There are conflicting feelings after this All-Ireland. To embrace the positive, Limerick proved themselves a generational team, one that doesn’t come around very often – if at all. They were devastating this weekend.I believe they are the best team I have ever seen, and that is with all due respect to Kilkenny.But for me, Limerick have such exceptional physical power that they would be unbeatable for any team from the past because that power game comes with phenomenal skill, personified by Cian Lynch, who was back to his breathtaking best in the final.[ All-Ireland hurling final report: Limerick 1-29 Galway 1-18Opens in new window ]On the negative side, an underwhelming championship has had an underwhelming finale. The supremacy of Munster teams was emphatically on show. That’s a ninth successive All-Ireland for the province – now just two behind the record, also set by Munster, 1890-1900.Look at the fate of Leinster teams this championship. Offaly were savaged by Cork, Dublin well beaten by Clare and now champions Galway have been hammered by Limerick.This win carries no qualifications. Limerick produced their best display of the season on the most important day and on the biggest stage. So many of their players had near-season’s best performances and the team hit its rhythm and rediscovered its scoring ability.By the end, when Galway had their last-minute penalty, there was no tension left in the game. The only undercurrent in the crowd was Limerick supporters urging on Nickie Quaid to save it.He has been so important to them at various stages this year and yet he didn’t have the opportunity to shine on Sunday, simply because his goal was hardly ever threatened.Limerick's Mike Casey, Cathal O'Neill and goalkeeper Nickie Quaid celebrate after the match. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho In the end, Conor Cooney converted it well, but I was struck by the Limerick supporters on the edge of their seats willing on their goalkeeper.After a couple of below-par outings in the Munster final and All-Ireland semi-final, Limerick were back on the 30-point standard and looking as formidable as they ever have over the past 10 years.Since breaking through in 2018, they have nearly doubled their All-Ireland total from seven to 13. It’s a magnificent, sustained achievement and emphatically answers all the questions that had developed over the past two years.Even going in to this weekend, I had reservations about their low scoring and the tendency to play in snatches but they laid all of that to rest.From a Galway perspective, it could have been worse. Darach Fahy made two smart saves from Gearóid Hegarty in the first 10 minutes. If either of those go in, the show is over.[ Limerick player ratings: Cian Lynch impresses as Treaty win Liam MacCarthy CupOpens in new window ]They managed to get to the break theoretically in touch but with a second half to come defending the scoring end into the Davin, there couldn’t have been much optimism. It was almost bound to get ugly.The two youngsters Jason Rabbitte and Aaron Niland, in fairness to them, kept the team on life support in the first half, Rabbitte winning frees and Niland shooting them. But they were finding everything so difficult.The goalkeeper had difficulty in finding puck-out targets and when he did, they found it hard to pick out the next recipient. Getting through the middle third was as easy as running through a minefield, which spelt trouble for their preferred style of playing through the lines.Galway's Tiernan Killeen dejected after the match. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho They were galloping into that territory and getting turned over. At best it was attritional and, at times, it looked like men against boys.In formation, they didn’t actually match up the way they had against Cork. I think they got frightened early in the face of the Limerick onslaught. Players know on the field if things are spinning out of control. They were essentially pursuing a game plan based on going toe-to-toe with the team that pioneered middle-third domination.Cathal Mannion, who had been their linchpin, had hardly any influence in the first half. He wasn’t in the familiar role of sweeper. He was farther up the field. Anything they tried to do was proving difficult and, ultimately, it became impossible.To be honest, it was a hard watch for neutrals. By half-time Galway looked out of ideas. They were up against exceptional players – as I said, generational talents. Aaron Gillane was back on form. Kyle Hayes had an unbelievable number of possessions. Will O’Donoghue was as he has been all season, solid as a rock, and Diarmuid Byrnes was as good as he has ever been.[ If this is the last tango for John Kiely’s Limerick, they went out staying true to their own excellenceOpens in new window ]There’s always recency bias but it’s very hard to see where the challenge comes in the years ahead. The game could do with a shake-up and John Meyler’s hurling committee is looking at ideas. I think it’s possibly time for a change, for instance look at taking the back pass out of the game.I would also like to see skill rewarded more. At the moment, so much of the game is about power in the middle third, which isn’t a dig at Limerick. They can play it whatever way you want. They’re strong but they have all the skill in the world.They are close to unbeatable on these big occasions. It’s a credit to John Kiely and his management team, who I think have taken them to 20 finals and won 19, just losing the other on penalties.It’s a hard road back from that for Galway, no more than Cork, who had a crushing defeat last year.In the aftermath of All-Ireland success, winning looks easy, which of course it’s not but the idea that Limerick were nearing the end of their life cycle and that this would be a last dance looks unlikely. I’d be very surprised if it’s their last dance.