Desmond League Returns with Cup Football

The 2022/23 Limerick Desmond League kicks into action this weekend, commencing with Divisional Cup action. After a two-month hiatus since the conclusion of a long 2021/22 season, Sporting Limerick’s Tom Clancy takes a look at the state of play for football in west Limerick.

The full fixture list for the opening two weekends is now available on the new Desmond League website: HERE

It is worth noting the significant changes in teams and clubs ahead of the new season. One notable change is a new club. Kildimo United and Pallaskenry AFC have joined forces, combining as Dromore United. They have an A team in Division One and B team Division Three.

In total there are 31 junior sides affiliated, the same number as who played last season. With a restructure proposed, to have a maximum of eight sides per division, the powers that be will hope that this will breathe new life into the league. Unlike their Limerick District League peers, the Desmond sides do not possess near the financial resources to attract players, therefore, by enlarge, the teams rely on local players.

Ahead of the actual league start, the committee have persisted with the group-phase of the league cup. The Divisions are split into two groups, with the Premier Division holding two groups of five. The cup winners in 2021/22 were Broadford United (Premier Division), Breska Rovers A (Division One), Glin Rovers B (Division Two), Ballysteen (Division Three). The League should start sometime in October, which in turn led to fixture pileup late last season. Clubs appear overall happy with this decision, despite the near 11 month season for many sides seemingly only just over.

With the League Cup action set to be the main focus of action in the coming weeks, the Munster Junior Cup and FAI Junior Cup will be intermittent in the coming weeks, before the League action starts sometime in October, possibly. The League have aimed to play all four Divisional Cup finals prior to Christmas, with the semi-finals and finals to be played at League headquarters Mick Hanley Park, Clounreask.

The other notable change is the move to relegate three sides from the Premier Division, with only one to be promoted from the second tier. A bright start will be key for a number of clubs looking to avoid getting embroiled in the relegation quagmire.

PREMIER DIVISION
With two groups of five for the cup, it is perhaps an opportunity for the sides involved to get up to speed ahead of the national, provincial and league competitions. Ten sides will field for the first time in a number of seasons. Adare’s withdrawal post-covid and Carrig Celtic’s re-boot from the bottom means that Breska Rovers and Premier Division debutants Creeves Celtic join the big boys.

Abbeyfeale United: The League champions, who also won the Desmond Cup, were undefeated across those competitions last season. However, they failed to make it out of the group stage last season and will hope to improve on that this time around. Manager John Kelliher loses Eoghan Kelly (Mungret Regional) as well as Conor O’Leary, Chris Carey, Adam Barry and Pa O’Connor who are departing Ireland.

Maurice O’Connor, a superb servant for United down the years, joins the management team after hanging up the boots. The management will look towards their B team, who won silverware last season to supplement a squad that remains strong. Perennially among the top three or four sides, the fact that few sides could match Abbey last season will make them very much the favourites in every domestic competition. After opting not to enter the FAI Junior Cup, it appears they’re focusing locally and on the Champions Cup where they’ll face Cork Business League outfit, Doolan’s Cow.

Broadford United: Runners-up to Abbeyfeale United were bizarrely unbeaten in league action but too many draws saw them just ousted by the Fealesiders. Injuries played their part and Colm Ryan returns while Seamus Brosnan, Kenny Lynch and Bryan Hannigan will hopeful of spending less time on the treatment table in the new season. Young talent Diarmuid Ryan is promoted from the Youths side while the management of Jim Neenan, Ray Lynch and Aidy Doran will be hoping for another strong season and a few small changes may see them amongst the medals sometime in 2023.

The loss of Darren Murphy (Athea United) will not help, but given the strong backbone of goalkeepers and Patrick Stack and Gearoid Greaney, defenders Joe McAuliffe and James Molyneaux, any side who bests Broadford will fancy their chances at being in the mix.

Rathkeale: Managed once again by Alan Doyle, the recent success enjoyed by Rathkeale isn’t too far away but it does feel like they’ve a job to close the gap on both Broadford and Abbeyfeale. Jack Hennessy has been appointed captain, while Mikey Morrisey returns. Eoin Barry has put pen to paper while there is now a permanent change in goals. Brendan Carmody departs after nearly 10 years with the club, with Aaron Hogan now the number one. Son of the stalwart Ray, Aaron may once again share the pitch with his father who continues to line out for their First Division outfit.

Glin Rovers: Along the Shannon Estuary, Glin Rovers will be hoping that they’ve assembled a squad capable of pushing into the upper echelons of the table. In the last season prior to covid, Glin were in a strong position but failed to reach those highs in 2021/22.

The Desmond Cup exit to Division Two side Athea United will have hurt last season and overall they were some bit behind the leading pack. New manager, Ambrose Lanigan has retained virtually all of the squad with Jack Sheahan, AJ Behan, Jack Boland, TJ Mulvihill, Gary Kelly and Edmund Horan the new faces for Rovers. Their league cup grouping is favourable and they’ll be targeting a top two position from here.

Newcastle West Town: The Magpies have Kieran Shanahan at the helm for the full season, after the took over from Noel Murphy earlier this year. Shanahan oversaw two cup final defeats but will hope to equate that cup form into league points when the league action commences later this Autumn. They showed decent early season form this time last year but weren’t able to sustain that over the course of the season.

Shanahan is assisted by Paudie Fitzgerald and they’ve made some key signings. In come attacking options in Jamie Keane (Broadford United) and Jake Power (Shannonside) while five Youths are making the step up. Jordan Hurley, Morgan Sheahan and Brendan Guiry move away from the side for various reasons. The desire to have a broader squad is obvious, with Keane among the leading lights in front of goal for rivals Broadford during their run to the League Cup win over the Magpies. As one of the larger clubs in the Desmond League, Newcastle West will be aiming to be in the conversation for silverware as the season progresses.

Ballingarry: It has been a summer of change in the dugout for Ballingarry. New manager Robert Hannon is originally from Galway – he moves into the role having been involved with Maree Oranmore. He has Declan Nash as assistant with Nash continuing to line-out for the side. There are no new faces but they do have seven of the side who reached an FAI Youths Quarter-Final last season will be among a 22-man squad. Mark Carmody remains on board – the Patrickswell native impressed at times last season and will and seniority for an overall inexperienced squad.

Off the field, the recently opened James Clancy stand and addition of floodlights to The Paddocks show the great organisation that continues at the club. On the field, they’ve been somewhat adrift in recent times and will be hopeful that new ideas from Hannon can give them fresh impetus.

They’ll be aiming to improve on last season despite starting by winning the pre-season competition. Dean Clancy captains the side who finished midtable last season – and he will know many of his teammates having played a pivotal road in their success’ at U18 level in recent seasons.

Granagh United: It has been a challenging pre-season for Granagh United with assembling a squad capable of making progress in the Premier Division the number one mission for manager Kevin Clifford. With no B team at their disposal, they’ll have to look elsewhere for new faces. One must compliment their fighting spirit to stay at the top table, with so many clubs with a greater pick at their disposal, it seems that this spirit will need to be called upon once again this season.

Goalkeeper Dan Gayer steps aside due to other commitments. Sean Cahill has moved to Canada, Aaron O’Mahony (Croom United) also exits. Jason Lenihan and former Cork hurler Cathal Naughton, as well as Killian Lynch Rafferty have all committed to the black and white. Last season was a real challenge for Granagh and perhaps the lack of pressure surrounding no relegation didn’t help. A lack of something to play for following their early exit from the Desmond Cup meant that the final weeks and months of the season were fragmented.

Kilcornan: It has been more about outgoings than incomings for Kilcornan. The loss of Darragh Walsh (Carew Park), Kevin Walsh (Ballynanty Rovers), Tomás O’Connor (Ballynanty Rovers) won’t have helped Gary Manning’s plans. Promoted in 2019 as Division One Champions, last season proved a challenging season for the men in red. The loss of those key players as well as a supplementary B team will mean this season looks likely to be about survival.

At times last season, they were able to match the established Premier Division sides in spells but ultimately didn’t have the points to show for it. Manning has gone about recruiting new faces, with Patrick Ivess and Darragh Toomey on board. Aidan and Ger Garvey are returning to the fold while Rob Carrig adds another option. The experienced duo, Paudie Ivess and Jason O’Shaughnessy, are now part of the management.


Breska Rovers: Promoted as double winners, the Clarina outfit take their place at the top table for the first time since 2006. Aodhgann Behan continues in charge and will hope to hit the ground running as his side did last season. Out of the equation are James Hall (retired), Josh Adams (Ballynanty Rovers) while Josh Fitzgerald is on his travels shortly. On the positive ledger are youngster Karl Buckley (Shelbourne) midfielder Jack Moroney (Mungret Regional) while their double winning youths side will supplement an already young squad. Bobby Smith and Darragh O’Sullivan are two who caught the eye at underage.

Breska have lost just one league game since the Spring of 2019, but there has been a notable and considerable jump between divisions down the years. They’ll have to hit the ground running to fare better than their predecessors did when finishing bottom in 2005/06.

Creeves Celtic: With three players having left the country for pastures new, Creeves Celtic’s attack on the top tier has been hampered before a ball is kicked. But manager Noel O’Donnell has been able to recruit a few fresh faces in the shape of returning goalkeeper Robert Bradley, Sean Ryan and Darren Kearns. Having pushed Breska Rovers all the way in Division One, they’ll be hopeful of picking up results early to go prove they belong among the League’s best. A sharp rise up the ranks was aided by a number of cup successes, including a Reidy Cup title last June. It appears talents such as James Naughton and Seamus Mangan are near to signing, which will really add to their attack.

It is the first time that Premier football will be played at Newbridge since their formation in 1978. They’ve proven to be a tough nut to crack and may rely on their home form to pick up points.

DIVISION ONE
With no side relegated from the Premier Division, the number of teams falls to eight from ten. Newcastle West Town Reserves pushed Breska Rovers all the way for the title and will hope for a better start than they had 12 months ago. Shannonside, who reached the cup final, will be aiming higher than midtable but overall it is an extremely open division. Athea United may seek back-to-back promotions after a strong second half of last season saw them finish runners-up in Division Two.

Askeaton, who won the third tier, will hope to continue their upward trajectory, the Division is completed by St. Ita’s, Shountrade and Rathkeale B. Those three sides picked up good results at times last season but will seek improvement in order to challenge for league and cup honours. The latter duo performed will in the Cup only to lose out in the semi-final stage.

DIVISION TWO
This is the smallest division with six sides, with Knockaderry dropping down after being rooted to the bottom of Division One for almost the entirety of last season. Joining them are Division Three winners Mountcollins, runners-up Ballingarry B, as well as the three sides who remain in this tier. They are Glantine, Abbeyfeale United B and Glin Rovers B. The latter two sides are once again paired in the cup group, having clashed countless times in the last 12 months.

DIVISION THREE
In Division Three are Carrig Celtic who will hope to put a forgettable and challenging season behind them and build from the bottom. Dromore United’s second team helps make up seven sides in the fourth tier. Withdrawing are Kilcornan B, but in come a second string for Broadford United. Shannonside B, Ballysteen, Feenagh and relegated Breska Rovers B complete the bottom division. 

YOUTHS
A welcomed but rare format for the Youths League sees three tiers in operation. With one-sided games all too common in recent seasons, this is surely welcomed by all involved. There are 15 sides split evenly across the three divisions. Feenagh, Glantine and Rathkeale are three of the clubs we’ve not seen a lot of at U18 level recently, while Dromore United and Breska Rovers jump into Division One, alongside top-table regulars Newcastle West Town, Broadford United and Abbeyfeale United. The competition continues to be a vital cog in players progression towards adult football.