In pictures: Limerick hurlers receive hero's welcome
The ©inpho/tom Lifts To Liam Cup Lynch Mccarthy Picture: The Maher Fans Cian
The Limerick hurling team returned to a hero's welcome on Monday evening as the four-in-a-row champs continued their celebrations.
The All Ireland champions defeated Kilkenny at Croke Park on Sunday evening 30 points to 2-15.
The victory, thanks to a stellar second-half performance, earned the team a place in the history books as the third county ever to win four consecutive All Ireland senior hurling titles.
Thousands of eager fans queued up at Pery Square ready to celebrate the four-time champs and welcome the Liam MacCarthy Cup once again.
It was a sea of green and white with flags and signs as far as the eye could see held high by fans decked out in jerseys, headbands and more than a few with their faces painted in the county colours.
The sold-out street party kicked off at 6pm with a host of Limerick's finest musicians to get the crowd going.
DJ Jen Payne warmed up the excited supporters before performances from Anna's Anchor and Michael Maloney.
Sports reporter Liam Aherne took on the role of MC for the evening.
The excitement reached a fever pitch when the heroes of the hour finally arrived to deafening cheers.
A homecoming fitting for this very special team.
Earlier on Monday, the men brought the cup to visit with the children at the Children's Ark Ward at University Hospital Limerick.
The team posed for photos with the delighted children as well as with other patients currently being cared for at the hospital.
The Treaty's win over Kilkenny has the rest of the country wondering if anyone can put a stop to this Limerick team.
The match was watched by over a million viewers, according to RTÉ's figures.
An average of 830,000 tuned in to The Sunday Game on RTÉ2 while another 9,000 watched on RTÉ+1.
The viewer numbers peaked at 936,000 at 4.46pm.
The number of people who watched the thrilling match via the RTÉ Player was up on last year totaling 193,000 compared to 109,000 in 2022.
"Kilkenny's first-half intensity and Limerick's second-half display of power and skill was testimony to the high standards that we now take for granted," said RTÉ Group Head of Sport Declan McBennett.
"For a million plus people to enjoy the spectacle as well as those in attendance and those listening on radio is a fitting climax to the inter-county hurling season."