In 1998 under the stewardship of Pat O’Shea, the Limerick minor football side beat Cork in the Munster Semi Final at the Gaelic Grounds. It may have been seen as a shock in Cork, but not in Limerick. This Limerick team were coming. A year earlier they had reached the Munster final and the bulk of that team were overage. However, the general consensus in 1998 was that the new boys were not to be sneezed at. And so it was, a senior team was built upon the 1998 team.

They went on to beat Cork at under-21 level at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in 2000, the first leg of a journey that ended with defeat to Mickey Harte’s Tyrone in the All Ireland final at Mullingar. At senior level, they demolished Cork at Pairc Ui Chaoimh by 0-16 to 0-6. Four of that 1998 Limerick minor team still remain, Jason Stokes, John Galvin, Conor Mullane, and Stephen Lucey.

For the record, the 1998 minor teams were as follows: Limerick: S. Lyons, A. Woods, J. Stokes, D. Dineen, W. Kelly, B. Geary, A. O'Rahilly, J. Galvin, J. Lydon (0-1), C. Mullane, M. Culhane, J. Staunton (0-3), C. Fitzgerald, E. Scully (0-5, 4 frees), C. Hickey (0-2), Subs: S. Lucey for Fitzgerald, M. Keane (0-1) for Culhane

Cork: D. Byrne, S. O'Brien, A. O'Connor, D. Duggan, S. Levis, S. O'Sullivan, G. Canty, D. Kavanagh, P. Kissane, D. O'Brien (0-1), P. Whelan (0-1), C. McCarthy, P. Hurley (0-3 frees), J. Olden, J. Flavin (0-1), Subs: Cathal McCarthy for Connor McCarthy, E. Wiseman for Levis, C. O'Donovan for Hurley.

Eleven years on, Cork are overwhelming favourites to beat Limerick in the Munster senior final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. So much so that Limerick are available at even money with an eight point head start. Limerick may not win this game, but it will be very disappointing if they don’t beat that handicap.

When Liam Kearns was formulating this side, his mantra was to assemble a team that were hard to beat. They based themselves on neutralising Kerry, in particular, but never managed to beat them in championship football. That mantra has remained with Limerick, difficult enough for a good side to beat, but they never translated that consistently into comfortable victories against weaker teams.

In many ways, the scoreboard seems to stop working once Limerick hit 1-10 or thereabouts. Sometimes they squeeze a little bit more but if they have any hope of winning this final, they must do so without conceding more than 1-10. They also need to hope that the three irreplaceable world-class players John Galvin, Johnny McCarthy and Stephen Lavin remain injury free for the game. The midfield battle will be key and Galvin is the best of the four midfield players on the field. Nicholas Murphy has had his days in the sun but never became a colossus in the middle of the field for Cork.

Cork have uncovered a few new players but its Paul Kerrigan and John Miskella who can be the match winners for them. Limerick are capable of gaining parity in every position but these two are the main worry because they are so unorthodox. Miskella has travelled an amazing journey for a player who seemed somewhat short of this level in his younger years. In Australia at the Aussie rules he was very influential when he was on the field and carries a massive threat when attacking from deep. His lines of running would open the tightest defences in professional rugby. Perhaps it might not be a bad idea to place Stephen Kelly on him to keep him more occupied in defence.

Padraig Browne struggled to contain another attacking wing back in the Tipperary game, Christopher Higgins. Higgins did untold damage in that game. Browne has had issues man marking in defence and seemed more comfortable going forward. However, for someone who has played so much football in defence, he seems to be at sea when tracking back and from a defensive perspective is perhaps better played facing the ball. Paul Kerrigan might frustrate supporters when he shoots for points from the corner flag, but the places he pops up in the forward line are unpredictable at the best of times and unsettle defences. Cork appear to want to draw him away from number 12 and pop the ball into the corner for any of their full forward line to run across to.

Cork’s playing patterns are interesting, and any one of Goulding, O’Connor or Masters can run toward the corner flag to win possession. It might be worth Limerick’s while dropping Padraig Browne back to sit back and face the ball rather than tracking back. This would fill the space and put a body in the way of the Cork supply while Kerrigan’s marker sticks to him like glue. Marc O Se got injured early in the replay against Kerry and this mitigated against him in the first half.

The Limerick full back line appear to be able to run with their men which is crucial and they don’t need to play that much ball either. Against Kerry back in 2003 and 2004, they didn’t play much ball but the Kerry marquee forwards weren’t scoring. It was Eoin Brosnan who buried Limerick in those games, particularly in 2004, and Stephen Lucey must hold the middle regardless of who he is marking and not let Pearse O’Neill through like Kerry did in both the draw and replay against Cork. He needs to do for the Limerick footballers what Brian Geary does for the hurlers: Stop oncoming traffic.

The Cork full back line is a serious line, but might find the lesser Limerick forwards more difficult than the Kerry forwards. The reason being that they are cutting off a scoring threat against Kerry, but against Limerick the full forward line aren’t going to get high scores, there’s a more even spread. And the dogged Limerick forwards probably won’t go for their own scores, preferring to lay the ball off to men coming from deep. It’s easier to defend against a man who tries to take his own score. Let’s say every Limerick forward scores 0-1, its much more difficult to deal with that than say Gooch and Tommy Walsh getting 0-3 apiece.

For Limerick to win, they need four things. (a) To concede less than 1-10, (b) A goal from somewhere, (c) a point apiece from halfback and midfield, (d) four points from play from the forwards and (e) four points from the dead ball. It’s not an insurmountable task. But 1-11 or 1-12 would probably win this match for Cork, and while Limerick have kept them to less than this in the past, Cork seem capable of operating from a higher scoring platform these days.

In 2004 Limerick were robbed of a Munster final as three late long range Eoin Keating frees were stolen from under the crossbar by Dara O Se. That’s not being inferior to the opposition, that’s pure downright rotten bad luck. On another day, the frees might have been a yard closer. Or someone might have been posted in there to keep O Se busy. Limerick are more streetwise now and that will stand to them too. It’s unlikely that Cork will suffer from overconfidence after seeing off Kerry, they competition for places in the team will see to that.

Lady Luck owes Limerick GAA. We suffered in 1994 in the hurling against Offaly, in 1996 against Wexford when Brian Tobin’s goal was disallowed, In the 2001 Munster final when the Tipperary posts seemed to live a charmed life, In 2002 in the football when Kerry stole victory, In 2003 in the football against Kerry when the two penalties just wouldn’t go in, in 2004 when the aforementioned Keating frees wouldn’t go over, not to mention the other freetaking option Muiris Gavin being off the field. And don’t forget last year at the Gaelic Grounds, when Cork rode lady luck to the very last.

And it doesn’t stop there. As a fourteen-year-old boy I watched Limerick score 3-12 at Killarney in the Munster football final. A score that would have won almost any Munster final since, and a match that the Munster council had so little respect for that they played the Munster senior hurling final replay elsewhere on the same day because there were tall ships of all species coming to Cork.

Surely we deserve a break thi