John Kiely has dispelled the notion that Limerick were burdened by the prospect of becoming the first team to win a five-in-a-row of All-Ireland SHC titles.

The Treaty County’s quest for hurling immorality was ended by Cork in game that will live long in the memory.

“I don’t think it had any bearing on us at all, to be honest with you. We felt light about all that all year,” the Limerick manager told the assembled media in Croke Park.

“We were very committed to going after the 2024 championship. When you’re on the road as long as the lads are, on a winning run like they have been, of course you’re going to come up against opportunities for the opposition to beat you. Of course you are.

“But we gave ourselves an opportunity to win it too. It wasn’t that we didn’t have the opportunity to win the game today. If we were beaten by 10 points you’d say, ‘Something’s wrong here, we didn’t give ourselves an opportunity to win the game’. We could have won by two or three but we didn’t and, you know, that’s just the way it is so no, no concerns about the weight of that on the group.

“We had a really enjoyable year together. We were light on ourselves. We were determined to enjoy the season and we set out to do it and we did it and I don’t think the group has any baggage in that regard coming into today or any other day. I think you could see that by the performance.”

Despite not being at their brilliant best, Kiely was proud of how his team performed.

“They couldn’t have done any more. They worked extremely hard, they left no stone unturned. We have no regrets. We have no regrets and it’s good to have that,” he added.

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