalked off due to referee Shane Hynes bringing the play back for a previous advantage.
Cork finished off a second-quarter where they outscored Limerick 0-8 to 0-2. Hayes contributed the final score of the half to leave Limerick with a three-point advantage.
Tommy O’Connell hit the first point from play in the second half, following frees exchanged from O’Connor and Connolly. Gillane began his second half with a sumptuous turn and score to keep Limerick’s lead at six after 48 minutes.
Cork were not fazed and four points on the spin from substitute Hugh O’Connor, Tim O’Mahony (0-2 1f), and Buckley had them right back in the contest. A two-point deficit with 10 minutes to go.
Here, Limerick hit another gear and pucked six of the last eight points to see home another league success.
Scorers for Limerick: Aaron Gillane 1-7 (3f), Aidan O’Connor 0-8 (7f, 1 65′), Diarmaid Byrnes 0-3 (1f, 1 65′), Adam English 0-3, Gearoid Hegarty 0-2, Cathal O’Neill 0-2, Shane O’Brien 0-1, David Reidy 0-1.
Scorers for Cork: Alan Connolly 0-7 (7f), Brian Hayes 1-3, William Buckley 0-3, Tim O’Mahony 0-2 (1f), Darragh Fitzgibbon 0-2, Tommy O’Connell 0-1, Seamus Harnedy 0-1, Mark Coleman 0-1, Hugh O’Connor 0-1.
Limerick: Nicky Quaid; Seán Finn, Mike Casey, Barry Nash; Diarmaid Byrnes, William O’Donoghue, Kyle Hayes; Adam English, Cian Lynch; Gearoid Hegarty, Aidan O’Connor, Cathal O’Neill; Aaron Gillane, Shane O’Brien, David Reidy.
Subs: Peter Casey for Shane O’Brien (54), Darragh O’Donovan for Aidan O’Connor (58), Ethan Hurley for Cian Lynch (67), Colin Coughlan for Diarmaid Byrnes (73).
Cork: Patrick Collins; Niall O’Leary, Ciarán Joyce, Seán O’Donoghue; Eoin Downey, Robert Downey, Micheál Mullins; Tim O’Mahony, Tommy O’Connell; Séamus Harnedy, Shane Barrett, Darragh Fitzgibbon; William Buckley, Alan Connolly, Brian Hayes.
Referee: Shane Hynes (Galway).