Limerick became the 2023 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Champions on Sunday, July 23 in Dublin's Croke Park, joining only Cork and Kilkenny in achieving a four-in-a-row winning streak.
Limerick City and County Council said more than 20,000 fans took to the streets to welcome home the hurlers and their Liam MacCarthy cup for the fourth year in a row on Monday evening.
“What a fantastic homecoming event we had last night on Pery Square for our magnificent 4 in a row players and management,” Limerick GAA said on social media on Tuesday, July 25.
This video from Limerick.ie shows the scale of the celebrations on Monday night as the hurling champs returned home from Dublin:
Limerick beat Kilkenny 0-30 to 2-15 on Sunday, July 23 in Dublin’s Croke Park to grasp their fourth All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship title in a row. The Shannonsiders’ victory was particularly impressive considering they were down by three at the half.
Watch the Full-Time Highlights of Kilkenny v Limerick in the 2023 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final here on #GAANOW pic.twitter.com/COgUUsRKxl
— The GAA (@officialgaa) July 23, 2023
Speaking during Monday's homecoming, Cllr Gerald Mitchell, Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, told the crowd: “They lifted us out of decades of frustration and instilled a renewed sense of optimism and love for the game of hurling across the county.
“The massive crowd of supporters here tonight shows the level of respect this Limerick team has and the level of enjoyment they continue to bring to us all here in Limerick.
"Congratulations to all the Limerick panel and management on your continued success. Enjoy the celebrations. Luimneach Abú.”
Cian Lynch, the captain of this year's All-Ireland Senior Hurling Champions, told the crowd: “We are playing a sport we love, but at the end, we’re a family and we stick together on the bad days and more so even the good days.
“And looking out here, what ye have done for us as young players playing a sport, we hope to encourage each and every one of you to live your dream, just like we are.”
In a particularly heartwarming moment, Lynch was also filmed having a chat - in Irish! - with some young fans:
Captaen na fóirne, Cian Lynch, ag labhairt le Muintir Uí Annaidh sa chathair um thráthnóna. Thabharfadh sé ardú croí duit! Comhghairdeas foireann Luimnigh! #luimneachabú #gaeilge @CnaG ? pic.twitter.com/C9WLpM7pzc
— ComhluadarLuimnigh (@ComhluadarL) July 24, 2023
Capping off Limerick’s big win and homecoming celebrations, Lynch was voted as the GAA.ie Hurler of the Week on Tuesday.
The Patrickswell clubman, who captained Limerick on Sunday received 4,369 votes on the GAA’s Official Instagram page which put him ahead of colleagues Peter Casey (3,926) and Diarmaid Byrnes (3,915).
The GAA noted: “When Limerick were encountering problems in the opening period captain Cian Lynch remained defiant. Lynch clipped two points from play during the game and crafted several more for John Kiely's talented team.”
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