Last Time Out | Limerick push Dublin all the way in 2007 National Football League

Limerick will be up against it as they face a Dublin side that have won eight All-Ireland titles this century.

For the first time since 2007, Limerick and Dublin will lock horns in the National Football League this Sunday when the Shannonsiders welcome the capital side in round two of the league.

Limerick’s return to the second tier saw them comfortably beaten by promotion-chasing Derry with things getting no easier for Ray Dempsey’s men as the unbackable favourites for the league arrive in town.

Dublin were far from their best in their opener with Kildare but got the job done in Croke Park and they will be looking for a much improved performance against a wounded Limerick.

Their last meeting came under very differing circumstances with Limerick in the midst of reaching four Munster finals in eight years with Mickey Ned O’Sullivan’s men operating in the top tier of the League.

Dublin on the other hand were without an All-Ireland win in 12 years but had won successive Leinster titles after seeing Laois and Westmeath claim titles in 2003 and ’04.

Yet, they travelled to the Gaelic Grounds as heavy favourites with future All-Ireland winners Stephen Cluxton, Bryan Cullen, Ger Brennan, Diarmuid Connolly and the Brogans Alan and Bernard among their ranks.

And they did escape the Ennis Road with the win and a valuable two points as they would finish the campaign in fifth, just three ahead of Limerick who were relegated to the third tear and subsequently took fifteen years to get back to the second division.

But an escape is an accurate representation of the 0-14 to 1-10 victory where Mossy Quinn kicked a ’45 in injury time to separate the sides.

With Dublin losing the previous week to Tyrone, they were quicker off the blocks against a Limerick side making their seasonal debut. They surged ahead early on but a youthful Limerick kicked into gear with Mike Crowley, Jason O’Brien and Micheal Reidy hitting the target. Alan Brogan and Diarmuid Connolly replied for the Dubs to keep the hosts at arms length.

But Darren Horan breathed life into the contest with the games only goal. Pa Ranahan and Crowley added scores to give Limerick their first lead. Dublin would regain their slender advantage prior to the break with a brace, 1-5 to 0-9.

Conal Keaney scored on the restart as did matchwinner Quinn, both coming from placed balls. Horan added to his tally but Dublin’s lead was three with just over fifteen to play.

Ranahan was unlucky not to goal late on as Cluxton denied him with a brilliant save with the Dub tipping over the crossbar. But Limerick kept attacking and Micheal Reidy had it back to the minimum. On 66 minutes, Gareth Noonan levelled the contest but Quinn had the final say as Limerick couldn’t find a response in injury time.

Things wouldn’t get much better for Limerick who had been promoted the previous year alongside Donegal, as they would pick up just one win in the top tier of the league.

A 2-10 to 1-8 victory in Fermanagh was added to by a draw with Donegal but while that wasn’t enough to keep Limerick afloat, the Tír Chonaill men went on to claim the league title.

The following year, Limerick just held off relegation in Division 3 but a little over two years after the Dublin defeat, the Shannonsiders were resigned to the bottom tier.

Twice promotion from Division 4 was followed by a quick relegation back down with the second triumph in 2013 coinciding with Dublin’s second All-Ireland in three years.

The Dubs went on to claim a first ever six in a row of All-Ireland titles in 2020, their eighth in the decade, the same year Limerick were again crowned Division 4 champions.

And while the capital outfit struggled in the early parts of 2022, their relegation meant they would meet a newly promoted Limerick for the first time in fifteen years with that game scheduled for this Sunday in the same venue as 2007.

A repeat of that near miss is unlikely but the fact that Limerick are once again operating with the top teams is an indication of the substantial growth over the last few years.

Limerick Team v Dublin (2007)

Mike Jones; Diarmuid Carroll, Johnny McCarthy, Shane Gallagher; Pat Ahern, Padraig Browne, Pa Ranahan; Tom Cahill, John Galvin; Jason O’Brien, James Ryan, John Cooke; Mike Crowley, Darren Horan, Micheal Reidy.

Subs Used: Sean Cronin for Crowley, Andrew Lane for Carroll, Gareth Noonan for Cooke, Niall Mulvihill for O’Brien, Ger Collins for Cronin.

Scorers: Darren Horan (1-1), Mike Crowley (0-2, 1f), Pa Ranahan, Micheal Reidy (0-2), Pat Ahern, Jason O’Brien (0-1), Gareth Noonan (0-1, ’45).