KILDIMO/PALLASKENTY GAA CLUB NOTES
U-19 B HURLING COUNTY CHAMPIONS! Kildimo/Pallaskenry 1-16 St. Kieran’s 0-10. A great afternoon in the Bog Garden, Rathkeale as our U-19 hurlers claimed the county title after a fine victory over St. Kieran’s. It was a very impressive display from the U-19s against what is a very strong St. Kieran’s side. While we knew we had firepower in our ranks, it was the hard work and battling shown by our players that got us over the line, against a St. Kieran’s side who excel on breaking ball.
We had the aid of the breeze in the first half and we made good use of that as we applied pressure from the off. Oran Kelly put in a huge hard-working shift at wing-forward, and he set up Aaron O’Donovan to fire over the opening score of the game. Luke Guinane got on a lot of ball in midfield throughout the game and when his shot dropped just short of the posts, the goalkeeper didn’t deal with it particularly well and Seán Hartigan was quickest to the break. He picked the ball up, moved back inside and fired it over his shoulder for the second score of the game. We also showed our ability to move the ball from back to front, when Davy Fitzgerald made a superb block in our own full-back line, we turned the ball over and send it up to wing to Ciarán McMahon. Ciarán was fouled on the touchline, and Aaron O’Donovan fired the difficult free over the bar to give us a three-point lead.
Our full-back line dealt with what they had to in the first half, with a lot of the ball dropping around our half-back line and Eddie McLoughlin was particularly prominent in coming out with possession, while Ciarán Galvin excelled in the man-marking role he was given, nullifying the St. Kieran’s dangerman. When Eddie McLoughlin was fouled in the left half-back position after brilliantly winning a puckout, Aaron O’Donovan came all the way and landed a monster free straight over the crossbar. We would then score our fifth point in a row with a brilliant team move. It started in the full-back position with Marc O’Shea, who burst out of defence, picked out Davy Fitzgerald ahead of them, who played a lovely diagonal ball into the corner for Seánie Hartigan. Seán was out in front of his man, turned inside and clipped the ball over the bar for his second score of the day. We had been dominant up until this point but St. Kieran’s got their first score of the game via a free and followed that up shortly after with a good score from play. We would round off the scoring before the water break with another placed ball; this time Aaron struck a ’65 over the bar after Davy Fitz’s shot from distance had been batted wide by the goalkeeper.
Leading by four at the water break, we wanted to kick on again before half-time as there was a bit of a breeze there and any bit of momentum given to St. Kieran’s could seem them regroup and we started out of the blocks extremely well once again. Luke Guinane delivered another lovely ball inside to Seán Hartigan, who was giving his marker a torrid time inside, and Seán struck over another point from play. St. Kieran’s hit back with a score of their own before some great work by the likes of Ciarán Barry and Mícheál Cuddihy saw us turn the ball over, and Ciarán McMahon was eventually able to fire the ball over from a very acute angle. From the resulting puckout, Seán Hartigan was able to intercept the strike high up the pitch, plant his feet, and put the ball back over the bar for his fourth point from play, a fine tally for the first half. We would round off the half in style, as Eoin Sexton won the ball bursting out of defence; he laid it off to Aaron O’Donovan, who landed a fine score from distance. This meant that the half-time score was: Kildimo/Pallaskenry 0-10 St. Kieran’s 0-3.
It had been a fine first-half display but in the semi-final, we had seen a big first half lead wiped out by a resurgent Dromin/Athlacca and our lads were determined to learn from that,
and drive on again. The wind was a significant factor, we had seen how St. Kieran’s had struggled with their own puckouts and knew that we would need a plan to avoid the same. Credit must go to our lads, as they started the second half really well, halting any St. Kiearn’s momentum before it began. Luke Guinane received a blow across the leg as he battled for the ball, and Aaron O’Donovan used the opportunity to score yet another free. Shortly after, Ciarán Barry was fouled as he tried to get away from the defender, and Aaron again showed superb accuracy from the placed ball. Aaron’s freetaking was top class in slightly difficult conditions, as we saw St. Kieran’s miss a number of frees, so Aaron’s ability from the dead ball was hugely valuable.
St. Kieran’s did reduce the gap with a free but we soon pushed our lead out again. Davy Fitz drove forward from centre-back, was taken as he did so, and Aaron expertly guided the free over the bar against the breeze. We knew that a goal would probably kill the game off, even at the early stages of the second half and the St. Kieran’s goalkeeper did really well to deny Seán Hartigan’s ground shot after he had escaped in behind the cover. St. Kieran’s did have an element of momentum at this stage but due to the hard work of our players, we were denying them scoring opportunities. Eoin Sexton was now picking up the St. Kieran’s dangerman and keeping him quiet, while Marc O’Shea, Davy Fitzgerald and Garry Sheehan were all getting on breaks time and time again. St. Kieran’s did get the next score from play but we followed that up with another superb team move, moving the ball from back to front. Marc O’Shea ended up taking the short puckout, breaking the tackle, before getting his head up and playing a ball into space for Ciarán Barry to run onto. Ciarán won the ball, laid it off to Aaron O’Donovan coming off the shoulder, and Aaron fired it straight over the bar.
Despite St. Kieran’s having a fair bit of the ball, we were keeping the pressure on and the scores were still coming a little easier for us. They would hit back with another free before Ciarán Galvin burst out of defence, breaking a couple of tackles and laying it off to Luke Guinane who looked up and drove the ball between the uprights for his first score of the game. The next score put daylight between the sides and was the score that really sealed our victory once and for all. Davy Fitzgerald again did brilliantly to win the ball in defence and showed great vision to pick out a pass to Garry Sheehan who was in a lot of space. Garry was ruthless, he didn’t just tap the ball over for a handy point, he ran at the St. Kieran’s defence, took a couple of hits before unleashing a shot into the roof of the net for a fantastic goal! It was a huge score just before the water break, but St. Kieran’s almost hit back with a goal of their own immediately and if it wasn’t for a superb block by Marc O’Shea, it would have hit the back of the net. He showed great bravery to put his body on the line to block a shot that was destined for goal.
We led by 12 at this point and perhaps we dropped a little deep in the final minutes as St. Kieran’s heaped pressure on us, but we defended stoutly and did not concede a goal. Niall Rushe was calm between the sticks, directing things throughout and he and his defence can take credit for not being breached. St. Kieran’s did push for goal and after scoring another point, we needed a piece of almost-miraculous defending to keep them out for another goal. Ethan Browne blocked a shot on the line with his foot; it rebounded out to a St. Kieran’s forward who took another shot and, once again, Ethan was there to make yet another block, a double save in a matter of seconds from the young corner-back! It was a heroic bit of defending and as close as St. Kieran’s had come to finding the back of the net. St. Kieran’s fired over a free to close the gap before Luke Guinane was fouled again, with Aaron hitting his tenth point of the game. We saw the game out with St. Kieran’s popping over two late
frees to reduce the gap to nine but our subs came on and also made an impact, the likes of Sean Staff winning the ball in attack and Dylan Moloney bursting out of defence.
Referee Mikey Browne finally blew the full-time whistle and we held on for what was an excellent victory! Any day that you bring a county title home is a great day for the parish and credit must go to all the players and management for their efforts. This particular group of players hasn’t been flush with playing numbers up through the ranks, and this county title is a culmination of a number of years of hard work! They have stuck at it all through the years, have continued to develop as players, even when playing 13-a-side competitions, and are now county champions! A number of these players have played senior & junior adult hurling this year, with the rest involved with U-21 and U-17 teams also, it is a talented group involved in a lot and are well-deserving of this success. Credit must also go to their management team of Tony O’Shea, Chris Sexton, Kieran McMahon, Tommy O’Connor and Alan Fitzgerald for all their efforts throughout the year in preparing this team for county title success! Another great day for the parish, we’ll enjoy the celebrations! Cill Díoma/Pailís Chaonraí abú!
Team: Niall Rushe; Eoin Sexton, Marc O’Shea, Ethan Browne; Ciarán Galvin, Davy Fitzgerald, Eddie McLoughlin; Garry Sheehan (1-0), Luke Guinane (0-1); Oran Kelly, Aaron O’Donovan (0-10, 0-6 frees, 0-1 ‘65), Ciarán McMahon (0-1); Seán Hartigan (0-4), Ciarán Barry, Mícheál Cuddihy
Subs: Seán Staff for Oran Kelly; Dylan Moloney for Ciarán Galvin; Conor McMahon for Ciarán McMahon; Eoin Mulvihill for Seán Hartigan
Panel: Shane O’Sullivan, Jack Purcell, Conor Rowley, Calum Coughlan, Ken Leahy, Joey McCarthy
U-21 A HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER-FINAL: Kildimo/Pallaskenry 0-18 Bruff 0-15. On Wednesday night, our U-21 hurlers progressed to the county semi-final after a hard-fought victory over a very decent Bruff side in Mick Neville Park. It was this team’s first pure knockout game of the season and they were put to the pin of their collar by Bruff, eking out the win in the end. It was our opponents who had the better start and they raced into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead, with our only score in the opening minutes coming from a free for Liam Griffin. The lively Bruff forwards had a bright start but our full-back line would come into the game very strongly, winning a lot of 50/50 ball. We started to narrow the gap when Shaun Barry fired a ball over the bar from the left wing. Once again, Paudi Hartigan was extremely lively in attack and when he drew a foul, Liam Griffin fired over another free to cut the gap to just one point.
But Bruff would get the next score, hitting back with a free. Adam Butler was in fine form in the full-forward line and after some good play from Liam Griffin, he picked out Adam inside who beat his man to the ball and popped the ball over the bar. Hard work was a given and the score to get us back on level terms was a prime example of that. Our forwards hassled and harried the Bruff backs after they received a short puckout and Davy Fitzgerald was able to force his marker to overcarry on the sideline. This led to a free right on the touchline, from a very tight angle, but Shaun Barry made absolutely no mistake. The next score was arguably the score of the game: Liam Griffin did brilliantly to win the ball and then produced a sublime bit of skill to flick a handpass away under pressure to Davy Fitzgerald. Davy took on the shot which dropped just short of goal, but Adam Butler was on hand to flick the dropping ball over the crossbar to put us into the lead.
We were having our period of dominance, backboned by some really solid displays in our full-back line from Ciarán Downes, Luke O’Keeffe and Marc O’Shea who were repelling all comers while Liam Griffin, Davy Fitzgerald, Paudi Hartigan and Adam Butler were all making things stick in attack. But Bruff came back strongly again, and any time we did show any signs of sloppiness, they punished us and they popped over two points in a row to re-take the lead. But it wouldn’t be long before we were level again; once more it was Liam Griffin winning the dirty ball and drawing the free, which he himself converted from long-range. Bruff hit back with a pointed free before Adam Butler again beat his marker to the ball; this time he wasn’t let free to score and was fouled. Shaun Barry again made no mistake with the free. Just before the half-time break, we retook the lead with an attack down the right wing. Davy Fitzgerald contested the puckout and managed to break the ball into the path of the well-positioned Liam Griffin who took the ball on and fired it between the uprights leaving the half-time score: Kildimo/Pallaskenry 0-9 Bruff 0-8.
There was some fine hurling on show with some great scores taken by both sides, and it was always a game that ebbed and flowed. We started the second half in style by scoring right from the throw-in. The ball broke as far as Cathal Downes, who showed his pace and power by bursting right through the heart of the Bruff defence before launching a score from distance. Cathal had a huge game, claiming a huge amount of clean possession from the air, any time the ball came near him from which he would launch attacks. Bruff hit another free to close the gap but we wouldn’t let them draw level, and a nice team score saw us push out our lead again. Ciarán Galvin worked extremely hard to win the ball, and found Ciarán Barry who picked out his brother Shaun with the pass, Shaun firing the ball over the crossbar. But Bruff were winning frees and converting them when they got the opportunity and they narrowed the gap once again, before creating one of the game’s first goal chances. Our backs did well to close the space but James Mason still had to be very alert between the sticks to produce the save to deny them the goal. Despite this, Bruff hit back with another point and the teams were deadlocked once more.
It was always tight but we didn’t ever allow them get ahead of us in the second half, and we would respond really well to them drawing level by getting the final two scores before the water break. Davy Fitzgerald battled hard all night long, and whenever he got the ball in his hand, he headed straight for goal and this led to him being fouled. Shaun continued his accuracy from placed balls to push us back in front. Paudi Hartigan had been starved of possession in the second half but Davy picked out the space with a lovely ball, Paudi beat his man, came back inside before popping the ball over the bar to give us a two-point lead. At the other end, Bruff were still launching attacks but there was some really strong displays from the likes of Marc O’Shea and Luke O’Keeffe, while Cathal Downes and Ciarán Barry were bursting forward whenever they got the opportunity.
There was a huge moment shortly after the water break, when Aaron O’Donovan picked the ball away and raced away from his marker towards goal, but was hacked to ground with a boot in a very dangerous manner. Referee Mike Sexton adjudged the foul to be dangerous play and awarded a red card to the Bruff back. Shaun Barry struck the free over the bar to give us a three-point lead. But, credit to Bruff, they did not give up despite being a man down and, as is often the case, the team down a man used that to spur them on. They then seemed to get the rub of the green, and momentum shifted in their direction. They scored a huge point to reduce the deficit to just two and rode that momentum to get the next two scores also and level the game once more.
We were now in a real battle and credit to our lads, they met that challenge head on. Paudi Hartigan came out the field to get on ball, with Aaron O’Donovan moving inside, where he was able to demonstrate his scoring touch. Those two, who swapped positions, linked up well together, Paudi picking out Aaron who was able to escape his marker and put us back in the lead. Bruff were not done yet though, and levelled things once again with a point from play. But with the endline in sight, we kicked for home and grabbed the victory we so desperately wanted. This came through hard work all over the pitch, with the likes of Luke Guinane coming off the bench to make a big impact.
Aaron played a lovely crossfield ball from the right corner right into the path of Davy Fitzgerald. It was half a goal opportunity but Davy broke free of his marker and put the ball narrowly over the crossbar which restored our lead. Luke Guinane was then alive to a turnover by pressing the Bruff back, this led to a shooting opportunity which was deflected out for a ’65 and was eventually converted by Shaun Barry. It appeared as though we had weathered the storm with the likes of Cathal Downes and Shaun Barry winning some crucial balls in our backline before the end. Cathal was involved in the final score of the game as he linked up with Paudi Hartigan before playing a beautiful diagonal ball into the corner. Aaron O’Donovan won the ball and from an almost-impossible angle, clipped the ball between the posts to secure the victory.
We held on for an excellent three-point victory but it was a high-quality contest which could have gone either way. We didn’t quite hit full flow but weren’t allowed to by Bruff, but we got the job done and are now into a semi-final. That is fixed for next Wednesday night, 24 November in Doon at 7.30pm as we take on Cappamore. It’s a local fixture for our opponents, so we would appreciate all the support we can get, as we are just one match away from a county final! Well done to all involved for this victory and the very best of luck on Wednesday night!
Team: James Mason; Ciarán Downes, Luke O’Keeffe, Marc O’Shea; Jai Chaudri, Cathal Downes (0-1), Ciarán Barry; Liam Griffin (0-4, 0-3 frees), Garry Sheehan; Davy Fitzgerald (0-1), Aaron O’Donovan (0-2), Shaun Barry (0-7, 0-4 frees, 0-1 ‘65); Paudi Hartigan (0-1), Adam Butler (0-2), Ciarán Galvin
Subs: Luke Guinane for Adam Butler; Matthew Lucey for Ciarán Galvin
Panel: Eddie McLoughlin, Mícheál Cuddihy, Dylan Moloney, Oran Kelly
AGM: The Annual General Meeting of Kildimo/Pallaskenry GAA club will be held on Sunday December 5, 2021 at 7.30pm. Our AGM this year will be a virtual event and will be run using Microsoft Teams. Please contact the secretary secretary.kildimopallaskenry.limerick@gaa.ie with any queries.
LIMERICK SENIOR HURLERS PRESENTATION: On Saturday night, three of our clubmen were among the 51 hurlers honoured in the Strand Hotel tonight with the presentation of over 360 medals to Limerick panellists from 2019-2021. The Limerick senior hurlers have won the All-Ireland, Munster Championship, National League, Munster Hurling League and Fenway Classic in that period and Barry O’Connell, Darren O’Connell and Kyle Hayes were all honoured for their roles in those achievements!
We are privileged to have such talented hurlers involved with their club and the reception is a well-deserved acknowledgement of their achievement. We must also mention Ruairí Maher and Mark Melbourne who have both been involved in the backroom for Limerick’s recent successes. Well done to Barry, Darren, Kyle, Ruairí and Mark; well-deserved for all the hard work you have put in over the years!
COLLEGES HURLING: Hard luck to Darren Lane and his teammates on the TUS Midwest 2nd year hurling team who were defeated by DCU in the All-Ireland final. It was a huge achievement by Darren and his teammates to get to the final, with a particularly notable victory over NUIG in the semi-final after extra-time.
MUNSTER INTERMEDIATE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: As a club, we are greatly looking forward to yet another Munster adventure as we are due to travel to a Clare venue to play Corofin on the weekend of 4/5 December.
KILDIMO/PALLASKENRY GAA & CAMOGIE FRIDAY NIGHT ACADEMY: We are delighted see the return of our Friday Night Lights academy programme in Kilcornan Hall & Astro last Friday, with huge numbers in attendance once again! The academy programme covers skill development, fun games, fundamental movement and more and is suitable for children from U-7 all the way up to U-17, with different time slots for the various ages and is set to continue until Friday, December 17!
CLUB DEVELOPMENT GROUNDWORKS LAUNCHED: We were delighted to have three-time All-Ireland winner, Kyle Hayes, at the launching of the groundworks of our club development plan. Our ambitious plans include a 27m ball wall, a 27×25 enclosed all-weather training area, secure perimeter fencing as well as floodlighting for all year round use. This will be a huge asset for the club, will allow us to secure a training base for the winter months while allowing our players of all ages to hone their skills.
While stage one of these works has begun, we still need further assistance from the community in order to bring all these plans to conclusion. We are asking our friends, members, parishioners and supporters to assist with this project so that we can create future All-Ireland winners in the club! Contact any committee member to pledge your support!
CLUB LIMERICK DRAW: Tom O’Connell was a club winner in the Club Limerick draw for October! This is a great way to support both your club and county, so please join the Club Limerick draw for 2021! You can win up to €10,000 monthly with 30 cash prizes and an exclusive star prize given out each month! Join the Club Limerick draw by visiting www.limerickgaa.ie/club-limerick-draw “supporting the future success of our clubs & county teams”.
PITCH SIGNAGE: If you or business is interested in supporting your local GAA club, give us a message on social media for details of pitch signage options in both Kildimo and Pallaskenry GAA grounds.
CLUB LOTTO: The winning numbers in this week’s lotto draw were 11, 23, 24, 25. There was no winner of the overall draw. The €25 lucky dip winners were: 1. Pat Enright; 2. Annette McDonald; 3. Ellen Rushe; 4. Christopher Collins. The jackpot rises to €12,400 for next week’s draw.
Our lotto has moved online and can be played at https://smartlotto.ie/kildimo-pallaskenry-gaa/lotto with options to play weekly, monthly or as often as you like! Six-month and annual lotto subscriptions are also now available. With ongoing restrictions our club lotto is the most vital fundraising and income source for the club, even more so now when all other fundraising activities remain suspended and not possible to run. We are continuing to reach out to members, supporters, friends of our club to please consider joining and playing the lotto online in order to support the ongoing costs of running our club. The best way to support the club right now is through the lotto!
Tickets are also available in Mace Kildimo, Gala Pallaskenry, the Seven Sisters, the Beer Garden, De Bucket, the Corner House and Clancy’s Bar and from our weekly lotto sellers. Please continue to support your local club!
TWITTER: The club also have a new twitter account which can be found by searching Kildimo/Pallaskenry GAA or by the twitter handle @kildimopallas. Give the club a follow to keep up to date with all the latest club news