Cork v Limerick at the Páirc

Cork and Limerick by the Páirc.

As for Saturday night’s clashes, the vibrant draw in the 2018 Munster SHC is a memory that remains fresh – Kyle Hayes scoring a late point to earn a draw for a Limerick team that had yet to become Limerick that we now know and fear.

That was the first meeting at the new stadium, followed by a ten-point victory for the Shannonsiders in 2022, not as absolutely convincing as the previous year’s All-Ireland final victory over Cork, but still a clear sign of their supremacy.

The last major inter-county match at the previous stadium was the 2014 Munster final, when goals from Séamus Harnedy and Paudie O’Sullivan gave Cork a 2-24 to 0-24 victory over Limerick.

It was the county’s first senior provincial title since 2006, the first medal for so many players.

Although Anthony Nash had been a non-playing member of the last successful team, it was the first time he had won a medal on the field for Cork and it was the match he chose as the most memorable in Cork Hurling: Game of My Life.

He recalled how the packed stadium created a feeling of claustrophobia.

“We were surrounded by people in the crowd,” he said, “that day I felt like I could barely breathe.

“I had never experienced it before, it was my first big day at the stadium. It is impossible to communicate in a full stadium. He was more visual than vocal when it came to big days. If you’re trying to tell a cornerback to go away when a guy approaches the goal, that’s when the crowd is loudest and won’t hear you. “The place was packed.” In an even match, goals were always going to be key.

“It was always very easy and the highlight for me was the relief and the feeling I had and the elation for Paudie when he came in and scored his goal,” Nash said.

“He broke his leg in 2013 and was out that year, which was huge for us. In the league that year he played center forward and he was phenomenal, he was absolutely incredible.

“We were training at the CIT and we got the news that he had injured himself playing for Imokily and we were all devastated. He was one of our leaders. It was a fairy tale for him to come in and score the goal.

“Not long after the whistle blew and it was chaos. It was simply a feeling he had never experienced before. It was enjoyment and relief. “It was brilliant and it’s something I think is missed in the GAA today.”

After losing the Munster and All-Ireland finals the previous year, it was a major blow for Cork, creating special memories for those involved.

“The locker room afterwards was amazing and that’s the best moment,” Nash said.

“You come in, you meet everyone and you hug them. (Logistics manager) Pat Keane was in there and (goalkeeping coach) Briain Hurley, guys he’d worked with a lot. You’re laughing, joking, taking pictures and all that kind of fun.

“These are the moments in the GAA that, whenever I decide I’m done playing and training, are irreplaceable. They are the key moments of my life, memories that you treasure forever.

“Unfortunately, in sports, there are probably more locker rooms with that feeling than that and that’s what makes the good days sweeter.”

Those “other feelings” were present in Cork after defeats to Limerick in 1996 and 2001. The latter (a one-point defeat in the last championship with no backdoor for everyone) is remembered mainly for Diarmuid O’Sullivan’s wonderful point from 100 meters (an absolute rarity then, less so now), but the 1996 meeting had little to compensate.

Cork, in Jimmy Barry-Murphy’s first year in charge, led 1-5 to 0-7 at half-time but had been humiliated by the end, beaten 3-18 to 1-8. It marked the end of several inter-county races and recovery would take time.

For Limerick, however, it was a big deal: they won Munster for the first time in 15 years and reached an All-Ireland final where they could have beaten Wexford. Speaking to The Echo a few years ago, their goalkeeper Joe Quaid recalled a special day.

“I remember the build-up to that game because Cork had never lost a championship game there, but we were going really well in training,” he said.

“The last track session we had at UL before the game, the guys were pushing each other on the line beforehand to make sure they could do it, it was that competitive.

“Back then we were a second half team, but this being Cork, no matter how far ahead we were, you would be waiting for the comeback, having grown up on the border, I was very aware of that.

“I remember there were about five minutes left and we were up 14 or 15 points and I was still waiting for the attack, but it never came and that was the big surprise.”