Limerick earn fifth straight Munster hurling title

Aaron Gillane's 1-11 helped Limerick secure a five in a row in Munster for the first time

All-Ireland hurling champions Limerick secured a Munster five in a row for the first time as they held on to beat Clare 1-23 to 1-22 in a tense finish.

A Mark Rodgers goal had helped Clare lead 1-11 to 0-11 at half-time.

However Aaron Gillane finished with 1-11 for Limerick as Clare's hopes of a first title since 1998 were dashed.

Limerick were a point up in injury-time when a premature pitch invasion by some of their supporters, thinking that full-time had been blown, led to play being held up.

Further drama then followed as the referee ruled a big hit by Limerick substitute Peter Casey on Tony Kelly to be legitimate, with the Bannermen also unhappy with a further challenge on Hogan before the full-time whistle sounded.

Limerick's five in a row matches the feat achieved by Cork on three previous occasions while Clare have lost six Munster finals since their last provincial triumph 25 years ago.

Gillane was the Limerick hero as he tormented stand-in full-back Cian Nolan, who was pressed into service after regular starter Conor Cleary was ruled out by a shoulder injury.

The man of the match's 44th-minute goal gave the Shannonsiders the lead for the first time since early in the contest and they extended their advantage to 1-19 to 1-14 before Clare reduced the margin to the minimum in the closing stages.

Clare's chances were also not helped by their 13 wides and six shots that dropped short as Limerick held on in front of over 43,000 fans at their home venue.