Mickey Ned O’Sullivan’s side are bidding for a final spot for the first time since 2003 - Cork and Kerry play in the other semi-final on the same day as Limerick cross the river Shannon.
Ahead of the trip up the N18, the Limerick manager is playing down the role of favourites: “Championship football is championship football - it doesn’t matter the opposition. Clare will have the advantage - they have had us in their sights for six months while we had Tipp. They have the benefit of seeing our strengths and our weaknesses. Clare will be very tough - they have had the benefit of dissecting us and looking at us.”
Of great benefit to Limerick will be team coach Donie Buckley - a former Clare senior football manager.
When the sides last met in 2006, Limerick were 2-5 to 0-8 winners on a wet day in the Gaelic Grounds.
Ennis based Garda Stephen Kelly looks set to miss out on the semi-final.
A broken bone in his hand confined the Newcastle West man to a role as waterboy in Thurles and he is not due to have his cast removed until the day after the Clare game.
Pa Ranahan will receive treatment this week on his hamstring injury.
The Ballysteen man was a doubt for the Tipperary game, but came through a late fitness test. He was replaced 10 minutes from full time by Lorcan O’Dwyer.
One player that looks likely to have no further involvement this season is Mike Crowley. The Monaleen man departed the panel in the days before the Tipperary game and it appears he will not be rejoining the panel.
Mickey Ned and management will be hoping that a number of their squad come through this weekend’s round of county hurling championship games injury free.
O’Sullivan believes that the pain of relegation in the National Football League was the catalyst for Limerick’s win in Thurles.
“The lads knew that they weren’t that bad and they were determined to show what they could do,” explained O’Sullivan in reference to the league relegation.
“That’s part and parcel of being involved in football,” said the manager of the criticism after the league. You are going to get stick and you have to turn it into a positive”.
Limerick raced from the blocks and were 1-8 to 1-1 ahead at half time with Tipperary’s goal coming in injury time in the first half as Limerick dominated.
Then all went wrong as the lead was down to two points entering the final quarter.
“That was an outstanding first half - perhaps we were too far ahead at half time, the intensity begins to drop. Tipperary gathered momentum and that is very hard to stop. At half time the big danger is to get lads head right because we went in with a similar lead in Kilmallock in the league and within 20 minutes Tipperary had it down so we were very conscious of that.”
The Munster final will take place on July 5. If its Limerick v Kerry, the venue would be the Gaelic Grounds, while a Limerick v Cork final would be in Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
Jerome O’Connell
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