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Munster finals have lost some of their gloss since the abolition of the unforgiving knock-out championship, but they still retain a certain glamour. It’s a final after all with a trophy and a rich tradition, so provincial medals will always feature on a player’s CV as items of pride.

However, it doesn’t define your year any more. In the bigger All Ireland picture, the provincial winners are now only a footnote in the narrative. Who cares, for example, that only one of our last three All-Ireland wins was embellished by an accompanying Munster trophy?

There might be a temptation then to be slightly blasé about Sunday’s game were it not for the opposition. The Limerick shadow looms large in our recent history, replacing Kilkenny as the bogey man. They’ve found our measure and however difficult it is to spit out those words it remains an unpalatable fact of life.

The evidence is painful. Need we dwell on last year’s drenching at Pairc Ui Chaoimh or the near embarrassment of the previous year’s Munster final at the Gaelic Grounds? Since he took charge Mrs. Kiely’s son has had the whip hand on Tipperary and it’s not pleasant viewing from this side of the border.

Some atonement then would be welcome on Sunday but neither the bookies nor most pundits give Tipperary much chance. The reigning champions, chasing three in a row, are odds on at 2/5 against a generous 9/4 for Tipperary. All known form suggests that Limerick are ahead and it’s up to the team on Sunday to challenge such perceptions. Pride alone suggests they’ll give it all.....

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