All-Ireland Hurling Final: Limerick 1-31 2-26 Kilkenny

Limerick captain Declan Hannon lifts the Liam McCarthy Cup with injured player Cian Lynch

Limerick secured a three-in-a-row of All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship titles for the first time after an epic battle with Kilkenny in Croke Park.

The holders led from start to finish with an early Gearoid Hegarty goal helping them into a six-point lead.

They led by six on several occasions but Kilkenny fought back superbly in the second half with goals from Billy Ryan and Martin Keoghan to draw level.

Limerick withstood the Cats' ferocious fightback to win an 11th senior title.

It is a fourth All-Ireland in five years for Limerick but rarely have they had to fight so hard with Kilkenny's subs Walter Walsh and seven-time All-Ireland winner Richie Hogan making a difference with inspirational scores.

No matter what the Cats threw at them, Limerick - who lost last year's Hurler of the Year Cian Lynch to injury prior to the game - were able to withstand the blows and respond.

Gearoid Hegarty was outstanding and scored 1-5 from play

Hegarty was part of a lethal half forward line alongside Kyle Hayes and Tom Morrissey who were instrumental in Limerick joining Kilkenny, Cork and Tipperary as the only teams to win a three-in-a-row of All-Ireland senior hurling titles.

Hegarty strikes first for Limerick

Limerick were the better team in the first half but Kilkenny displayed all their famed battling qualities to hang on to only trail by four points at the break.

Hegarty's spectacular goal in the fourth minute gave the holders the perfect lift-off in front of a packed, sun-baked Croke Park.

He rode two tackles and drilled the ball hard across goal into the far corner giving Eoin Murphy no chance.

Limerick scored the opening 1-2 with Aaron Gillane kicking a point over the bar after losing his hurl but Kilkenny settled once TJ Reid nailed the first of seven first-half frees.

Both sides had their shooting boots on and even if both defences were a little loose, the points scored were of outstanding quality.

Limerick fans a fourth All-Ireland SHC success in five years

Hayes, Hegarty, Morrissey and skipper Declan Hannon pointed for the champions but they could not shake off Kilkenny, who stayed within range with points from Padraig Walsh, and one each from their full-forward line.

In a sign of the quality on offer, both sides had their full half back lines scoring from play in the opening half.

Five of Limerick's starting six forwards scored from play in the opening 20 minutes with their forwards gobbling up and punishing short Kilkenny puck-outs.

Yet Kilkenny did not buckle under the onslaught with Reid's 0-7 from dead balls keeping them well in touch trailing 1-17 to 0-16 at the interval.

Cats catch fire

Kilkenny made the start they wanted to the second half with Ryan's goal after sub Walter Walsh passed the ball across.

Within 12 minutes of the restart, the Cats were level for the first time thanks to Keogan's goal and John Donnelly's point.

Kilkenny have won a record 36 All-Ireland SHC titles

Kilkenny manager Brian Cody rang the changes first and the impact his subs threatened to swing the momentum decisively towards his side with 0-5 scored off the bench.

However Limerick responded brilliantly to the blow of Kilkenny drawing level and scored the next three points in a row including two from Morrissey.

In an absorbing final quarter, the sides gave and withstood the blows and Limerick showed immense character to wrestle back the momentum after Richie Hogan drew Kilkenny level for the second time with six minutes of normal time to go.

Hayes and then subs Cathal O'Neill and Conor Boylan proved that Limerick too had a quality bench with vital points as the game creeped into stoppage time.

Hegarty's final point looked to be enough and put Limerick five points up yet in typical Kilkenny fashion, they went down fighting scoring the last three points of a memorable, high-quality decider.

Kilkenny, who have lifted the Liam McCarthy Cup a record 36 times, have now lost their last three All-Ireland final appearances with their last title coming in 2015.

Limerick: N Quaid; S Finn, M Casey, B Nash; D Byrnes (0-5, 3f, one '65'), D Hannon (0-1, capt), D Morrissey (0-1); W O'Donoghue, D O'Donovan; G Hegarty (1-5), K Hayes (0-4), T Morrissey (0-4); A Gillane (0-7, 4f), S Flanagan (0-2), G Mulcahy.

Subs: P Casey for Mulcahy (46), D Reidy for O'Donovan (52), C Boylan (0-1) for Flanagan (60), C O'Neill (0-1) for T Morrissey.

Kilkenny: E Murphy; M Butler, H Lawlor, T Walsh (0-1); M Carey (0-1), R Reid (0-1, capt), P Deegan (0-2); C Kenny, C Browne; TJ Reid (0-9, 9f), P Walsh (0-2), B Ryan (1-0); A Mullen (0-3), M Keoghan (1-1), E Cody (0-1).

Subs: W Walsh (0-1) for Kenny (HT), J Donnelly (0-1) for P Walsh (48), D Blanchfield (0-1) for Browne (53), R Hogan (0-1) for Cody (59), A Murphy (0-1) for Deegan (61).

Referee: Colm Lyons (Cork).