NA PIARSAIGH GAA CLUB
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Report: Senior Hurling Championship Semi-Final Vs KilmallockMick Neville Park was the venue for our senior county semi-final with Kilmallock our opponents. It was a typical October afternoon, grey and cold with the threat of rain. You would have needed to be out early to grab a spot in the new stand, it being close to capacity 20 minutes out from throw-in. A fancy looking stand no doubt, I’d still advise on bringing a raincoat. Unfortunate news filtering around in the build up with Daithí and Cathall both ruled out due to injury. Alas, an opportunity for another Na Piarsaigh man to deputize in their place. In defense, Jerome would slot in at wing back with Vince shifting to the corner. Up front, it was a straight swap, brother for brother with Keith Dempsey filling in for Daithí at 14. Dylan Lynch retained his spot at corner forward after an exilerating 1-07 performance against Mungret the last day, while Mike also returned at full back. 9 points was the winning margin in our last encounter with Kilmallock, all of 5 weeks ago in the sunny surrounds of Doon. But today, things were to be different, a whole new kettle of fish. Our opponents were quick out of the traps, registering 2 points from play before Ronan could respond with a free on 6 minutes. An impeccable day Ronan was to have from placed balls, going almost 100% bar a contentious wide in the second half that looked like a certain score from this spectators vantage point. It seemed much of the game was being played from the center of the field right from the off with some huge hits going in on both sides. Blocks, hooks, crunching tackles. Neither team was giving an inch. JJ brought it back to 4-3 with a well taken score on 15 minutes following a lovely offload from Downsey. Kilmallock responded before JJ added his second after a great piece of work in the corner. We would go on to concede 4 unanswered scores within the next 5 minutes before Ronan settled things with a free. Then came our first goal chance of the day. Conor Boylan found himself bearing down on Barry Hennessy’s goal, forcing the Kilmallock man to bat his shot away. A good save but Conor would have expected to do better. Ronan converted the resultant 65. Shane O’Brien was always a threat at full forward but Mike limited his scoring opportunities. Kilmallock were to land 2 more frees to close out the half. Half time score: Na Piarsaigh 0-07 Kilmallock 0-11A solid first 30 considering the slight breeze we were playing into although we couldn’t be banking on it come the second period. We’ll come back to that later. Adrian was introduced for Keith at the break. Keith had some key possessions in the first half and laid off some good ball. A good shift for the Clonmacken man. Adrian wasn’t on the field 2 minutes before he registered a score. A well taken point just inside the 21. Ronan added another free. Kilmallock cancelled out our 2 scores not long after with a free and one from play. Ronan got his first score from play on 44 minutes. We were 3 behind but Kilmallock weren’t lying down. They extended their lead to 5-points. The game looked to be slipping from our grasp ever so slightly. They weren’t dying away like they did in Doon back in September. That same night, there was a clear disparity in fitness levels but today the playing field had somewhat leveled out. We needed a goal. 12 minutes of normal time remaining. Ronan gains possession just outside our opponents 21. He somehow found a gap between the Kilmallock defenders and makes a b-line for goal. He takes a shot just inside the 14. Possibly not Ronans best strike of the day but it has enough to make it to the goals, and beyond Barry Hennessy. A scuttery ould goal as Paddy Verdon would say but they all count, and this one the most crucial Na Piarsaigh goal of 2024 so far. We were back to 2 points. We would add 3 more from the hurleys of Mike Foley, Wayne and Will Henn. All of a sudden, from 5-points down, we had found ourselves ahead. Both teams would trade points, along with the lead over the next 5 minutes. It was truly end to end stuff. Referee Kieran Guina would signal 4 minutes of additional time. My heart is going 90 here just recalling it lads. On 62 minutes, Will Henn grabs possession and pops one over. A point up, 2 to play. Things were far from over. The resultant puck out saw Kilmallock retain possession and put Robbie Egan in on goal. He had plenty of time and space to level things but he only had a goal on his mind. Mike pulls off a great block with play breaking down. The resultant ruck saw a Kilmallock player attempt to pick the ball off the ground along with Vince taking a heavy collision. He would be subbed off for Gearoid. Time had lapsed during this stoppage but the ref was to understandably play on. One last attack for Kilmallock. Aaron Costelloe found himself in possession under the stand with John Fitz to beat. John put up the necessary pressure but Costelloe took it on before getting stopped in his tracks by our man Sean Long. A free for Kilmallock, and a yellow for Sean’s troubles. But it was a nice bit out. On the sideline, directly on halfway. And into that slight breeze we mentioned earlier. Hanley Clarke stepped up, with his strike drifting slightly to the right and wide. Shane pucks it out. Game over. Final score: Na Piarsaigh 1-16 Kilmallock 0-18A huge win for Shane O’Neill’s team. This was a game that required character, and our boys showed it in spades. Both teams brought an incredible level of intensity to this county semi-final and while at times it may not have been pretty, it was certainly entertaining. And maybe not great for the heart. Shane’s puck outs were on point all afternoon, while Mike was propped up well by Vince and Emmet in the fullback line. William O’Donoghue does William O’Donoghue things at center back with him also being well supported by Mike Foley and Jerome on the wings. You’d swear Jerome hadn’t sat out the last few months with the way he was moving today. He will no doubt kick it on again for 2 weeks time. Tommy worked his socks off at midfield with Conor Boylan being awesome up top. He doesn’t know when to stop that fella. Downsey, while not registering a score today, was immense throughout the 60 minutes, providing some key assists and making some colossal tackles. We now look to Doon in the county final in 2 weeks time. Saturday the 26th of October to be exact. Time and venue to be confirmed at the time of writing. Strange one that we can’t be sure where the Limerick senior final will be played. Anyway, get out the flags and bunting. We’re back where we want to be. Na Piarsaigh Abú!!!*County Final fixture now confirmed for Sunday the 27th at 16:00 in the Gaelic Grounds.Team: Shane Dowling, Vince Harrington, Mike Casey, Emmet McEvoy, Mike Foley(0-01), William O’Donoghue, Jerome Boylan, Ronan Lynch(1-09, 0-06f 0-02’65), Tommy Grimes, JJ Carey(0-02), Will Henn(0-02), Conor Boylan, Kevin Downes, Keith Dempsey, Dylan Lynch.Subs: Adrian Breen(0-01) for Keith(HT), Wayne Kearns(0-01) for Dylan(48mins), Sean Long for Tommy(55mins), John Fitz for JJ(57mins), Gearoid Synnott for Vince(inj)(64mins). Our senior hurling squad that defeated Kilmallock in the 2024 county semi-final.

Preview: Senior Hurling Championship Semi-Final Vs KilmallockAll roads lead to Rathkeale this Sunday as our senior hurlers aim to secure a spot in the 2024 county final. Our opponents, fresh off a 2-point win over Ballybrown in last weekend's quarter-final, will arrive at Mick Neville Park looking to overturn the result from the group stage back in September. The Balbec finished 3rd in the group, one place behind ourselves. They suffered a 1-point loss to Doon in their opening game, bouncing back in round 2 to defeat Mungret by the same margin. They scored a victory over Ahane in their third game prior to our meeting in round 4. They rounded out the group stage with a 4-point win over Patrickswell. The boy JJ. We finished second in the group, one place behind table toppers Doon. Both teams finished level on points but Doon would qualify in first place due to the head-to-head rule. See a brief report on each game below. The squad as selected in the programme for Sunday afternoon. 2024 has seen Dylan Lynch make his senior debut, notching up a score of 1-11 across all 5 championship games to date, while James Finn has been afforded more game time, building on his semi-final appearance in 2023. This year's campaign has also welcomed the return of Adrian Breen, Sean Long and Jerome Boylan. All 3 had to endure a spell on the sidelines due to injury. Tommy Grimes has been whisked back from his hiatus in the Middle East and Australia, adding more strength to our midfield. Keith Dempsey has also returned from his leisurely travels in America to bolster the squad and give Shano a bit of selection headache. Peter remains on the road to recovery and we look forward to having him back soon. Peter is on the road to recovery. Sunday’s match is set for Mick Neville Park as the Gaelic Grounds is unplayable. This was due to the damage done to the pitch after it staged a number of concerts during the summer. As of writing, we understand that the game will not be shown live on terrestrial television or streamed online. It seems we are one of the only Liam McCarthy counties not streaming any of our games this year. A pity. Senior Hurling Championship Semi-final Vs Kilmallock 📍 Mick Neville Park 📅 Sunday 13th October ⌚ 16:00🎫 Purchase tickets here Round 1: Na Piarsaigh 0-23 Patrickswell 1-17Played in the Gaelic Grounds, this was a game that took a while to get going for our lads with Wayne landing our first score on 10 minutes. We soon found our stride though with Dow converting 2 long range frees and Ronan chipping in with the closer ones. Downsey came into the game registering 4 points from play over the 60 minutes, along with Conor Boylan and Daithí scoring 2 each. Mike held firm at full back to complement Williams workmanlike display at the center. We would run our 3-point winners, overturning the loss we suffered in the same fixture last year. A good start. Kingers at full tilt. Team: Shane Dowling(0-02, 0-02f), Cathall King, Mike Casey, Gearoid Synnott, Vince Harrington, Will O’Donoghue, Mike Foley, Tommy Grimes, Wayne Kearns(0-01), JJ Carey, Conor Boylan(0-02), Kevin Downes(0-04), Ronan Lynch(0-08, 0-06f), Daithí Dempsey(0-02), Will Henn(0-03).Subs: Emmet McEvoy for Mike Foely, Dylan Lynch(0-01) for Will Henn, John Fitz for Wayne, Sean Long for Gearoid. The Na Piarsaigh Wall. Round 2: Na Piarsaigh 1-22 Ahane 1-17A sunny Caherconlish was the venue for our second game of the championship with Ahane our opponents. Ahane were coming into round 2 on the back of a hard fought 1-point win over Mungret. They raced into a 4-point lead early on before we could register our first score. That came from the stick of Will Henn on 6 minutes. Ahane struck a goal moments later before Dow pulled off an outstanding save to prevent us going further behind. It wasn’t until the 20 minute mark before we really got a foothold, with Daithí slotting a badly needed goal. We took control after that point and restricted Ahane to mostly frees for the remainder of the game. Wayne breaks out of a tackle. Team: Shane Dowling(0-01, 0-01ft), Cathall King, Mike Casey, Gearoid Synnott, Vince Harrington, Mike Foley(0-04), Tommy Grimes(0-02), William O’Donoghue, Wayne Kearns, JJ Carey, Conor Boylan(0-02), Ronan Lynch(0-06, 0-06f), Dylan Lynch(0-02), Daithí Dempsey(1-00), Will Henn(0-04).Subs used: John Fitzgerald(0-01) for Wayne, Keith Dempsey for Will Henn, Jerome Boylan for Vince, Sean Long for Tommy. Tommy on the charge. Round 3: Na Piarsaigh 0-17 Doon 1-15We suffered our first defeat of the championship against Doon in the 3rd round played in Kilmallock. Doon were much the better team in the first half, with Dow pulling off an excellent save to not see us further behind at the break. The second half saw us give a much more polished account of ourselves. We looked to be in the driving seat after 60 minutes, having stormed our way back into the game. James Finn came off the bench late to put us into a one point lead. Our opponents won a free from the resultant puck-out, with Adam English converting. Draw game and time almost up. English won possession from the puck out and his shot went through the posts. We had to settle for a one-point defeat but certainly a lot of positives and learnings for Shane O’Neill and his management to take. A heated moment from the Doon game. Team: Shane Dowling(0-03, 0-03f), Gearoid Synnott, Mike Casey, Cathall King, Emmet McEvoy(0-01), William O'Donoghue, Mike Foley(0-01), Tommy Grimes(0-01), John Fitzgerald, JJ Carey(0-01), Conor Boylan, Daithí Dempsey(0-01), Kevin Downes(0-02), Ronan Lynch(0-02, 0-02f), Will Henn(0-01, 0-01f). Subs: Dylan Lynch(0-01) for Ronan, Jerome(0-01) for Gearoid, Wayne(0-01) for John Fitz, Vince for Kingers, James Finn(0-01) for Tommy. Gearoid Synnott under pressure from Darragh O'Donovan. Round 4: Na Piarsaigh 1-26 Kilmallock 1-17Our senior hurlers got back to winning ways in round 4, recording a 9-point win over senior rivals Kilmallock. The first half was end to end stuff with both teams going in level at half time, 1-11 apiece. Daithí Dempsey buried our only goal of the game on the 25 minute mark after a lovely floated pass from Will Henn. The second half started as the first ended with both sides trading scores. Ronan Lynch was putting on a show from placed balls while also contributing handsomely from open play. He would finish the day with 13 points, 4 of them from play along with a beauty of sideline cut just under the stand. Conor Boylan’s hurley was also warm, finishing the day with 5 points. Emmett McEvoy and William were both outstanding at the back all throughout the hour. William on the charge against Kilmallock. Team: Shane Dowling, Vince Harrington, Mike Casey, Cathall King, Emmett McEvoy, William O’Donoghue, Mike Foley(0-01), Tommy Grimes(0-02), Ronan Lynch (0-13, 0-08f 0-01sl), JJ Carey, Will Henn(0-01), Conor Boylan(0-05), Kevin Downes, Daithí Dempsey(1-02), Dylan Lynch.Subs: Adrian Breen(0-02) for Dylan(45), Gearoid Synnott for Cathall(51), Wayne Kearns for Tommy(53), Sean Long for JJ (57), James Finn for Kevin(61).Round 5: Na Piarsaigh 2-21 Mungret 1-15We ran out 10-point winners in the last group game of this year's senior championship to a young Mungret side. Downsey chipped in with a "Downsey Special" of a goal in the first half to settle things. Dylan Lynch was also in form, him coming away with 1-07, all from play. Mike Foley has holds possession. Team: ⁠Shane Dowling, Vince Harrington, ⁠Gearoid Synnott, Emmet McEvoy, ⁠Mike Foley(0-02), William O’Donoghue, Jerome Boylan, ⁠Ronan Lynch(0-05, 0-01f),⁠ ⁠JJ Carey(0-01), Keith Dempsey(0-02), ⁠Will Henn, Conor Boylan(0-02), ⁠Dylan Lynch(1-07), ⁠Daithi Dempsey(0-01), ⁠Kevin Downes(1-02).Subs: Sean Long for Jerome, Wayne Kearns for Keith, John Fitzgerald for JJ, JJ for Conor Boylan. Downsey looks to the posts in round 5. Scorers to date:Ronan Lynch 0-34 (0-23f, 0-01sl)Dylan Lynch 1-11Daithí Dempsey 2-06Conor Boylan 0-11Kevin Downes 1-08Will Henn 0-09 (0-01f)Mike Foley 0-08Shane Dowling 0-06 (0-06f)Tommy Grimes 0-05Keith Dempsey 0-02Adrian Breen 0-02Wayne Kearns 0-02JJ Carey 0-02John Fitzgerald 0-01Jerome Boylan 0-01Emmet McEvoy 0-01 Ronan tops our scoring chart to date. 2024 Senior Squad: Adrian Breen, Alan Dempsey, Cathall King, Conor Boylan, Daithi Dempsey, Dylan Lynch, Emmet McEvoy, Evan Condon, Gearoid Synott, James Daly, James Finn, Jerome Boylan, Jim Beary, JJ Carey, John Fitzgerald, John O’Keeffe, Josh Sheehan, Keith Dempsey, Kevin Daly, Kevin Downes, Kieran Daly, Marcus Hogan, Mark O’Connor, Mike Casey, Mike Foley, Pa O’Neill, Pat Gleeson, Pauric Heaney, Peter Casey, Ronan Lynch, Sean Long, Shane Dowling, Tommy Grimes, Vince Harrington, Wayne Kearns, Will Henn, William O’Donoghue. 2024 Senior Management: Shane O’Neill, John Fitzgerald, Colm Callanan, Pat McCarthy, Lukasz Kirszenstein & Peter Sheehan. Backroom Team: Dr Dave Boylan (Doctor), Brian Hurley (Physio), Tom Synott (First Aid)Logistics: Dennis Duggan, Barry O’Regan, Ben O’Regan & Eoin Grimes.Stats: Paul McNamara, Paul Downes, David Burke, Ciarán Broderick & Kieran Kennedy. Shano and Peter break for half time in the Doon match.

Masters Hurling Championship Rd 5 Limerick Vs Galway 📍 Páirc Uí Dromgúil📅 Saturday 12th October ⌚ 14:00A great opportunity to get down to the club to see some legends battle it out. All welcome to the club bar after the game. Best of luck to all involved. 🟢⚪