Former Tipperary hurler Shane McGrath believes the closeness of the Limerick hurling panel has played a major part in them winning four All-Ireland titles in the past five seasons.
"I don't think there are any cliques [in the Limerick panel]; from the outside looking in, they are all one big group. You often see them in around Limerick, and you never see just one of them, it's five or six of them," McGrath told RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday Sport.
"They have a symbol on the back of their jersey, and nobody knows what it means. I think that's a super sign of a group: There's no stories coming out, no teams getting leaked. I hope that we never find out what that symbol means. It means the world to them, and they know what it means.
13 December 2020; A symbol is seen on the back of the Limerick jersey of William O'Donoghue ahead of the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Limerick and Waterford at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
"I'm sure Caroline Currid is a massive influence on that. From my own experience of having her on our teams that were successful, she was brilliant at getting a group close.
"People will come and go. The backroom team, someone might step away; Mikey Kiely was the S&C coach last year, Cairbre Ó Cairealláin is the S&C coach now, he was with Tipperary when they were successful. It does go down to that core group of players that's there.
"From 2019, there are 12 or 13 guys who started that day that saw action today. I don't think any of them will be thinking about stepping away, maybe Graeme Mulcahy might, but the rest of them are in their prime. This group is going to be around for a long time, they are a very close-knit group. They have been tested this year, and came up with the answers every single time."
Former Offaly hurler Brian Carroll said Sunday's victory will have been even more special because it was against Kilkenny.
"This means more to this Limerick team because Kilkenny are the aristocrats of hurling, 36 All-Ireland titles," said Carroll.
"Limerick are not going away. I guarantee you that after today, they will have their sights set on doing the five-in-a-row. It's never been done before. This Limerick team will be looking at that."
See Also: Limerick's 'Minster Consistency' Named Sunday Game Hurler Of The Year
