Tour could be a dark horse, as will the Mark Keane-coached Feenagh/Kilmeedy.
Along with the PIHC, itâs our most competitive championship. Any one of about 10 teams could win it.
It wonât be a City team for sure. Christians, Saints and Claughaun arenât worth a bucket of spit at the minute and Iâd expect two of them to be battling relegation.
Shaughs is back with Tour apparently
Patâs are far better this year having added some players and brought along a few good young ones.
I canât see how FK have improved. Who did they add?
Doon will not challenge.
John Gorman is home, Bryan Hannigan injury free, a few nice young fellas are a year older.
FK looked slick when I saw them, Keane had them fairly well set-up.
I just would worry that they lack enough clinical forwards who can win their own ball.
Lots of movement and nice hurling out the field alright, move the ball nicely but if thereâs a dogfight, will they get that space?
The West contingent really make this competition pure Box office.
Fuck it we love our hurling.
Do F/K not always look invincible this time of year?
C/B similar.
Saw Tour in the west league final and they were desperately unfit looking.
You have to man mark a couple of the forwards with pace.
They seem to be going well in football championship.
Just back from Knocklong.
Woodlands House Hotel county Junior A hurling championship Group 1 Round 1 RESULT.
Ballybricken/Bohermore 1-16 Staker Wallace 1-10.
Stakers led by four points after 20 mins but from then on B/B were in the ascendancy. A late scrambled goal from Niall Martin sealed the win. Dan Owens probably the best player on view. Dermot McCarthy best for Stakers but he was starved of possession for most of it. B/B just had a greater spread of scorers.
Credit to the Bouncers, theyâve a fine set up there now. The walking track, the electronic scoreboard which also gives the time, the astro, the extra pitches, the Galtees in the background, the trains whizzing by. Fair play to them. Donie and their u19âs were having a gentle puck around next door ahead of their impending county final v Bruff.
They face Adare tomorrow night in Kilmallock in Senior B, thatâll be a full blooded contest. Eoinsie is in Australia whoâll be a savage loss to them.
Senior A
Na Piarsaigh are strong favourites to retain the county title this year as they do have strength in depth but the rest of the big four in particular will be eager to take it off them. Patrickswell had an absolute shambles of a season in 2022 without Cian Lynch, being the first of the big four to lose to a non-big four team in a knockout match since 2014 or 2015, I believe. Ourselves and Ahane are the ones trying to spoil the party this year, although I suppose we both have to try and secure our position up there by getting a first round victory. Iâm just excited for the new challenge; three promotions in the past six years, itâs been a fairly rapid rise up through the ranks and one that weâre looking forward to.
Friday August 4
Na Piarsaigh (4/9) vs Patrickswell (15/8) @ 7pm in Claughaun
Saturday August 5
Ahane (5/6Â) vs Kildimo/Pallaskenry (11/10) @ 7pm in Cappamore
Doon (9/4) vs Kilmallock (4/11) @ 7pm in Bruff
I think both Na Piarsaigh and Patrickswell have a few injuries, particularly in defence. I do think the Well will be better this year (they couldnât be much worse than they were last year) and I feel like Na Piarsaigh may be more vulnerable early on than they will be later in the year. Will OâDonoghue is just arriving back from the US, the Caseys are probably still sobering up from the wedding, injuries to Jerome Boylan and Sean Long means they may need to dip into the panel of their second team. But with Shane OâNeill and John Fitz back, you would think they have a better setup than under Bermo, and it will be interesting to see how Dowling gets on in goal. Patrickswell will also undoubtedly have a better setup than they did last year, they will have Cian Lynch back who can make them tick out the field, Kevin OâBrien is back in the country and theyâve added Evan Fitz into their backline who will be a big asset, particularly if the likes of Nidge Foley are injured (they may still need to do some reshuffling in the full-back line). But, while I wouldnât be surprised if the Well one, itâd be crazy not to go for a Na Piarsaigh team that can field the Caseys, WOD, Breen, two Dempseys, Downes, etc. NaP by 5.
A huge challenge for us up amongst the big boys, but one that weâll relish. And the first game against Ahane is huge because whoever wins that pretty much has four free shots to make a quarter-final from thereon whereas the loser is staring down the barrel of relegation to Senior B. Ahane have been really good at staying up for the past few years, producing one big performance to stay alive. They actually drew with Adare last year but pulled out a massive performance to draw with Na Piarsaigh in the final game, they beat a favoured Ballybrown in 2021 and, similarly, beat a heavily-favoured Adare in a relegation play-off in 2020. Inevitably, Tom Morrissey pulls out massive performance after massive performance, he is a freakishly consistent performer at such a high level for his club. So I suppose we have to make sure that we donât allow him to simply walk all over us. Thatâs not to write-off their other players, Dan Minihan is powerful on the edge of the square and a goal threat, Ronan Fox has developed into a very accurate shooter out the field, Gavin Rowsome & Paddy Morrissey have a lot of legs around the middle, Adam Murrihy is a serious stickman in the half-back line not to mention their other All-Ireland winners, CiarĂĄn Barry and Dan. But itâs generally been all upward momentum for us in recent years, Kyle is probably the one player in Limerick who plays at a similar level to Tom on a consistent level. Darren OâConnell is absolutely flying at the moment, youâd expect Cathal Downes and Davy Fitz to kick on another level after big seasons in 2022, Kevin OâConnell is back from Canda while weâre also adding some serious youngsters like CiarĂĄn McMahon, SeĂĄnie Hartigan, Conor McMahon, etc. This is likely to be very tight, itâs a huge match for both sides. Obviously I have to believe weâll win but, as in previous years, I wonât be making a prediction on this one.
The word is that Doon are decimated by injuries, particularly in defence. So that has turned talk away from the previous sideshow about their management team. I donât know what kind of team theyâre going to be able to field, they do have a lot of very good young players. Losing Josh Ryan and Richie English alone would be absolutely massive blows, and with Mikey OâBrien, Chris Thomas and Patrick Cummins on top of that and they are going to have a seriously makeshift backline. Also if Barry Murphyâs injury is serious; add that to Dean Coleman and itâs probably a bridge too far to expect them to beat Kilmallock this weekend, even with undoubted class in Adam English, Darragh OâDonovan and Pat Simon. They still have loads of talent but Kilmallock are a serious outfit, and Pierce Connery is yet another forward addition on top of a pretty strong unit that they already had, with another year of experience for Shane OâBrien too. I think Doon will compete like dogs but Kilmallock will run out 7-point winners in the end.
Senior B
All three of these matches on at exactly the same time, and also the same time as Patrickswell vs Na Piarsaigh. Not great for journalists or for supporters as there are some intriguing contests here. From the outset, this is one of the hardest divisions to call. I donât think there is a standout team, they would all seem to be pretty evenly-matched and, judging from previous years, momentum is key here. You can probably afford one slip-up and still make a quarter-final but anymore than that, and you are in bother, and could even be dragged into a relegation battle. Garryspillane are the ones people seem to think are a step below the others but Liberties are down a lot of players from last year, Monaleen died with a whimper the last time they were up at this grade, Mungret have already ousted their coach, Adare could be without Hannon for the season, Ballybrown are down a couple from last year and there are question marks over their coach. So there is no obvious favourite and no obvious weaker side in my opinion.
Friday August 4
Adare (4/11) vs Garryspillane (9/4) @ 7pm in Kilmallock
Ballybrown (4/6) vs Monaleen (11/8) @ 7pm in the Bog Garden
Mungret/St. Paulâs (1/3) vs South Liberties (5/2) @ 7pm in Fedamore
Iâve tipped Adare to go down and I might be re-thinking that after hearing Liberties might be in an even worse place than I thought. But Iâm expecting Hannon not to be available this weekend and I think they might struggle without him. Now, Garryspillane are without Eoinsie Sheehan who has been arguably their best forward over the past few seasons. But they have other fellas who can score and they are never easily beaten. We played them last year and they pushed us all the way even though they didnât have much to play for; they have goals in them too. Maybe Iâm underestimating Adare but I think they lack some legs in attack and are too reliant on Willie for scores. So I think the Bouncers are serious value here, Garryspillane by 2.
Ballybrown versus Monaleen is the hardest one to call in my opinion. Their two county boys, as well as Josh Adams, should set them apart from the competition down there but apparently things arenât going that well under McGrath and they are down a few boys like Killian Gavin and Mikey Kiely. Monaleen should have the momentum after last yearâs All Ireland victory and they are continually bringing through young fellas. Mark Field is one of the livelier forwards theyâve had at underage in recent years and Darragh Langan was captain of last yearâs minor team and is a good bit of stuff. La Touche was only a sub for most of last year as he returned from injury, youâd imagine heâll be a big asset and ĂâDĂĄlaigh has had a year inside with Kinnerk, and should surely benefit from that. Very very hard one to call, Iâll give the edge to Ballybrown by 2 based purely on the talk that Aido is absolutely flying.
Liberties made a semi-final last year and I wouldnât necessarily buy all that bĂ©al bocht stuff but I do think they are down a fair few from last year, and as I mentioned during the week, they donât seem to be producing much of note in recent years. Their ace in the hole, obviously, is Barry Nash, an absolutely top class club hurler, the calibre of which Mungret donât have. Mungret got rid of Shaughs but, like Monaleen, are consistently competing in finals at underage and will have another few young fellas in amongst this year, I imagine Fintan Fitzgerald at least should start. And if Liam Lynch is back and in form, that will probably give them an edge which they really really missed last year. Mungret are a bit of an up-and-down team, putting consistency together at this level will be their main challenge as they had a few very disappointing performances to go along with good wins last year. Mungret by 5.
Premier Intermediate
Effin had the statement victory of the first round of the Premier Intermediate as they beat many peopleâs favourites, Newcastlewest, by ten points. There were narrow victories for NaP2, Blackrock and Bruff but a long, long way to go in this long haul of a Championship. The four teams who won are playing the four teams who lost and it wouldnât be a complete surprise if there was a complete reversal in each of those fixtures.
Saturday August 5
Blackrock vs Newcastlewest @ 7pm in Ballyagran
Bruff vs Glenroe @ 7pm in Kilfinane
Dromin/Athlacca vs Effin @ 7pm in Kilmallock
Sunday August 6
Cappamore vs Na Piarsaigh 2 @ 6pm in Caherconlish
A disastrous 10-point defeat for NCW last weekend, and Blackrock did really well to edge past Blackrock. Iâm going to go with NCW to recover though, learn from the defeat and get the victory this weekend. But Blackrock will push them all the way. NCW by 3.
Glenroe will probably be the most disappointed team from last weekend, they had a sizeable lead over Na Piarsaigh and managed to throw it away. Thatâs the kind of loss that can really effect their confidence while Bruff did the reverse, coming from behind to grind out a victory over Cappamore. I find this one hard to call as Bruff didnât actually sound all that impressive in their win and Glenroe could hit form again but Iâm going to go with Bruff to build on last weekâs win, and win by 2.
It would be typical of this Championship, always unpredictable, if Effin were to lose after having such a superb win the week before. And it was mentioned here that David Reidy was employed in a ridiculously defensive role, wasting him, Cian Scully only came on as a sub and Dromin/Athlacca hit a load of wides. So maybe with some tweaks to those things and they are a completely different proposition. However, with Quaid x2, FOC, POD, RuairĂ OâConnor, etc. and a 10-point win on the board, Iâd be crazy not to pick Effin. Effin by 4.
For Na Piarsaigh, it really depends on who will be burned by the seniors. Iâm hearing whispers that there could be a couple who played last weekend that will be gone for Sunday. And that will open up it up for Cappamore, depending on who they are. However, I have predicted Cappamore will get relegated anyway and maybe Na Piarsaigh will have too much anyway. Hard to know without knowing what team will take the field, but Iâll go NaP by 2.
Intermediate Group 1
Last night had the first match in this group and I donât think there was any surprise in Croagh/Kilfinny winning, as they aim to reach a third Intermediate final in a row since getting promoted (and obviously hoping they win it this time). There also wasnât many people surprised with Pallasgreen having three men sent off in that game but at least they are lucky in that Malachy and Pudgyâs were only second yellows, and they will be back next weekend. From the outset, C/K and Bruree are strong favourites in this group, it would look to be a battle between the other four for both the third knockout spot and relegation.
Sunday August 6
Kilmallock 2 vs Knockaderry @ 1pm in Ballyagran
Bruree vs Hospital/Herbertstown @ 6pm in Bruff
Like all second teams, I have no real idea who will take to the field for Kilmallock 2. But youâd have to think theyâre only going to get weaker as the year goes on; theyâll be at their strongest this weekend. Iâm not overly impressed by Knockaderry so Iâll predict the Balbec to win by 2.
TJ Ryan is involved with H/H but I saw them recently and I could not have been more unimpressed. Maybe it was just a bad day but they looked a rabble. On the other hand, Bruree looked well set-up and very impressive, and in Sam Cronolly, have one of the standout forwards at this grade. If what Iâve seen in challenges is a real indication, this could a bad beating. I know you can never read too much into challenges but the whispers would seem to tally too. Bruree by 15.
Intermediate Group 2
Another hard group to call; Knockainey will expect to make the knockout stages after only coming down from Prermier Intermediate and Granagh/Ballingarry would also expect to make it out. Croom pipped both Feohanagh and Murroe/Boher to the quarter-finals last year, a fact that made both of those sides very sore. So both will be looking for revenge this year and St. Kieranâs were very comprehensive junior winners so will be looking to drag those teams into a relegation mix, as many people are writing off the West side already.
Friday August 4
Croom vs St. Kieranâs @ 7pm in Coolyroe
Saturday August 5
Feohanagh vs Murroe/Boher @ 6pm in Martinstown
Sunday August 6
Granagh/Ballingarry vs Knockainey @ 6pm in Croom
Three really hard games to call in this group. On paper, Croom vs St. Kieranâs is one of those that looks like the loser could be in big, big trouble for relegation and the winner will have a fighting chance for a quarter-final spot. Kieranâs are well-organised and won the Junior last year by maximising their strengths. However, teams at Intermediate have that bit more nous and hurling and maybe some of the tactics that worked at Junior might not work here. Kieranâs have serious athleticism but limited firepower and really do rely on Ian Mackessyâs frees. Croom are an aging side but do have hurlers like Conor Allis, JamesMalone, Conor Laffan and Mark Reidy who are well able to take their scores. If Kieranâs are smart, theyâll expose Croomâs lack of legs but I just worry they donât have enough scorers from play at this level. If itâs a dogfight, Kieranâs do have a fair chance. Croom by 3.
Murroe/Boher hammered a Seamie Flanagan-less Feohanagh last year even though they couldnât make a quarter-final themselves and put a bit of gloss on what had been a very poor year up until that. Feohanagh totally collapsed that day but Seamie is the heartbeat of that side. Feohanagh are another side who donât seem to have a lot coming underage in recent years, theyâve lost a lot to emigration. M/B have lost a few players from last year too, older heads, but do have a decent core of younger players, a lot of whom made their debuts last year. A hard one to call, itâs hard to read too much into last yearâs game as Flanagan was not playing but, as good as he is, he is only one player and they need more from their other players. I think M/B might just have too much pace and movement for Feohanagh. M/B by 5.
Probably the two favourites for the group and two of the favourites for the overall Championship in Croom on Sunday evening, should be a cracker to be fair. Knockainey had a disappointing year last year, ending with their relegation, but have a decent core of players in the Reales, the OâGradys, Lonergan, Barron and the old head Kirby. G/B arguably should have beaten the eventual winners Na Piarsaigh last year, they had a run of scores but just ran out of time in the end and lost by a point. Again, they have decent forwards like Flynn, OâDonovan, Russell and I assume OâConnor is still going. Without any formlines, itâs hard to call, canât see it being more than a couple of points either way. Iâll go for Knockainey by 1 but really, no idea.
Junior A Group 1
Ballybricken/Bohermore and Staker Wallace opened the Junior Championship up tonight in this group with B/B running out winners as noted by Dodgy above. But, as with the entire Championship, very hard to predict who will even progress from the group. Patrickswell have consistently made the knockout stages and were semi-finalists last year, and most would expect that they will qualify. But who will join them? Ballybricken/Bohermore made the semis in 2021, Kilteely/Dromkeen have a multiple All Ireland winner in Brian OâGrady who is looking to recover from his ACL injury and break back onto the panel, while Monagea have a couple of returning figures to strengthen the spine of their defence. Askeaton had a good league campaign, winning the West Junior League, but havenât won a Championship match of note in years. The Stakers are probably written off by most but did have a better season in 2022 than they have had for a number of years.
Friday August 4
Askeaton vs Monagea @ 7pm in Newcastlewest
Saturday August 5
Kilteely/Dromleen vs Patrickswell 2 @ 7pm in Ballybricken
Hard to know with these teams, I hear Monagea have a couple back and Seanie Herlihy can still do a lot of damage. But if OisĂn OâFarrell and Willie OâMeara get any sort of decent service, itâs a pair of forwards that most junior teams would kill to have. Askeaton did have a good league, they have a very young team and Iâll tip them to get a Championship victory here. Askeaton by 4.
The Well consistently get to the knockout stages and even though I would have K/D as one of the better junior sides, and they have an elite player in Brian OâGrady, I just think the Well have a lot of very good hurlers who they can afford to play at this level. And, as with NaP & Kilmallock, theyâll be stronger in Round 1 than in any other round, so unfortunate for K/D in that respect. The Well by 4.
Junior A Group 2
Probably the toughest group of the lot, be very hard for the Bouncersâ second side to compete here against a few of the favourites to win the competition outright. Claughaun are another side who might be written off a bit but they made a semi-final in 2020 during Covid. Cathal OâNeillâs Crecora/Manister were only beaten on penalties by Killeedy in last yearâs quarter-final and he could very well be the standout player in this division. Templeglantine have a couple of very good attackers at this level in Mark McCarthy and Adam Fitzgerald, Caherline are only just down from Intermediate and were comprehensive winners in 2021 while Tournafulla are perennial contenders.
Saturday August 5
Claughaun vs Garryspillane 2 @ 3pm in Caherconlish
Caherline vs Crecora/Manister @ 6pm in Fedamore
Sunday August 6
Templeglantine vs Tournafulla @ 1pm in Newcastlewest
I think the Bouncers will really struggle in this group and I think Claughaun will have too much for them in this one. Claughaun by 6.
Caherline are a lot of peopleâs favourites as they are just down from Intermediate but I think that they will struggle to win this one again. Two years ago, they had Brennan at the top of his game but he was getting on at that point. Heâll still deliver but two years on⊠they also had Damien Gillane as coach who is now gone, a hard man to replace. Paudie Wixted is still one of the best players at the grade but Cathal OâNeill might very well be the actual best. C/M do rely on him to do most of the scoring and maybe Caherline will lower the blade against him but I do think he is one player who is capable of winning games on his own, with an athletic supporting cast. Iâve tipped them to win it out and I think theyâll get the win here. C/M by 4.
Both Glantine & Tour have nice forwards; Mark McCarthy, Adam Fitz, John Riordan for the former but Conor Moroney, Jamie Dore and Cian OâSullivan are lively for Tour as well and both have decent freetakers in Aaron Murphy and Anthony Harnett. Neither side made the knockouts last year, Tour were actually one of the favourites to win it out and had started in serious form. The word is that Shaughs is back with Tour but I think Glantine may have a little bit too much pace in their attack and could just edge this one. Templeglantine by 3.
Junior A Group 3
Again, four of the main contenders in this group. Everyone writes off poor Christians, but I reckon theyâll finish ahead of Ahane 2 in this group and wonât be in a relegation semi. But all four of the others would really hope theyâre going to win it. Patâs have the Hegarty brothers, huge assets at this level, and a couple of other youngsters this year; one slip-up cost Castletown/Ballyagran last year but, again, are perennial contenders. Killeedy are similar but made a county semi-final last year even with the injury to Paudie Ahern. Mark Keane is over Feenagh/Kilmeedy and has them looking slick at this stage of the year but can they actually get out of the minefield of the group stage this year?
Friday August 4
Old Christians vs St. Patrickâs @ 7pm in Monaleen
Saturday August 5
Castletown/Ballyagran vs Killeedy @ 7pm in Dromcollogher
Ahane 2 vs Feenagh/Kilmeedy @ 7pm in Mungret
Iâm not quite writing off Old Christians like everybody else but I do think that Patâs should have too much for them. Patâs had a very forgettable year last year and they really canât afford any sort of up-and-down form in this group either, with the level of opposition theyâll be up against. But I expect Hegarty to come to the table and Christians wonât be able to live with him. Patâs by 8.
Castletown/Ballyagran vs Killeedy almost looks like the kind of match youâd get in the county final, a real heavyweight clash at this level. Killeedy, in fairness to them, get called watery at times but they consistently make the latter stages and probably got further than they had any right to last year, considering the injuries. C/B are nearly the opposite, in that they look to have a bit more about them but slip-up against teams they should be beating. Iâm going to predict C/B to win though, I just think they are moving well and Killeedy are down a few key figures. C/B by 5.
Ahane will seriously struggle in this group. F/K look very slick and a weaker second team are exactly the type of side they could open up. Bigger tests to come. F/K by 16.
Junior A Group 4
A weird group with 4 of the second teams, including two of the weaker ones in the Junior B winners of the last two years. Rathkeale would also be one of the weaker first teams based on the last couple of years (although if they get a bit of momentum, you wouldnât be surprised if they went on a run). Doon could end up burning a lot of players if the rumours of injuries with their seniors are true, so maybe this will open up for Drom/Broadford, who were in last yearâs county final, even if Derry McCarthy is gone.
Saturday August 5
Mungret/St. Paulâs 2 vs Rathkeale @ 6pm in Askeaton
Sunday August 6
Doon 2 vs Dromcollogher/Broadford @ 4pm in Adare
Monday August 7
Blackrock 2 vs Bruff 2 @ 7pm in Martinstown
Four second teams in this group to really make it difficult to predict. I think Rathkeale have some nice players but when I saw them this year were trying to play a style of hurling that they simply didnât have the hurlers to play. Mungret should be consistently getting an injection of young players, they canât all play senior hurling. Rathkealeâs form has been horrific in recent years and Mungret should have enough to win this. Mungret by 9.
Doon generally do compete but if the injury rumours are true, they will be down a few players they should have, even with another injection of youth. Drom/Broadford may be down Derry McCarthy but they still have other nice hurlers like Damien Burke, Keith Lacey, Jack Pierce, etc. and were in a county final last year. Have to go with them to get the win here: D/B by 4.
Bruff won last yearâs Junior B title, Blackrock beat them in the Junior B the year before. Bruff won an U-19 title last year and have actually a few more decent players available at this level this year, so I think they should have too much for Blackrock to be honest. Bruff by 6.
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A great weekend, itâs just great to be back.
Fair play pal serious analysis thereâŠlet the games commence
Fantastic stuff.
Good work.
KD & Mungret will upset the odds in Junior 1 & 4.
At least there will be some streaming this weekend.
