Just 13,638 turned up in Pairc Ui Chaoimh for the provincial semi-final compared to almost 31,500 who witnessed the last encounter between the Munster rivals in 2004.
Eight months of internal striff and apathy towards Limerick hurling can be held responsible for the small travelling support on a sun-drenched afternoon which would normally bolster the championship attendances.
One supporter, who did travel, unfurled a banner displaying the following message: “County Board, can time travel set us back 10 years - sort it out. Limerick boys”.
“I was very disappointed that so few Limerick people showed up here this afternoon,” said Limerick GAA chairman Liam Lenihan in the wake of a 13-point defeat to Cork.
“The real supporters showed up,” the chairman added.
“This team are young fellas and they deserve the support of the public. We have gone through our ups and downs in Limerick, but look I am disapointed that there wasn’t more Limerick people here,” he told Leader Sport.
“To those who came I say well done and thanks and to the others we have a chance in the qualifiers so come along and maybe we will be lucky enough to get a home draw.”
That qualifier game will take place on July 11 and Limerick will have to wait until next weekend to find out who will provide the opposition from either Galway or Offaly or Dublin.
Despite yesterday’s expected defeat the Limerick GAA chairman said that he was proud of the display from the new-look Limerick side under the guidance of the embattled manager Justin McCarthy.
“What we looked for was a performance and in fairness to the players they brought everything from the training field and left it here in Pairc Ui Chaoimh today, probably against the second best team in the country,” said Liam Lenihan, a former Limerick hurling selector.
“After the Dublin game (31-point National Hurling League defeat) they sat down and every player made a contribution and they made a vow that they wouldn’t let the side down and in fairness to them they have worked extremely hard, their behaviour has been exemplary and I knew coming up here today that they would give it their best shot and that wasn’t good enough to beat Cork but they competed.”
Limerick trailed 1-10 to 0-6 at half time, but had to face into the second half with just 14-men after wing-forward Sean Herlihy was shown a red card in first half injury time.
“It was a good team performance with some outstanding individual performances. Kieran O’Rourke at corner-back, David Breen, Thomas O’Brien in the middle of the field and Graeme Mulcahy - everyone of them put their bodies on the line and we can’t ask for any more,” said the chairman.
“Whatevery way you look at it, the vast majority of the players on that team, they are the players for Limerick going forward. They are very young, eight or nine of them are under-21. We looked for honesty from the players and to give 100 per cent. They trained hard, they worked hard. They were a bit nervous early on, but they settled down.”
Cork impressed when beating Tipperary in the Munster quarter-finals, but never reached those heights against Limerick.
“As Denis Walsh (Cork manager) said inside in the dressing room Cork prepared for this game the very same as they did for the Tipp game,” said Liam Lenihan.
Limerick manager Justin McCarthy and the members of his management team opted not to give interviews to the media in the aftermath of the defeat, but the chairman did address their future.
“Justin McCarthy came in and the deal I shuck hands with him on was two years and then a review after that and that’s what will happen,” he exlained.
The review he said would take place “whenever the championship ends in 2010”.
JEROME O’CONNELL
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