I can confirm that Limerick are going back to full hit and whip next year. Just to keep it interesting like.
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Kyle Hayes has been watching videos of Clem Smith in anticipation.
Mark Foley will be joining the coaching set up as a consultant.
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Mark Foley. Catch it and launch it over Gillanes head 40 yards wide.
Its what Diarmaid Byrnes would be at if he was left alone
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Will Colm Bonnar be the saviour of Tipp hurling and stop Limerick beating them in the championship for the 5th year in a row?
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My money is on AN OTHER steering Galway to glory.
Kinnerk had itchy feet but JP bought him a house and is paying him âŹ150k a year
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I heard he bought him 2 houses.
Again?
One in Barbados
The other one is for a home office. Heâs the sitting room ripped out and itâs just a room of whiteboard walls
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Following tonightâs County Executive Committee Meeting the following management teams will be brought forward to the October County Committee Meeting for ratification for the 2022 Season.
Under 20 Hurling:
Diarmuid Mullins, Richie Flannery, Tommy Quaid, John Meskell
Minor Hurling:
Kevin O Hagan, Ger Barry, Liam Hammersley, Liam Reale, Mark Keane.
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Hon Muller
A much better showing by me in the last round of hurling fixtures; 17/23. Now, they were easier ones to predict by and large.
Should have gone with my instincts in Garryspillane vs Liberties; that was the only one I got wrong in the top 3 grades. Bruff reversed their previous form to get the win over NCW, and Cappamore won the East derby against Murroe/Boher but, by and large, these went according to plan.
Junior remains impossible to predict, how Ballybrown lost to Rathkeale, I donât know. Also Ballybricken/Bohermore upset the odds again, as did Monagea as Kilteely/Dromkeen and Glantine vs Drom. Still, a better showing in general.
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I made 22 predictions only, donât know what one I left out! Anyway, I got 16/22
Edir: It was The Well v Doon in the Junior I left out
Letâs be having you for this weekend
Senior Quarter-Finals
Kilmallock (1/5) vs South Liberties (4/1)
Adare (5/2) vs Patrickswell (4/11)
A double header in the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday is certainly the highest-profile of the fixtures this weekend but in both games, the Senior A teams are strong favourites and we are wondering whether either of the Senior B teams can cause an upset. From the matches played so far, Kilmallock would certainly look the more vulnerable of the two. They were put to the pin of their collar by Ballybrown but had enough to get over the line. It doesnât look like Graeme will be available, and he really is a massive loss, but are Liberties as good as Ballybrown? Thereâs certainly a bit of hype about them, with the additions of Anthony Nash, Ken Byrnes and Barry Cooney. They lost to Garryspillane, but didnât start Brian Ryan or Tom Ryan, and obviously knew they were very likely to progress regardless. I think they do have a lot of firepower especially with Byrnes & Cooney assisting the likes of Nash and David OâNeill in attack, but I would worry that they are a little bit porous in defence and I think Kilmallock should have too much. 4/1 is tempting alright but Kilmallock havenât been unimpressive so far, and Iâm going to say theyâll win by 5.
Adare would probably have fancied their chances of upsetting Kilmallock, the Well are a different story. With the other big 4 teams all losing their best forward to injury, they must really fancy their chances of winning it outright. Okay, they lost to Doon by a point but would have to assume they wonât get a red card before throw-in if they play them again. They then destroyed Ahane, Gillane just going to town. Adare wonât afford Gillane the same space, John Fitz will sit back in front of him as a spare man to cut out that space. Will Ronan Connolly pick up Aaron, or will they detail him to mark Lynch? The thing is that the Well have enough scorers around the field to do damage; if Jason Gillane or Jack Kelliher get space out the field, theyâll pop over points for fun. Willie will cause trouble for the Patrickswell full-back line but Byrnes was immense sitting back the last day. They surely wonât waste Byrnes marking Hannon; I know Dec did a bit of damage against us but Byrnes is good enough to really influence the game and isnât suited to man marking at all. I think the Well will have too much, I think theyâre a quality outfit and could win this by 7.
Senior County Cup
Garryspillane vs Kildimo/Pallaskenry
Tonight in the Gaelic Grounds, we get a chance to win a bit of silverware. Definitely not the match we wanted to be playing this weekend, but now that weâre here, weâre definitely going all out to win. I donât think we are in any position to turn our noses up at any piece of senior silverware and we have a right chance of taking this. Garryspillane bounced back from a poor defeat to Blackrock to surprise Liberties and were well-deserving of their victory. Eoinsie Sheehan really stepped up in that game and buried two goals, while the likes of Jim Bob and Bryan Heavey also made an impact. They beat us in the Premier Intermediate semi-final three years ago in the year they got promoted; it took us a bit longer to finally get up but itâll be interesting to see how the two sides have progressed since then. They still have a very young side, a huge amount of them are U-21; we have a young side ourselves but I have to fancy us for this one. I donât normally predict our matches due to bias but Iâll go for us tonight anyway by 4.
Senior A Relegation Final
Ahane (11/8) vs Ballybrown (4/6)
Big match on Saturday afternoon in Mick Neville at 4; relegation from Senior A. Both of these sides really put it up to one of the teams in their group and were well-beaten in the other. Ahane looked shocking against the Well, but were so naĂŻve in how they dealt with Gillane and the game was over inside 10 minutes. They were much better against Doon, Tom was immense but other players also stood up, Mark Donnellan, Ciaran Barry, Ronan Fox. They didnât get over the line in that one but it should give them a bit of confidence heading into this. Ballybrown should have beaten Kilmallock, a late rally denying them, and then were beaten by Daithi Dempsey the week after. Colin Coughlan has really been showing why heâs an intercountry player and Ahane will have to watch him; they probably need more from Aidan OâConnor than they got against Na Piarsaigh. Ballybrown are favourites but I just think Ahane have a bit more momentum, I think losing to Kilmallock was a real sickener for Ballybrown, and I think Ahane will win this by 3.
Senior B Relegation Final
Blackrock (11/10) vs Monaleen (5/6)
Itâs very annoying that there are so many matches on Saturday at 4. This is definitely the bigger of the two relegation finals; going down to Senior B hasnât done Adareâs chances any harm really. Obviously, itâs not where any team wants to be but if you get a bit of momentum coming out of the B group, thereâs always the chance of an upset against one of the A teams underperforming. This one though, you go down to Premier Intermediate, thereâs no guarantee that you come straight back up; itâs been a while since someone went straight back up and look at Murroe/Boher this year, in a relegation final! On paper, Monaleen should be winning this but they put in two really lacklustre performances so far. Blackrock got a great win against the Bouncers which they must have thought would be enough to keep them up but now they must go to the well once more. My view is that Monaleen have more hurling ability in the likes of OâDwyer, ALTC, OâDĂĄlaigh, Doyle, etc. but Blackrock are way more dogged. Theyâre well set up, they perhaps lack a little firepower but if they can make it a dogfight, I think they might just do it. Iâll go Blackrock by 2 (but would be far from surprised if Monaleen won handy).
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Premier Intermediate Semi-Finals
Mungret/St. Paulâs (4/11) vs Glenroe (9/4)
Newcastlewest (8/11) vs Cappamore (11/10)
Mungret and Glenroe is another thatâs on at 4 on Saturday, this in Kilmallock; a repeat of last yearâs semi-final. Mungret had to come from behind to get over the line that day. Theyâve been impressive so far, three wins from three in the group once again. Glenroe got the win against Athlacca last week to secure a place in the semi-final, but can they go better than 2020? Arguably, they threw it away last year, they were in a great position and Mungretâs bench came in to get them over the line. I think Mungret seem to be in a slightly better place this year, added a few new faces, havenât had to rely on Paulie OâBrien. I think theyâll do enough to get the win. Mungret by 5.
Itâs already been a great year for Newcastlewest; first year up and theyâre already in a county semi-final, topping the group. Itâs also been a great year for Cappamore already, theyâve progressed nicely from a poor year in 2020. Not many would have backed them to finish ahead of Murroe/Boher but theyâve done it in style. But NCW are a coming team, generally very young, well set-up and will not fear Cappamore in the slightest. This one is also in Kilmallock at 2 on Sunday, and should be a really interesting game. I think itâs an ideal draw for NCW tbh and I think theyâll win this by 5.
Premier Intermediate Relegation Final
Bruff vs Murroe/Boher
Another on Saturday at 4pm, how do you choose between these matches? As Iâve said before, this would have been seen as more likely to be a county final than a relegation final at the start of the year. Bruff have been regulars in the knockout stages over the past few years, and with Jerry OâConnor in charge, were really talking about this being their year. They threw away their first match and it really fucked them up. They have a couple of very talented lads like Bradley McNamara and Kyle Dillon only playing Junior B which is far from ideal. Murroe/Boher were arguably unlucky to come down last year but this year has been an utter disaster. They came back to salvage a draw against Knockainey, having been 9 points down but were humiliated by Mungret and that points difference has cost them. I think in a regular season, with 7 games, neither would find themselves here but one of them will be playing Intermediate next year. This is on in Caherconlish and is, in my view, the game of the weekend; even moreso than Blackrock vs Monaleen. It should be a cracker, I think Bruff, having beaten NCW and potentially having a couple of players to add, should do it. Bruff by 4.
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Intermediate Quarter-Finals
Croom (5/4) vs Granagh/Ballingarry (4/6)
Bruree (1/2) vs Pallasgreen (6/4)
Croagh/Kilfinny (5/4) vs Na Piarsaigh 2 (4/6)
Effin (1/5) vs Knockaderry (7/2)
Only one of these is on Saturday at 4pm, G/B take on Croom in the Bog Garden in what is probably the most intriguing of all these matches. These draw last year in a cracker in Croagh and, in the end, G/B ended up in relegation while Croom made a semi-final. I think the two teams are evenly matched, I just fancy Granagh/Ballingarry to have a little more in the legs. Sean OâConnor appears to be in good form, and I donât know if Croom have an equivalent. G/B by 1.
All the others are on at 1pm on the Sunday; Bruree play Pallasgreen in Kilfinane. This should be an intense battle with Malachy, on the back of becoming the Poc Fada champion, being the standout player on show. But I think the supporting cast for Pallasgreen arenât what they were, particularly in attack, while Brureeâs young players like the Cronollys and Williams have performed so far. I think Bruree will do the business here and win by 4.
In Ballybrown, Croagh/Kilfinny play Na Piarsaigh. This is a very hard one to call as we donât know what kind of Na Piarsaigh team will line out. There are rumours around the likes of Jerome Boylan and Alan Dempsey being available for Na Piarsaigh and obviously that would transform their team from what played in the first two games. Croagh still havenât lost a game in over a year and a half or something like that and have serious momentum behind them. I fancy Croagh to be honest, but thatâs on the basis of the Na Piarsaigh team that plays so far; theyâre just down a lot from last year. With Boylan, Dempsey & potentially one or two others available, NaP should probably win. It could just be rumours though, so Iâll go for C/K by 2.
Knockaderry play Effin in Feenagh. Knockaderry had that great win over Feohanagh to get them here but Effin have two excellent results thus far. Theyâll be very disappointed with their year in 2020 and are favourites with the bookies to win it outright now. I donât anticipate a surprise in this one, I think Effin will do what it takes. Effin by 7.
Intermediate Relegation Semi-Finals
Tournafulla vs Hospital/Herbertstown
Feohanagh vs Kilmallock 2
The first of the relegation finals is also on Saturday at 4, in Feenagh. Tour were heartbroken against G/B while H/H didnât really get near either Croom or Pallasgreen. Looking at the formlines and the players on both teams, I do think Tour should have enough. I think H/H could be in real bother but have caused upsets before. Tour by 7.
The second is on under lights in MNP at half 7 on Sunday. A Seamie Flanagan-inspired Feohanagh probably could have got a win the first day but were then shocked by Knockaderry. From one of the favourites for the title to being in relegation again, not the place they want to be. I do think theyâll have too much for Kilmallockâs second team though; with a few injuries to the seniors, there has perhaps been a bigger drain on them than there would otherwise be and I donât see them having enough to beat Feohanagh. Feohanagh by 9.
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