The teams took some separating at wet and gloomy Ennis tonight, but Clare eventually edged out Limerick by 0-19 to 0-17 after extra time.

Over the course of a keenly-contested affair that looked destined to go to a replay, the sides were level at half time, full time and half time in extra time before full forward Gary Cooney lofted over the last two points to hand Clare a provincial final date for the first time since 2012.

In that decider at Semple Stadium on Sunday July 9^th, the winners will square up to either holders Tipperary or Cork, who are due to contest the second semi-final tomorrow night.

With 3,697 spectators kept engaged throughout a tit-for-tat encounter in which the neighbouring counties were level seven times during the regulation hour, the visitors landed the first four points of the game but also had to clip over the last three to force an additional 20 minutes.

The sides shared 14 points during the course of a demanding opening period, with Clare goalkeeper Eamon Foudy ensuring his side of parity at the break with a super save just before the short whistle sounded.

The visitors started purposefully and made quick inroads into the scoreboard with four unanswered Paul O'Brien points. However, on a truly horrible evening for hurling, the Banner County in turn reeled off four points without reply to tie the scores up for the first of many times by the 21^st minute.

As both sides strived gallantly in greasy conditions, the Treaty County notched three of the next five points to lead by 0-7 to 0-6 with four minutes remaining before the break, but the hosts registered the last point of an intriguing half.

Each time Limerick moved ahead, the Banner - guilty of 22 wides - had an answer and Sixmilebridge's Tiernan Agnew finally gave the home team the lead for the first time in the 37^th minute. But Limerick came back and the teams would remain inseparable until the second period of extra time when Cooney gave the winners a lead that would not be relinquished.

Mikey and Paul O'Brien (2) contributed the last three scores of normal time for John Mulqueen's charges as they finished 0-14 apiece - and it was 16 points each after the first additional ten-minute period, David Woulfe and O'Brien on target for Limerick and substitute Gearoid Cahill and wing back Aidan McCarthy keeping the Banner ticking over.

O'Brien's ninth point had the losers in front first in the second period of extra time only for Agnew to reply with his tenth before O'Callaghan Mills clubman Cooney (0-4) intervened with his decisive double salvo.

The Banner are now in both the Munster senior and minor hurling finals for the first time in 20 years. And nobody in the county will ever forget 1997.

Clare - E Foudy; S Crowley, R Hayes, B Higgins; D Ryan (0-1), C Minogue, A McCarthy (0-1); K White (0-1), L Brack; T Agnew (0-10, 7f, 1'65), R Considine, E Fitzgerald; P Corry, G Cooney (0-4), B Horner (0-1). Subs: C Tierney for P Corry, C Haugh for R Considine, G Cahill (0-1) for E Fitzgerald, C McInerney for S Crowley, E Wallace for D Ryan.

Limerick - D Heffernan; C Flahive, C Nicholas, C Barry; M O'Brien (0-1), J Boylan, K Bonar; D Minehan (0-1), M O'Grady; P O'Riordan, P O'Brien (0-9, 5f), D Woulfe (0-4); D O'Shea (0-1), R Connolly (0-1), G Barry. Subs: B O'Grady for P O'Riordan, R Tobin for C Barry, R Duff for M O'Grady.

Referee - P Kelly.

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