Numbers behind Limerick hurlers' spring surge as they host Cork in league final

Fri, 03 Apr, 2026 - 15:44

Jack McKay

Limerick arrive into Sunday’s National Hurling League Division 1A decider with Cork in great shape after winning six of their seven spring outings. The only blemish – defeat to Waterford in their first game – means that they come into this one on a six-game winning streak.

They do so having used 29 different players this season, compared to 34 used by Cork. Only three of Cork’s 37-man panel haven’t seen game time, whereas Limerick have given minutes to 29 of a possible 35, with Vince Harrington, Colin Ryan, James Finn, John English, Mike Carey and Fionn O’Brien the only players to make a matchday panel and not see game time.

Two of the six not to feature are goalkeepers, and so it’s of no surprise that Nickie Quaid played all available 452 minutes (including added time) across their six regular league games.

The outfield player to feature most often is Aidan O’Connor with 424 minutes, primarily at centre-forward. He’s had an excellent spring campaign, scoring a total of 1-55, including 19 points from play. Diarmaid Byrnes trails in third with 381 minutes, marginally ahead of Will O’Donoghue (378) and Adam English (374).

Limerick's Nickie Quaid in action against Clare during the 2023 Munster SHC meeting. Picture: INPHO/Bryan Keane

And while O’Connor has shouldered most of the scoring burden he’s not been their most prolific man from play – that award goes to Cathal O’Neill, who has tallied 3-11 in 328 minutes. That leaves O’Neill with an average of 4.27 points per game, ahead of Peter Casey, who in two starts for a total of 152 minutes scored 0-9, an average of 4.14 per game.

Limerick’s third-highest contributor on the per-game averages is Shane O’Brien. He’s managed 2-11 from play in 310 minutes, for an average of 3.84 points a game.

On the defensive front, unfortunately, statistics are still relatively primitive in the GAA, and without tackles, interceptions and passing success rates for example, it’s very hard to determine the value of a defender by statistical analysis.

One metric that allows us to track the impact of defenders is the number of points conceded when particular defensive players are on the field.

Limerick’s Cathal O'Neill celebrates scoring his sides first goal against Galway. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie

We don't have minute-by-minute data for scoring concession, but by distributing the scores conceded across minutes played, we can calculate an average points conceded per game for each player. It’s far from perfect – you can’t blame the corner-back for a blunder the wing-back made on the other wing, but it offers some value, at least.

And, by that measure, Mike Casey and Dan Morrissey have been Limerick’s most influential defenders this spring.

Across the league campaign, Limerick have conceded an average of 19.06 points per game with Casey on the field, while that figure drops to 18.28 when Morrissey is playing.

At the other end, it’s 26.63 with Darragh Langan playing, while their goal concession rate reaches its highest of 0.85 goals conceded per game when Matthew Fitzgerald is involved, which is ironic, given he wasn’t actually present when they conceded a goal against Waterford, as a result of his penalty concession and black card.

Limerick’s minutes per player across six NHL games so far (added time included):

Nickie Quaid (452),

Aidan O'Connor (424),

Diarmaid Byrnes (381),

William O'Donoghue (378),

Adam English (374),

Cian Lynch (373),

Aaron Gillane (346),

Cathal O'Neill (328),

Seán Finn (325),

Mike Casey (316),

Gearóid Hegarty (311),