Limerick GAA 2023 - League champions means nothing now 🐐

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4586

Senior A

Sunday September 18
Adare vs Patrickswell @ 2.30pm in Askeaton
Ahane vs Na Piarsaigh @ 2.30pm in Kilmallock
Doon vs Kilmallock @ 2.30pm in Fedamore

Na Piarsaigh already have a semi-final spot secured with a game to spare, and they will be joined in the semi-finals by the winner of Doon & Kilmallock. On paper, that’s perhaps the standout game but do these teams really care whether they play a semi-final or a quarter-final that they would be favourites to win? The word is that Doon will be without Barry Murphy & Dean Coleman, who have both been in top form, so you’d have to make Kilmallock favourites for that one. Kilmallock by 4.

Even though Na Piarsaigh are already through and Ahane need a result to avoid being in some sort of relegation difficulty, it’s still hard to see NaP not winning this. But could be worth going to see Tom’s performance alone, he’s been unreal to date. NaP by 9.

That leaves Patrickswell & Adare, a battle between neighbours. This is a winner-takes-all clash, the winner ending up in a quarter-final. Adare have been absolutely horrific in most games to date but are somehow still alive. Now, it would take a performance that they haven’t even come close to delivering to upend a Patrickswell side who seemed to find some form last week, even though they were stunned by Patrick Cummins’ late goal. Adare are more likely to end up relegated to Senior B than make a quarter-final but they have delivered big performances against Patrickswell in recent years. Still hard to see them turning it around so completely, with Patrickswell delivering a much-better performance last weekend. Still no Cian Lynch but Gillane is a phenomenal player up front. Patrickswell by 8.

Senior B

Saturday September 17

Ballybrown vs South Liberties @ 5pm in Fedamore
Blackrock vs Mungret/St. Paul’s @ 5pm in Ballyagran
Garryspillane vs Kildimo/Pallaskenry @ 5pm in Caherconlish

I don’t think anyone expected this group to be quite as tight as it is. There is the potential for five of the six teams in this group to be level on six points by the end of this weekend, if results go that way. One team who I do expect to get to six points is Mungret, who should beat a now-relegated Blackrock. If Mungret had lost last week (and it was a very close match), then it would have been a very different story. Would you have fancied them to win a relegation dogfight against Blackrock? As it is, Blackrock are gone, Mungret need to run up a massive score difference to have any hope of making a quarter-final, so I think they’ll win comfortably. Rory Duff is back and seems to be in great form, Paul O’Brien is racking up scores, Niall Mul is always lively. Don’t see them getting the points difference that they need though (probably something in the region of 24 points). Mungret by 9.

We are in the driving seat; get the win and we know we are playing Senior A next year, as well as securing a quarter-final slot. But Garryspillane know a victory over us puts them right in contention, although could be depending on either other results or score difference to get them over the line even if they do beat us. They were in an unbelievable position against Ballybrown with 15 minutes to go: 2 points up, playing against 14 men without the opposition’s talisman but they completely fell apart from that position. Had they held on, topping the group would be a real likelihood. As it is, we know they won’t lie down; they have a lot of young talent in the likes of Eoinsie, Ciaran Sheehan, Dylan O’Shea, etc. Mark Quinlan also received a red card last weekend, so may not be available. Kyle is on the back of scoring 10 points from play but the likes of Shaun Barry, Cathal Downes and Davy Fitzgerald are flying too.

Ballybrown dug out a huge win against Garryspillane, when everything seemed to be going against them. Josh Adams scoring two goals for Ballynanty on the same evening they faced Garryspillane, after the controversy the week before. Stevie O’Reilly out injured, Colin Coughlan sent off while losing. But Bryan Griffin started winning primary possession (but probably out this weekend), young Mikey Gavin went in centre-back and started cleaning up and Aidan O’Connor came out the field and began scoring from every angle. But down a few more this weekend, they are very very light on numbers. South Liberties look to be great odds at 9/4 despite a very disappointing loss to Mungret, Rory Duff’s last minute point sealing their fate. But Tom Ryan is back fit and hit 0-5 from play, and Barry Nash is always a handful. Considering how many Ballybrown are down, Liberties probably should be winning this but do I have faith that they will actually be able to hold Aidan & Luke O’Connor? Not really but Ballybrown are light on defenders themselves. Very hard to call, I’ll go with Liberties by 1 to really throw the group into flux. If Blackrock were to do them a favour, that would put Liberties through; otherwise Ballybrown would still probably have enough to make it through based on favourable score difference.

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4587

Premier Intermediate

Saturday September 17

Knockainey vs Monaleen @ 1pm in Bruff
Bruff vs Glenroe @ 2pm in Kilfinane

Sunday September 18

Cappamore vs Effin @ 1pm in Knocklong
Dromin/Athlacca vs Newcastlewest @ 1pm in Feenagh

One weekend where the Premier Intermediate isn’t the highlight as they still have one more weekend after this. Still, we’re getting to the crunch time and some teams can’t afford any more slip-ups. Knockainey are in big relegation bother and if they don’t get a win here, they are pretty much fucked. Monaleen have generally been very good, but only drew with Dromin/Athlacca the last day. But hard not to see Monaleen pretty much securing their semi-final slot with a win here. Monaleen by 5.

Bruff vs Glenroe is huge. A Glenroe win guarantees them a semi-final spot and really, really puts the pressure on Bruff (in fact, depending on other results, it could knock them out). Sean Finn has been carrying an injury and his fitness could tell a lot. Glenroe had been in unbelievable form but were comfortably beaten by an Effin side that Bruff had previously disposed of. We all know this grade is hard to call, no better example than that. Bruff probably do need Finn but they do have other scoring threats like Danny O’Leary, Darragh Butler and Colin Madden. Seanie Tobin’s Glenroe have been racking up huge tallies, top goalscorers in the Championship to date. On pure form, Glenroe probably have the edge but I’m going to go for Bruff. They need to pull out a performance here and I’ll tip them to win by 4.

Effin can put themselves in a great position and knock Cappamore with a win here. Cappamore need to win to get back to where they were last year. Cappamore started awfully but have found form, they’ve put two wins back-to-back. Admittedly, these were against the bottom two sides in the division but the manner of the victories was impressive. Effin have been up-and-down but last weekend’s victory over Glenroe was arguably the result of the Championship so far. With Nicky at centre-back, two of the other Quaids in attack alongside the little wizard Paddy O’Donovan, they are a match for anyone. I think they’ll have too much for Cappamore, Effin by 4.

Dromin/Athlacca could still make a semi-final but are probably looking over the shoulder too, and a win here means they are safe (as they have head-to-head advantage over Knockainey). Probably a little too reliant on David Reidy even with the likes of Cian Scully, David Breen & Sean O’Leary around him. NCW suffered a bad defeat to Monaleen and there were some doubts about them but they have followed that up with convincing wins over good sides in Effin & Bruff. They are strong favourites this weekend and starting to find their mojo, I think they’ll get the job done here. NCW by 5.

Intermediate Group 1

Sunday September 18

Caherline vs Murroe/Boher @ 5pm in Cappamore
Croom vs Feohanagh @ 5pm in Ballingarry
Bruree vs Na Piarsaigh 2 @ 6pm in Ballybrown

Bruree & Na Piarsaigh are both through, their game is a straight shootout to see who tops the group. NaP have now lost Evan Gilvarry, who was burned late on in their senior’s hammering of Adare last weekend. He’s been one of their most impressive players so far, and Evan Sweeney wasn’t playing the last two games either. They are 4 from 4 so far but Bruree will be the best side they have faced, with Sam Cronolly the outstanding player in this competition to date. I think Bruree just have a bit more in attack than any of the other sides Na Piarsaigh have faced, and I think they are just a little porous. Cronolly to lead Bruree to a 3-point win.

Croom vs Feohanagh is a straight shootout to see who takes the last quarter-final spot. Advantage is still with Feohanagh despite the unmerciful hammering they received from Murroe/Boher last weekend. That was without Seamie Flanagan or Mike Fitzgibbon and if it hasn’t affected their confidence, I would still expect them to get the win here. Croom were beaten fairly well in the last two games and the victory in the wind against Murroe/Boher has kept them alive but a full-strength Feohanagh should have too much for them. Feohanagh by 6.

Murroe/Boher vs Caherline is a straight shootout to avoid the relegation final. Murroe/Boher had a horrific start to the campaign but rallied with a hammering of Feohanagh the last day out. Caherline have battled away, got an opening-day point against Croom but haven’t added to it. This will have been the one they’ve been targeting. Again their East rivals, a side lacking in confidence and momentum following back-to-back relegations. Caherline are dogged with class in the likes of Paudie Wixted & Andrew Brennan, but Gary Murphy is back in defence and Rooney in attack. Murroe/Boher have Mikey Ryan in unbelievable form in the full-forward line, while the Nicholas brothers in midfield are real livewires. If it turns into a dogfight, you’d fancy Caherline but M/B probably have that bit more hurling and, with a win behind them, they’ll probably have enough. M/B by 5.

Intermediate Group 2

Sunday September 11

Croagh/Kilfinny vs Knockaderry @ 3pm in the Bog Garden
Granagh/Ballingarry vs Kilmallock 2 @ 3pm in Ballyagran
Hospital/Herbertstown vs Pallasgreen @ 3pm in Kilteely

Knockaderry’s win the last day actually puts them third and means they can’t be relegated. Having seen them against G/B, that was a little bit of a surprise. To secure a quarter-final spot, they need to beat Croagh/Kilfinny, who are probably the outright favourites at this point. Very hard to see that happening with C/K racking up huge scores. Their manager, Evan Loftus, has recently been appointed Limerick minor hurling manager for 2023 and it’d be nice for his CV to round out the year with a county title. C/K just have way more scoring options than Knockaderry, who are so reliant on Mark Danaher frees. C/K by 7.

Granagh/Ballingarry are already-through with Kilmallock 2 in a bit of bother with relegation. It probably means more to Kilmallock, but I still expect G/B to get the job done here. Luke Flynn, Dodge and Damien O’Donovan have all been in good form and Kilmallock losing a few players to the seniors, I just see G/B getting the win here. G/B by 7.

H/H and Pallasgreen will be some battle, the winner has a chance of making a quarter-final, the loser could be relegated. Pallasgreen are in the slightly better position of having the head-to-head advantage which means that, were they to win, they would be guaranteed a quarter-final spot if C/K beat Knockaderry as expected. But they’ve suffered three defeats on the trot since then. H/H put it up to C/K but their only win was also on the opening day, against Kilmallock 2. There won’t be much in it; would you fancy Malachy to dig out a big, big performance to get over the line. H/H probably have the more balanced team but I’d never back against Pallasgreen in a straight relegation dogfight, even though I backed them for relegation at the start of the year. Pallasgreen by 2.

Those set of results would put Pallasgreen through in third, and put Kilmallock 2 into the relegation final on score difference.

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4588

Junior A Group 1

Sunday September 11

Blackrock 2 vs Ballybricken/Bohermore @ 1pm in Hospital
Crecora/Manister vs Templeglantine @ 1pm in Knockaderry
Drom/Broadford vs Staker Wallace @ 1pm in Ballyagran

Hard to see B/B not hammering Blackrock but, sadly for them, they are unable to replicate last year’s feat of making the knockout stages as they are already out. B/B by 12.

Crecora/Manister are almost certainly through but not quite yet. Any sort of result against Templeglantine would do them but if they lose, they could still be caught by Drom/Broadford if there was enough of a points difference swing. Glantine need a win or else could very well be passed by D/B if they beat the Stakers. So this is a huge match; both sides with a marquee young forward in Cathal O’Neill & Mark McCarthy respectively. I’ve tipped C/M all along, I just think, at this level, CON is king and that can be enough. C/M also probably have enough all the over field, they aren’t actually a one-man team and have been building a very decent junior side for years. C/M by 3.

If C/M do win, it really opens it up for D/B if they get the job done against the Stakers. The Stakers have been decent, much better than in previous years and have a few nice young hurlers coming through but after an awful setback for D/B in the first round against B/B, they’ve been solid since then and I’ll tip them to win by 3 and progress.

Junior A Group 2

Sunday September 18

Castletown/Ballyagran vs Killeedy @ 4.30pm in Dromcollogher
Claughaun vs Monagea @ 4.30pm in Croagh
Ahane 2 vs St. Patrick’s @ 6pm in Monaleen

This one is slightly fucked as Ahane gave a walkover which means score difference can’t come into play. In my opinion, an absolute joke and I hope Hego & Pat’s bate the absolute shit out of them at the weekend. There are loads of Junior B teams who are desperate to play Junior A and there are a couple of teams taking the absolute piss. Pat’s have had a disaster of a year but dug out a draw against the rivals, Claughaun, last week to kinda fuck up their promotion chances a bit and they’ll close out their season with a win. Pat’s by 13 (if it goes ahead).

I tipped Castletown/Ballyagran to win the Junior outright but they need to beat Killeedy to be sure of progressing from the group. Killeedy currently top the group and, as far as I know, are guaranteed qualification because, even if they lose, and Claughaun win, they would progress on head-to-head. On that basis, this means a lot more to C/B and I think they’ll eke out the win as a result. C/B by 2.

Claughaun’s slip-up last weekend against Pat’s puts them on the back foot and means that they need Killeedy to do them a favour, whereas if they had remained level on points with C/B, they had them on head-to-head. Monagea beat Pat’s, put it up to Killeedy but were absolutely demolished by Castletown/Ballyagran last weekend. That puts them out of the reckoning for qualification and again, on that basis, Claughaun should do the job. Claughaun by 5. But Claughaun still need Killeedy to win to progress, Pat’s at the very least managed to stop them qualifying.

Junior A Group 3

Saturday September 17

Askeaton vs Ballybrown 2 @ 1pm in Adare
Doon 2 vs Feenagh/Kilmeedy @ 1pm in Kilmallock

Last year’s finalists, St. Kieran’s, went five from five in the only game this season with a six-point win over Mungret. They were already through anyway, and I’m pretty sure Mungret couldn’t qualify even with a win barring a miracle turnaround in score difference. Askeaton & Ballybrown are both winless; based on their relative results against sides, Askeaton should win this by about 9 and consign Ballybrown to the relegation play-offs.

That makes Doon vs Feenagh/Kilmeedy a straight shootout for the other quarter-final spot. A draw would do F/K but they didn’t really get close to Kieran’s, but Doon were also comprehensively beaten by them, having looked so good earlier in the campaign. I’d naturally hope that first teams get through over second teams, and I hope F/K do go through but I just have a sneaking suspicion that Doon will dig out a win by 2 to qualify.

Junior A Group 4

Saturday September 17

Garryspillane 2 vs Old Christians @ 2.30pm in Ballybricken
Kilteely/Dromkeen vs Tournafulla @ 2.30pm in Martinstown
Patrickswell 2 vs Rathkeale @ 2.30pm in Croagh

Garryspillane are another side who gave a walkover and will be in relegation but, honestly, I’d throw themselves & Ahane out for next season and promote both Junior B county finalists. Christians had been going well but were well-beaten by Tour last weekend which means that it’s very unlikely that they will qualify from the group but can consolidate with a third win from five by beating the Bouncers. Christians by 12.

Kilteely/Dromkeen can still qualify if they beat Tour but because Christians will most likely beat Garryspillane, it means they would need to win by 12. If they won and Christians didn’t win, they would have Tour on head-to-head but Tour have a much better scoring difference than K/D. So really, it would be a massive surprise if Tour didn’t qualify and I reckon they should have too much for K/D anyway. Tour by 3.

The Well are already through and should beat Rathkeale fairly comfortably to top the group. Patrickswell by 10.

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4589

Ballybrown have given a walkover to Askeaton today. It means the 3 walkovers given in the JAHC,have all been conceded by club’s second teams( Garryspillane and Ahane being the other two) There’s also a fair chance that Ahane won’t bother fielding against St. Patrick’s tomorrow.

It’s fucked up the competition and only strengthens the argument that the JAHC should be for first teams only. At worst, put the second teams into the same group and play them off against each other with two qualifying. At least those two would be taking it seriously.

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4590

Wish someone would tell us that :smiley:

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4591

Askeaton remain Junior A by default. We are staying up, we are staying up

The bottom 4 teams should all be relegated. No more about it

4592

Are they not going to 2 12s in the junior next year?

4593

Are they? They’ve been talking about a long time now.

4594

Offically confirmed now.

4595

You hardly doubted me?

4596

The junior A never fails to throw up drama and controversy in equal measure.

4597

Na, we knew it was coming but had been unable to get official confirmation

4598

Apparently that means Ballybrown are automatically relegated?

4599

It doesn’t, as you have to give two walkovers for that to happen. As it stands they’ll face Ahane and two others in relegation semi-finals, unless the 2 twelves thing comes in and more go down.

Bruff have been automatically relegated in the IFC alright.

4600

A buddy had the idea that if out have a walkover at too short notice you’re automatically relegated.

4601

No, it has to be two. They had flagged it as a possibility well in advance to be fair.

4602

I know there was talk of that, and maybe it would be better but surely you have to flag that in advance? As it potentially makes dead rubbers worth something. Could end up with Hego playing in the 5th tier of Limerick hurling if that happened.

4603

Just how many times can a side get hammered and still be in contention for a semi final in this abomination of a competition?

1 Like
4604

It’s a typo. The well can only get a QF max. Doon and kilmallock on six points already

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4605

Ah it’s been well flagged, I’d say all clubs are well aware of it.