For Sunday’s final against Cork in Pairc Ui Chaoimh Stephen Kelly is selected for his first championship appearance of the season.
The speedy attacker will be looking to add a historic Munster SFC medal to the AIL title he won in Thomond Park in May with Shannon.
Kelly suffered a broken bone in his hand in that final win over Clontarf and the sporting all-rounder was forced to miss Limerick’s Munster championship wins over Tipperary and Clare. The Newcastle West man is now fully-recovered and has been named at full-forward in a direct swap with Jason Stokes in the only personal change.
Kelly is joined in attack by three under-21 players - Ian Ryan, Ger Collins and Cormac Joyce Power.
Mickey Ned O’Sullivan and his backroom team selected from a full panel and it was always expected that Kelly would push for inclusion.
Na Piarsaigh’s Eoin Hogan has missed a number of training sessions with a broken metatarsal bone, but he is named among the substitutes and could be a vital replacement as he was in the semi-final win over Clare.
Cork manager Conor Counihan has selected Kieran O’Connor to come into the Cork team at left half-back in place of the suspended Noel O’Leary.
If Limerick are to spring the shock of the championship much will depend on the midfield pairing of John Galvin and Jim O’Donovan.
John Galvin is convinced that Limerick can be a match for red-hot favourites Cork.
“We are going into the lions den as they say and Cork are playing really well down there - the truth is when we do perform we can compete with most teams in the country,” said Galvin.
“I want to enjoy getting to a Munster final, but I don’t want to get overwhelmed by the whole thing. Win, lose or draw we will know where we stand and so will the rest of the country.”
The bookies make Limerick firm outsiders, but Galvin insists that just slight improvements are needed.
“The problem with us is our lack of consistency - we played well against Tipperary for 30 minutes and then switched off for 30 minutes and we let them back into it.
“If we go out and give a 70 minutes performance, who knows.”
Tickets for Sunday’s provincial final are available from the clubs throughout the county and are also available to purchase from all Ticketmaster outlets. A public sale of tickets will take place tonight in the Gaelic Grounds between 5.00-8.00pm.
Tickets will cost €35 for adults to the uncovered stand, €30 for adults to the covered stand and €20 to the terrace.
Juveniles can purchase tickets for €5 to either of the stands. Student terrace tickets are available through the participating county boards for €15.
Senior Citizens can obtain a refund of €10 on full priced stand tickets at designated turnstiles on production of valid ID prior to entering the stadium.
Sunday’s final has a 2.00pm start in Pairc Ui Chaoimh and will be televised live on TV3. The curtain-raiser will be the Munster minor football final at 12 noon which will involve Tipperary and Kerry.
Limerick: Sean Kiely; Johnny McCarthy, Shane Gallagher, Mark O’Riordan; Stephen Lavin, Stephen Lucey, Pa Ranahan; John Galvin, Jim O’Donovan; Padraig Browne, Cormac Joyce-Power, Seanie Buckley (capt); Ger Collins, Stephen Kelly, Ian Ryan.
Cork: Alan Quirke; Ray Carey, Michael Shields, Anthony Lynch; John Miskella, Graham Canty, Kieran O’Connor; Alan O’Connor, Nicholas Murphy; Paddy Kelly, Pierce O’Neill, Paul Kerrigan; Daniel Goulding, James Masters, Donnacha O’Connor.
Jerome O'Connell
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