Awesome Limerick clinch All-Ireland four in a row

Tom Morrissey's point helped cut Kilkenny's lead to three by half-time

Magnificent Limerick won a fourth straight All-Ireland Hurling title as fought back from three down at half-time to beat Kilkenny 0-30 to 2-15.

And while a Paddy Deegan goal put the Cats 2-10 to 0-11 ahead, Limerick utterly dominated the rest of the game.

Peter Casey hit five points from play in the second half with the sensational Diarmaid Byrnes finishing on 0-8.

Seven of Byrnes' scores from the frees but his all-round efforts in the half-back line exemplified Limerick's display with captain Cian Lynch and Kyle Hayes among a host of other outstanding performers for John Kiely's side.

As was the case during their semi-final win over Galway, Limerick were presented with a huge challenge by Kilkenny in the first half and remained unruffled despite Deegan's 42nd-minute goal as they outscored the Cats 0-19 to 0-4 during the remaining 32 minutes of action.

Limerick's four in a row matches the feat of the Cork side of the early 1940s and Kilkenny's achievement in the late noughties but given the Shannonsiders' domination of the current era and having won five of the last six All-Ireland titles, their claims to being the greatest team in history now look irrefutable.

More to follow.

Limerick: N Quaid; M Casey, D Morrissey, B Nash; D Byrnes, W O'Donoghue, K Hayes; D O'Donovan, C Lynch; G Hegarty, D Reidy, T Morrissey; A Gillane, S Flanagan, P Casey.

Subs: D McCarthy, C Boylan, R Connolly, A Costello, C Coughlan, A English, G Mulcahy, B Murphy, A O'Connor, C O'Neill, O O'Reilly.

Kilkenny: E Murphy; M Butler, H Lawlor, T Walsh; W Walsh, R Reid, P Deegan; C Fogarty, A Mullen; T Phelan, M Keoghan, J Donnelly; B Ryan, TJ Reid, E Cody (capt).

Subs: D Brennan, C Delaney, C Buckley, P Walsh, D Corcoran, A Murphy, C Kenny, T Clifford, D Blanchfield, R Hogan, B Drennan.

Referee: J Keenan (Wicklow)