Hurling will return to Fenway Park this fall and the triumphant Limerick team— fresh off its All-Ireland senior championship in August — will lead the pack.
The Limerick Leader reported on Aug. 23 that the third Fenway Hurling Classic in four years will be played on Nov. 18. Four counties will be represented in the double-header match-up: Limerick, Clare, Wexford, and Cork, according to the newspaper and subsequent reports.
The Fenway exhibition games— known as Super 11s— are an adaptation of the native Irish sport, played on a smaller pitch with slightly different rules. Still, the Boston Irish community has embraced the concept — a fact underlined by the huge crowds that flocked to Fenway since the inaugural event in 2015, which featured Galway besting their Dublin rivals in front of an estimated 27,000 fans.
In 2017, the Galway and Dublin lads returned for a re-match, but the real drama featured Clare, the ’16 league champions, facing off against Tipperary, the reigning All-Ireland hurlers. Clare took the trophy home in what was dubbed the “clash of the champions.”
Limerick’s historic underdog victory last month over a powerhouse Galway side has sent the county into a celebratory spasm unseen in the land of Dolores O’Riordan since their last national title in 1973.
A formal announcement about the events and ticket availability is expected in mid-September. Watch bostonirish.com for details as they come in.
– BILL FORRY