Senior Hurling Championship Semi-Final Na Piarsaigh 2-24 Doon 3-16 Cometh the hour, cometh the man. You have to go all the way back to 2008 to when Kevin Downes made his senior championship debut in a round 1 clash with Granagh Ballingarry in Kilmallock. 9 County medals, 4 Munster’s and an All Ireland Club title later and he’s still doing the business for the Sky Blues. Introduced with 39 minutes on the clock on Sunday, Downsey grabbed this county semi-final by the scruff of the neck, grabbing a goal and 3 points to help steer our lads back to the 2026 decider. No doubt Shane O’Neill and his management team will be absolutely thrilled to get a victory over Doon, our first over 60 minutes since the group stage back in 2023. The boys meant business from the throw-in, outsourcing our opponents 1-05 to a point in the opening 10 minutes. The pick of those scores came from Emmet McEvoy, roofing the ball to the net following some lovely link up play from Peter and Mike Casey. Emmet started as he meant to go on. A contender for man-of-the-match. Running the ball when he needed to and delivering it when the option was there. He ended the day with 1-01 from wing back. Our full back line worked incredibly hard over the hour, Vince Harrington and Jerome putting in a ferocious shift in front of the Dow. We just about kept Doon at arms length in the opening half but there was an everpresent scoring threat from that of Dean Coleman and the elusive Adam English. English was clinical from both frees and open play, us doing everything in our power to keep his influence at bay. Half-time score: Na Piarsaigh 1-11 Doon 0-10 The second half took a slightly different turn to the first. Doon reduced the deficit to 2 following a spate of scores and a goal. We responded strongly with 3 in a row. They struck their second goal with 7 to play before Downesy responded with his second score. We had seven different scorers in the opening 30, this was reduced to 4 in the second period. Keith Dempsey would raise 9 white flags for the day, 2 of them play. His sharp shooting was on point again, proving ever so reliable all throughout the championship. That coupled with his powerful contribution from open play, landing impressive points in either half. Keith’s brother Dáithí was simply awesome all throughout, landing 2 points along with winning multiple converted frees, shipping some heavy challenges in the build-up. We were ahead by 2 with 5 minutes of normal time remaining when Doon struck for their third goal. A wayward backpass from one of our defenders allowed Dean Coleman through to put Doon ahead for the first time in the match. Another set-back that wasn’t going to send us off-track. The resultant puck-out was broken by Conor Boylan, and pounced on by Kevin Downes before he whisked the ball to the net. We called that a “Downesy Special” when he was U14. We managed to box-out Doon in the following moments, limiting them to a couple of frees. William O’Donoghue expertly took a yellow card in the dying moments, stopping a Doon attack in its tracks. William was compared to Minister Patrick O’Donovan on Friday's Irish Times Politics Podcast, as being obdurate. William being obdurate on the hurling field, Patrick O’Donovan in, eh, other ways maybe. John Fitzgerald was introduced with 2 minutes remaining for JJ Carey, who had spent every last ounce of himself on the pitch in the Gaelic Grounds. John, having had a tough few months with injury, chased down Darragh O’Donovan to dispossess him and win a free in the last play of the game. Ronan drove the free over the bar to put us 5 up and signal Johnny Murphy’s full-time whistle. Focus now turns to the county final in 2 weeks time against Kilmallock. We’ve faced off in 3 finals over the years, the last of which saw us come out on top in 2022. Kilmallock claimed the spoils in round 1 of this year's championship, winning by a solitary point. We can all expect it to be just as close come Sunday week. Team: Shane Dowling, Jerome Boylan, Vince Harrington, Ronan Lynch(0-04f), Emmet McEvoy(1-01), Mike Casey, Mike Foley, William O’Donoghue(0-01), Dáithí Dempsey(0-02), Keith Dempsey(0-09, 7f), Peter Casey(0-01), James Finn(0-02), Conor Boylan(0-01), JJ Carey, Eoin Brosnan. Sub: Kevin Downes(1-03), John Fitzgerald. Our senior hurlers that defeated Doon on Sunday U14 County Hurling Championship Final Na Piarsaigh 1-12 Monaleen 0-16 Our U14 hurlers suffered an agonising one-point defeat to city rivals Monaleen in the County Championship Final on Saturday afternoon at Mick Neville Park. Played in beautiful, sunny autumn conditions, the lads left every ounce of themselves on the pitch over the 50 minutes and couldn’t have done any more. A fantastic effort from start to finish, and they can be immensely proud of their performance. It was one-for-point in the opening minutes with Luca Ryan getting us off the mark from play. The sides were level at 2-apiece before Evan Waters struck a fantastic goal. Great build up from Luke Hartnett, released Evan en route to goal. Carrying the ball inside the 21, Evan made no mistake with the finish. The goal put 3 up before Evan converted his second free of the day. Luke Hartnett registered a neat point not long after before Monaleen reduced the deficit back to 3 again. Our opponents took control of the scoreboard in the following minutes, grabbing 6 points without reply. Jack Lynch saved our blushes just before the break, landing our 6th point leaving the sides level at half time. Half time score: Na Piarsaigh 1-06 Monaleen 0-09 While our men up top were adding to the scoreboard, our defence was doing a serious job at keeping the Monaleen forwards at bay. Conor Flanagan had an exceptional game in goals, keeping our opponents goalless but also providing an excellent base for our attack with his long puck-outs. Our full back line was also performing well, Ronan Connolly and Harry Cronin doing a great in both corners, with JJ Noone helping us keep a clean sheet at full back. Dylan Barry and Leon Hanney performed diligently on the wings while Will O’Leary gave a captains performance at centre back. There’s a bit about that young lad. Monaleen started the stronger in the second half, scoring 2 without reply before Ruairi Sheehan settled us. Evan Waters was exceptional from placed balls once again landing 5 frees and a ’65. We battled hard in the second period, with our midfield of Peter Bowen and David Robinson putting in an incredible shift. Tadhg Moore was doing a thankless job at full forward, doing his utmost to get that elusive second goal. We did have a golden opportunity of said goal with about 6 to play but the ref blew for a throw ball. Our lads left everything out there in the closing minutes. Senan Quinn, Charlie Collins and Cillian Ryan all came in and made an impact but our opponents did just enough to keep us from levelling the game. An outstanding performance from each and every one of our players in Saturday’s final adding to a hugely positive year for everyone involved. Credit to Barry Hartnett and his management team of Dáithí DeBurca, James Ryan, Martin Waters, Kevin Barry, Conor Stack and Christy O’Hagan. There’s serious potential in this group of players with Barry and his team leaving no stone unturned throughout the season. Team: Conor Flanagan, Ronan Connolly, JJ Noone, Harry Cronin, Dylan Barry, Will O’Leary, Leon Hanney, Peter Bowen, David Robinson, Luke Hartnett(0-01), Evan Waters(1-08, 5f 1’65), Ruairi Sheehan(0-01), Luca Ryan(0-01), Tadhg Moore, Jack Lynch(0-01). Subs: Senan Quinn, Charlie Collins, Cillian Ryan. Subs not used: Fionn O’Brien, Rory Jorkan, Jack Ryan, Harry Shine, Joey Griffin, Sean Bermingham, Daniel O’Riordan, Tom Noctor, Daniel Sikorsky, Sean Cowhey, Fionn Ryan. Our U14 hurlers that lined out in the county final last weekend. Intermediate Football Championship Quarter-Final Na Piarsaigh 2-18 St. Patrick’s 2-05 Our intermediate footballers gave a stellar display in their quarter-final victory over St. Patricks on Saturday afternoon last in Claughaun. Our lads were dominant from start to finish on a day where the scoreboard well and truly reflected the performance. Pat’s did get in for a goal in either half but our defence did ever so well to box them out for the majority of the game. Cian Counihan controlled the full back line once again, proving again to be one of our most consistent players this season. Christy O’Hagan excelled at wing back, getting up the field for a fisted point in the opening half. Our midfield of Ralph Leonard and Jack McCarthy commanded the centre of the field for the hour, with Ralph registering 2 points from play. Five of six starting forwards got on the scoresheet throughout the hour. Our only scoreless forward Daniel Collins was highly influential though, causing the St. Pat’s defence huge problems when on the attack. Mark Hogan and Kieran Daly were our goal scorers in the second half. Mark finding himself completely free at the edge of the square, finishing calmly past the opposition keeper. Kieran’s goal came from a speculative effort from well outside the 2-point arc. His sky-high strike deceiving the keeper, the sun causing the ball to be fumbled to the net. Dylan Cronin had 3 points from play, a sign of him returning to his best form, while Evan Egan registered 7, including a 2-pointer free and a marvellous 2-pointer from play the second half. The win sets up a semi-final clash with Cappagh on Friday the 16th of October in Adare. Team: Eoghain Sherlock, Ferdia Minihan, Cian Counihan, Cathal McMullan, Christy O’Hagan(0-01), Sean Long, Adam Jordan, Ralph Leonard(0-02), Jack McCarthy, Daniel Collins, Kieran Daly(1-04, 1’2pf), Tommy Glynn(0-01), Evan Egan(0-07, 1’2pf), Dylan Cronin(0-03), Mark Hogan(1-00). Sub: Fionn O’Tiarnaigh, Evan Gilvarry, Ronan Houlihan, Aaron Rush, Odhran Gilroy. Our intermediate footballers prior to their victory over St. Pat's last weekend. Junior C Hurling Championship Quarter-Final Na Piarsaigh 2-12 Monagea 1-12 Our Junior C hurlers had a fantastic win over Monagea in the county quarter final last Tuesday evening on the 4G pitch in Mick Neville Park. A goal from Justin Nordon late in the day was enough to get over a dogged Monagea side. It was third time lucky as a win had eluded us over the West Limerick outfit in both the 2024 and 2025 championship. Paul McNamara rolled back the years with a solid display on the frees while Barry O’Grady and Neil O’Gorman both provided us with a solid footing at the back. Niall Buckley deputised for Podge Kennedy in goals, pulling off an excellent save in addition to taking the Monagea full forward clean out of it in the second half. Took man, ball and all. Eoghain Sherlock registered our first goal in the opening half. An outstanding display from our lads sets up a semi-final clash with Garryspillane on Monday night in Páirc Uí Dromgúil at 8:15. Team: Niall Buckley, Cathal Hassett, Barry O’Grady, John Leahy, Eoin Doyle, Neil O’Gorman, John Reynolds, Mark Ryan, Leon Power, Gordon Leonard, Brian O’Neill, Eoghain Sherlock, Alex Harris, Paul McNamara, Justin Nordon. Subs: Kevin Bolger, Garreth Airey, Billy O’Keeffe, Ferdia O’Brien, Eddie O’Neill, Shane Downey. Our Junior C hurlers. A great bunch of lads.
