LIMERICK trained at Pairc Ui Chaoimh last Friday night. It was a fine sporting gesture by Cork to allow their opponents the opportunity of getting "the feel of the pitch" ahead of Sunday's Munster senior hurling championship clash.

Limerick's senior and junior squads were afforded full facilities at the ground and played a full match. It was an excellent, gesture by Cork whom I have always found extremely helpful especially Frank Murphy, Jimmy Barry Murphy, and Johnny Clifford as manager before him and Christy Cooney," says Tom Ryan, the Limerick manager.

It is a unique concession by a county board. We had full facilities there for two hours. We trained in Thurles prior to a big match last year but it was Clare we were playing not Tipperary.

With his team grouped with Cork and Clare in one half of the draw, Ryan considers this years Munster championship as being exceptionally tricky for these teams".

The Limerick manager refutes any notion of lingering doubts of self belief in the squad since the disaster of the 1994 All Ireland against Offaly. "It probably was a factor last year but it's well and truly buried now, we are back to reality, Cork is the ultimate All Ireland for us, it is all we are thinking about at the moment".

Ryan generally declines to attempt to pinpoint any particular Cork player as a potential match winner but makes an exception with in the case of Brian Corcoran.

"Brian Corcoran is Cork's key man. Anything that happened for Cork over the last 12 months happened around Corcoran," he says.