Kilmallock 1-15
Na Piarsaigh 0-14
EOIN RYAN HIT 1-4 as Kilmallock regained the Limerick senior hurling championship at the Gaelic Grounds this afternoon.
Kilmallock, managed by former Clare All-Ireland SHC medallist Ger ‘Sparrow’ O’Loughlin, upset the formbook as they defeated 2011 and 2013 champions Na Piarsaigh by four points.
Kilmallock collected an eleventh title, and third in five seasons, with a gritty display in front of 2,910 spectators on a greasy afternoon.
Kilmallock survived the loss of Liam Walsh shortly before half-time, as the wing-back was sent off for retaliation after he was fouled initially by Kevin Downes.
But Na Piarsaigh lost a man with ten minutes left when sub Kevin Ryan was dismissed for drawing across Ryan, who popped over the resultant free.
Kilmallock, 5-2 outsiders before throw-in, advance to an AIB Munster semi-final clash with Cork kingpins Sarsfields on November 9.
And they will quietly fancy their chances on home soil after overcoming red-hot favourites Na Piarsaigh, who beat them by 12 points in a first round tie back in May.
Eoin Ryan’s third-minute goal set Kilmallock on their way and at half-time, the winners were 1-9 to 0-5 clear, despite losing the services of Walsh.
Captain Graeme Mulcahy was excellent with three points in that opening half, a tally matched by man of the match and wing-back Kevin O’Donnell.
It was a day when Na Piarsaigh’s big guns Downes and Shane Dowling struggled to fire as Kilmallock displayed a far greater intensity and hunger for the fight.
And despite playing against the breeze in the second half, Kilmallock dug in and absorbed whatever Na Piarsaigh threw at them.
Gavin O’Mahony was another to excel for Kilmallock, as the Limerick star typified the workrate that ensured another landmark victory for the pre-match underdogs.
Scorers for Kilmallock: Eoin Ryan 1-4 (0-4f), Graeme Mulcahy 0-4, Kevin O’Donnell & Gavin O’Mahony 0-3 each, Robbie Egan 0-1.
Scorers for Na Piarsaigh: Shane Dowling 0-4 (2f), Ronan Lynch (1 sl, 1 65), Kevin Downes & Adrian Breen 0-2 each, David Breen, Alan Dempsey, David Dempsey & William O’Donoghue 0-1 each.
Kilmallock
1. Barry Hennessy
2. Liam Hurley
3. Mark O’Loughlin
4. Aaron Costello
5. Liam Walsh.
6. Philip O’Loughlin
7. Kevin O’Donnell
8. Bryan O’Sullivan
10. Jake Mulcahy
9. Paudie O’Brien
11. Gavin O’Mahony
12. Robbie Egan
13. Graeme Mulcahy
20. Kieran Kennelly
14. Eoin Ryan
Sub
21. Robbie Hanley for Kennelly (half-time).
Na Piarsaigh
1. Padraig Kennedy
2. Michael Casey
3. Kieran Breen
4. Kieran Kennedy
5. Cathal King
6. David Breen
7. Ronan Lynch
8. Pat Gleeson
9. Alan Dempsey
10. James O’Brien
11. Kevin Downes
12. Adrian Breen
13. David Dempsey
14. Shane Dowling.
15. William O’Donoghue
Subs
21. Kevin Ryan for O’Brien (19).
24. Peter Casey for Gleeson (45)
20. Mike Foley for Alan Dempsey (55).
Referee: Jason Mullins (Saint Kieran’s)
I love reading stories like this. For all the fantastic players that have come through the schools system, the majority started off life in the club system. It’s a testament to the players, coaches, parents, committees who put in the hard work in keeping these clubs going
Great story. There are large areas of the country that are open to this type of development.
@kieran horgan: Completely agree. When youngsters playing in less traditional areas see those a few years ahead of them feature in provincial and national squads, it will hopefully boost rugby in those areas. Look at Munster and West Cork, in the last number of years alone there’s been the 2 Coombes, 2 Wycherleys, Crowley, Hodnett, Hurley. Plenty of untapped areas to be explored
@Niall Boyle: Farmer strength is a term often used. You know what it means when you’ve played against it be it in Gaelic or Rugby. It would be fertile ground for rugby players if the seeds are planted particularly forwards. It’s also part of what makes NZ rugby
@Michael Corkery: farmer strength is something that applies only in the amatuer arena. Kids from farming backgrounds in NZ( also SA and Aus) who are decent at rugby with a view to the Pro’s, generally head off to boarding school for secondary, unless they’re commutable distance to bigger towns/cities. They develop physically using modern development practices, not shifting bales by hand…
@Sea Point: True, the bales of hay and tractor tyres have been replaced by dumb bells and Creatine.
@Sea Point: rubbish, certain people have natural strength which has been acquired during generations and their youth as they needed to have it for their livelihood. Of course, that alone is a base strength that is built on when they get into a more professional setup be it a private school or academy.
@Niall Boyle: and Mike Ross before them
Great to see, jj returning and possibly 2 good lads getting into the academy will be great for munster and the kingdom.
@Treaty Jim: would love to see Jack Daly get a run without injury disruption also
@Niall Boyle: totally agree.
@Niall Boyle: Doesn’t look great for Jack, ‘last chance saloon’ maybe.
The Blackrock catchment area is pretty large…
Kudos to their scouts, but I thought that there was a Leinster School’s rule about how long a player had to be in a school before playing for their SCT?
@Phil O’ Meara: Kerry is part of cork too. These powerful schools always find a way around these “rules”
@Phil O’ Meara: Would be interesting to know what discussions took place that resulted in O’Sullivan ending up at Blackrock, rather than another Leinster school or a Cork or Limerick school. However I think the rule to which you refer (and stopped Dylan McNeice playing for St Michael’s this year) is to stop Leinster schools poaching from each other. The previous school can give permission for their former pupil to play for his new one. Doesn’t apply in this case where it seems that everyone’s a winner
@Kevin Ryan: Everyone bar Terenure!
Jaysus Whitehouse is a painful ref