Inside Limerick hurlers’ glam night out with girlfriends to mark Munster triumph

LIMERICK’S hurlers are living out a dream à la The Cranberries song they’re by now so synonymous with.

The good times continued on Sunday as they sealed a record SIXTH consecutive Munster title versus Clare.

Remarkably, skipper Declan Hannon and a few more of their most seasoned campaigners now have more Munster medals (7) to their name than The Banner do across their entire history.

Nonetheless they still celebrate each provincial crown despite clearly having a bigger piece of history in their sights.

They plan on accelerating towards an unprecedented achievement at Croke Park by taking Liam MacCarthy home for a fifth year in a row.

Clare could not keep up with Limerick’s well-oiled green machine in Thurles.

Gearóid Hegarty’s 1-2 finish was vital while the Shannonsiders’ flying half-back line sent the Banner boys down the road to nowhere.

Brian Lohan’s men suffered their third final loss in a row to Limerick as they await a first Munster win since 1998.

Steering his team from the back, Barry Nash put in a brilliant defensive performance and held Tony Kelly scoreless in the second half as his side hit the chequered flag 1-26 to 1-20 ahead.

The two-time All-Star, 27, was buzzing to win but is already thinking of getting back on track for the All-Ireland semi-final on July 7.

Nash said: “We’re always driving to be better.

“We always want to better for each other and are always pushing each other on the training ground.

“We don’t want this to stop. We want to keep on this road and keep driving on.

“There were some amazing Limerick supporters out on the field and it’s great to see.

“But look, we’ve another job to do in four weeks’ time, an All-Ireland semi-final, and hopefully push on to an All-Ireland final.”

Taking the direct route to Croke Park means they now have four weeks to reset for the home straight.

Clare meanwhile, must lick their wounds for an All-Ireland quarter-final against Wexford or Laois on June 22.