Limerick hurlers become first winners of the Liam McCarthy Cup

Dublin, 5 March 1923 - Limerick’s hurlers are the new All-Ireland champions and the first recipients of the Liam McCarthy Cup after defeating Dublin before an audience of between 18,000 and 19,000 at Croke Park yesterday. Among the large crowd was President William T. Cosgrave, and other members of the Free State government. The generated gate receipts for the GAA were estimated at £1,080.

Owing to the disruptions and delays of recent years, this was the All-Ireland final for 1921. It could be said that while the day's conditions were fine, the quality of the play was not. This was not a contest to remember and it compared poorly to that of its immediate predecessor, the 1920 hurling final in which Dublin defeated Cork.

Unlike on that occasion, the Dublin team yesterday, which fielded only two changes from the 1920 final, failed to deliver on their potential to an extent that they never required Limerick to bring out the best of themselves either.

By half-time, the game was all but decided. The Limerick men had by then raced into a 4-1 to 0-2 lead and by the game’s end, the scoreline read a even more lob-sided, 8-5 to 3-2. Even so, the delight of the Limerick players was palpable at the game’s conclusion and several of the players, including the captain Robert (Bob) McConkey, were carried on shoulders off the field.

It was McConkey who took possession of the new Liam McCarthy trophy from GAA President, Dan McCarthy, after the match. The trophy, with its handsome and costly design, was donated by Mr. Liam McCarthy from London, who was unable to attend. 

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]