So, Cork are in the All Ireland final after an almighty scare…
They may well win it and best of luck to them if they do. I know I have said it before but the 2005 draw is the dream draw for Limerick. Would you prefer to be facing Tipperary, Clare or Waterford? I think not, well Tipperary maybe wouldn’t be a bad draw either. If Limerick got a repeat of the 2004 draw it would be in Pairc Ui Chaoimh. That might pose a problem to any other county, but it’s not a problem for Limerick. TJ Ryan and Mark Foley are probably the only two men to have tasted championship victory twice against Cork in their own backyard. Cork may well be on the verge of winning back to back All Irelands, but there’s nobody better than Limerick to act as party poopers next June.
On the local scene, the club championship is getting interesting. Garryspillane had a surprise win over Patrickswell, but the fact that both teams were through anyway makes it a hard game to analyse. Garryspillane scored 1-16 to Patrickswell’s 0-14 but I don’t think Patrickswell have ever conceded 1-16 in a county final. These teams cannot meet again until that stage, and if they do, I think it will be a different Patrickswell team. Adare have topped their group to saunter through to the real championship. They face Patrickswell and will not be one bit afraid of them since they lifted the hoodoo in 2001. A betting man would have to go for Adare in the game, but then again Patrickswell are Patrickswell. Doon will face Garryspillane in the quarterfinal, provided they beat Tournafulla on Sunday night. Doon are the darkest of dark horses in this championship. Eamon Cregan is in charge of them, Tom Cregan did the physical and Michael McKenna is reportedly on the way home from his foreign sojourn. In that case their forward line will contain McKenna, Mike Fitzgerald, David Stapleton, Rodger Ryan and Paddy Coleman and all of those have worn the green of Limerick. The hottest prospect on the Limerick minor team at the moment, Micheal Ryan probably won’t even be involved. They have excellent backs as well; Diarmuid Ryan, Derek Ryan, Tadhg Hayes, James Fox and Ed Kiely won't give away anything soft.
Murroe/Boher are also in the quarterfinals and will face the winners of a three-way playoff between Knockainey, Bruree and Croom. Murroe/Boher are always well able to get the scores, but conceding them at the other end has been their problem in previous years. They came out of a relatively weak group and on that basis their defence wont have been tested as much as it might have been against stronger teams. We will only know at the quarterfinal stage if they have the defence to make a serious launch for the title. They certainly have the forwards; James Butler, Owen O’Neill, Pat Tobin, Kevin Tobin and Paudie McNamara know where the posts are. Kilmallock are unbeaten and have faced teams that would be known as battlers in Bruree, Croom and Knockainey. Na Piarsaigh should not pose a problem for them in the quarter final.
The semi final pairings are the most interesting, as Kilmallock, Patrickswell and Adare are all on the same side of the group. Its Kilmallock or Na Piarsaigh vs Adare or Patrickswell and Garryspillane or Doon vs Murroe-Boher or Playoff winners. Garryspillane and Doon have lost finals in recent years that they felt they should have won, the draw presents a glorious opportunity for both to get back to a final and attempt to right the wrongs of past years. It could be the hardest won County final in Limerick for a long long time. Hopefully they will all be 4-16 to 3-17 games.
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