Good afternoon, folks. Welcome along to this afternoon’s hurling liveblog, which will focus on the two fixtures taking place in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship.
We’ve had several superb games in Munster already in this campaign, so let’s hope for another couple of crackers today at both the Gaelic Grounds and Semple Stadium.
Limerick host Waterford, while Tipperary have home advantage against Clare.
Both games are scheduled for 2pm throw-ins and we’ll keep you up to date on all the major moments right here.
If there are any late changes we’ll keep you updated, but here’s how the teams are due to start today:
Limerick (v Waterford)
1. Nickie Quaid
2. Sean Finn
3. Mike Casey
4. Richie English
5. Diarmaid Byrnes
6. Declan Hannon
7. Dan Morrissey
8. Darragh O’Donovan
9. Cian Lynch
10. Gearoid Hegarty
11. Kyle Hayes
12. Tom Morrissey
13. Seamus Flanagan
14. Shane Dowling
15. Graeme Mulcahy
Waterford (v Limerick)
1. Stephen O’Keeffe
2. Shane Fives
3. Conor Gleeson
4. Noel Connors
5. Michael Walsh
6. Austin Gleeson
7. Philip Mahony
8. Jamie Barron
9. Pauric Mahony
10. Kevin Moran
11. Stephen Roche
12. DJ Foran
13. Stephen Bennett
14. Tom Devine
15. Patrick Curran
Tipperary (v Clare)
1. Brian Hogan
2. Seán O’Brien
3. Séamus Kennedy
4. Donagh Maher
5. Joe O’Dwyer
6. Padraic Maher
7. Brendan Maher
8. Ronan Maher
9. Cathal Barrett
10. Dan McCormack
11. Patrick Maher
12. Billy McCarthy
13. Seamus Callanan
14. Jason Forde
15. John McGrath
Clare (v Tipperary)
1. Donal Tuohy
2. Patrick O’Connor
3. David McInerney
4. Jack Browne
5. David Fitzgerald
6. Conor Cleary
7. Jamie Shanahan
8. Colm Galvin
9. Cathal Malone
10. Peter Duggan
11. Tony Kelly
12. David Reidy
13. Conor McGrath
14. John Conlon
15. Shane O’Donnell
Ahead of today’s games, here’s a reminder of how things stand in Munster…
Tipperary 0-1 Clare 0-1
Peter Duggan and Jason Forde trade frees.
Limerick 0-2 Waterford 0-2
DJ Foran scores for Waterford, Darragh O’Donovan hits back with a superb sideline cut.
Tipperary 0-2 Clare 0-1
Another Forde free for Tipp.
Limerick 0-4 Waterford 0-2
Dowling extends Limerick’s lead.
Tipperary 0-3 Clare 0-1
Looked like an excellent John Conlon point from out on the right, but Hawkeye says Níl.
Limerick 0-5 Waterford 0-2
Dowling again for Limerick, making his mark on his return.
GOAL! Limerick 1-5 Waterford 0-2 (Gearoid Hegarty, 10)
GOAL! Limerick 2-5 Waterford 0-2 (Graeme Mulcahy, 13)
GOAL! Tipperary 1-4 Clare 0-1 (Billy McCarthy, 13)
Limerick 2-6 Waterford 0-2
Dowling again for Limerick. The goal earlier came after an error from Stephen O’Keeffe. 2-5 without reply now for Limerick.
Tipperary 1-4 Clare 0-2
John Conlon points for Clare.
Limerick 2-7 Waterford 0-2
Cian Lynch increases Limerick’s lead.
Tipperary 1-7 Clare 0-3
Limerick 2-8 Waterford 0-5
Forde gets another free for Tipp followed by one from play from Seamus Callanan, as Pauric Mahony scores again for Waterford.
Tipperary 1-9 Clare 0-4
Noel McGrath with a lovely score.
Limerick 2-10 Waterford 0-5
Kyle Hayes points after picking up a short free from Dowling. Tom Morrissey then chips in.
Tipperary 1-10 Clare 0-5
Outstanding point from John McGrath.
Limerick 2-11 Waterford 0-5
Dowling again for Limerick
Limerick 2-13 Waterford 0-5
Dowling from play this time, seven points for him now.
Tipperary 1-10 Clare 0-8
Brilliant long-range free from Duggan brings Clare closer.
Limerick 2-13 Waterford 0-6
Pauric Mahony points for the Deise.
Tipperary 1-10 Clare 0-9
Tony Kelly again as Clare enjoy their best spell with the break approaching.
Half-time: Limerick 2-14 Waterford 0-7
Half-time: Tipperary 1-10 Clare 0-9
It’ll be a long road back for Waterford as they trail Limerick by 13 points, but Clare will have their tails up after a strong finish to the half. If they can improve their accuracy in front of goal they’re well in with a chance of turning this game around.
Join us for more shortly.
Tommy Ryan and Maurice Shanahan replace Patrick Curran and Stephen Bennett for Waterford.
Limerick 2-14 Waterford 0-8
Early free for Waterford for Pauric Mahony before Stephen O’Keeffe makes a brilliant save to deny Kyle Hayes.
Limerick 2-14 Waterford 0-9
Incredible score from play by Waterford goalkeeper Stephen O’Keeffe.
Tipperary 1-11 Clare 0-9
Jason Forde with a free to get Tipp up and running in the second half.
Limerick 2-15 Waterford 0-9
Dowling with a fine free.
Tipperary 1-12 Clare 0-10
Huge point by Padraic Maher.
Limerick 2-16 Waterford 0-9
Kyle Hayes with a sublime point.
GOAL! Limerick 2-16 Waterford 1-9 (Tommy Ryan, 42)
Tipperary 1-12 Clare 0-11
Limerick 2-16 Waterford 1-9
Substitute Tommy Ryan gives Waterford a lifeline as Jack Browne bursts forward and strikes an outstanding point for Clare.
Tipperary 1-13 Clare 0-11
Jason Forde with a free for Tipp.
Limerick 2-17 Waterford 1-9
Another Dowling free, his ninth point of the game.
Tipperary 1-14 Clare 0-11
Forde makes no mistake with a 65.
Limerick 2-18 Waterford 1-9
Dowling goes into double figures with another free.
Limerick 2-18 Waterford 1-10
Mahony gets another free for Waterford, who trail now by 11.
Tipperary 1-15 Clare 0-15
A goal between them thanks to a Duggan free once again, his 10th point of the game.
Limerick 2-20 Waterford 1-10
Dowling makes it double scores.
Tipperary 1-15 Clare 0-16
Podge Collins reduces the gap with the help of hawkeye.
Limerick 2-21 Waterford 1-10
Limerick 2-21 Waterford 1-11
Pauric Mahony converts a free, his seventh point today.
Tipperary 1-18 Clare 0-16
Free from Forde.
Limerick 2-22 Waterford 1-12
Dowling from a placed-ball.
Tipperary 1-18 Clare 0-17
Duggan points a free.
Limerick 2-23 Waterford 1-13
David Dempsey and Maurice Shanahan trade scores.
Tipperary 1-19 Clare 0-17
Limerick 2-23 Waterford 1-13
Ten minutes of normal time remaining in both games. Still up in the air in Thurles but it’s hard to see a way back for Waterford as they trail by 11 points.
Limerick 2-24 Waterford 1-14
Pauric Mahony free for Waterford. Seven minutes remain. Tom Morrissey responds immediately for Limerick.
Tipperary 1-19 Clare 0-18
Peter Duggan’s free leaves four between the teams with just over six minutes left to play.
Limerick 2-25 Waterford 1-14
Another free gives Dowling his 13th point of the game.
GOAL! Tipperary 1-19 Clare 1-18 (Ian Galvin, 65)
Tipperary 1-19 Clare 1-18
Limerick 2-25 Waterford 1-15
Waterford’s championship campaign is about to come to an end but Clare’s is still alive for now at least.
Tipperary 1-20 Clare 1-18
Vital point from Seamus Callanan for Tipp. We’re about to enter the final minute of normal time.
Tipperary 1-20 Clare 1-20
Close-range free from Duggan and the sides are level in the 73rd minute!
Full-time: Limerick 2-26 Waterford 1-16
Clare 1-23 Tipperary 1-21
Duggan again with a brilliant score to push Clare further ahead.
Full-time: Clare 1-23 Tipperary 1-21
UNBELIEVABLE ending in Thurles.
Clare end a long wait for a win over Tipperary to keep their hopes of reaching the Munster final well and truly alive.
Waterford and Tipperary are now out of the running, but the other three teams are still in with a chance of making the Munster final going into next weekend’s final round of fixtures.
Clare, who are on four points, host Limerick who top the table on five.
Cork, also on four points, take on Waterford in Thurles.
Well done to Stephen for sharing his story, the mind is a powerful thing and the effects our thoughts can have on our body. I’m sure anorexia is more prevalent than we think with males and does not only affect females. Glad he has come out the other side and his life is going well now.
Immense inner strength to come through it all and hugely considerate and brave to share his journey in the hope of helping others.
Well done Stephen… You battled through and you’ll have a lifelong benefit from the struggle you’ve endured. Best of luck with the rest of your life and of course Round Towers (Lusk) too.
5 and a half stone is 35kg. Let’s say your an 18 year old and ur 83kg and u lose that much then you’re 48kg. Thats really unhealthy and if u don’t eat enough food then youll have no energy for exercise. Sounds awful
@Eoin Murphy:
Definitely a tough station.
His starting weight was 114kg & he lost 35kg to bring him down to 79kg which is very light for a man of his frame.
Some mental battle to win.
@Liam H: sorry i missed that part its a long article. There are some third years in the rugby who weigh more than without an ounce of fat