[citation needed] His father Ollie was then a wing-forward on the Graiguecullen team that won their last Laois Senior Football Championship title in 1965.
Kearns managed the Limerick under-21 team to successive Munster titles and to an appearance in the All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship final.
Limerick had reached successive Munster Minor Football Finals in 1997 and 1998 and a crop of promising talent was beginning to emerge at Under 21 level.
In the Spring of 2000, Limerick beat Cork at Pairc Ui Chaoimh, and then Waterford at Dungarvan to win the Munster Under 21 Football Championship, captained by John Galvin.
They beat Tipperary at Mitchelstown, but were dethroned in the Munster Final at Kilmallock by a Cork team including Graham Canty.
In 2002, with the Under 21 commitments deferred to a new management team of Liam Fahy and Tom Casey, Kearns prioritised the league.
An early goal from Johnny Murphy (now an intercounty hurling referee) set them on their way against Kerry at the Gaelic Grounds in the Munster Senior Football Championship.
Limerick had played 5 top class competitive championship matches in 2002 culminating in a loss to Mayo by a single point, 0-13 to 1-9.
They lost to Westmeath in that League Final by a single point, but atoned a week later by dumping Cork out of the Munster Championship on a scoreline of 0-16 to 0-6.
In 2004 Limerick reached a National Football League Division 1 Semi Final after a strong run of form through the group stages.
Three late Eoin Keating frees were caught above the crossbar by Darragh O’Shea with a those inches depriving Limerick of a historic Munster Title.
Liam Kearns returned for one last act in 2005, but Kerry beat them convincingly in the Gaelic Grounds.
In being appointed he saw off the challenge of former Laois player Pat Roe, who had a successful spell in charge of Wexford.
[citation needed] In November 2015, Kearns was named as manager of the Tipperary senior football team.
[13][14][15] On 8 April 2017, Tipperary won the Division 3 final of the 2017 National Football League after a 3–19 to 0–19 win against Louth at Croke Park.