Limerick have the honor of being the very first All-Ireland Football champions, winning the crown in 1887 and they again emerged as victors in 1896, beating Louth and Dublin respectively.
Since winning the 1896 crown they have been going under a spell of re-development and have not won any major honor in the intervening period.
In the early part of this decade they enjoyed a relative level of success, winning a Munster U/21 football crown in 2000, with the bulk of the squad going on to contest Munster finals in 2003 and 2004. Beaten on both occasions by the Kerry, although the Kingdom (eventual All Ireland champions) required a replay to see off the spirited Shannonsiders. The qualifier draw was cruel to Limerick and saw them exit to Derry 6 days after the Munster final replay.
2008 saw a young Limerick side exit the championship in the semi final stage thanks to two late late Cork goals. But Limerick bounced back to inflict one of the shocks of the All Ireland series when hammering Meath 4-12 to 4-3 having lead by 20 points at one stage. A loss to Kildare in the following signaled the end to Limericks progress, but not without sowing the seeds of hope for 2009.
WARNING: Following Limerick Football, or Limerick GAA in general, is likely to make you feel depressed, persecuted and bitter.
[cat]Sport[/Cat]
[cat]Gaelic Football[/cat]