Na Piarsaigh and Patrickswell face off in bid to win Daly Cup

History is up for grabs this Sunday with Na Piarsaigh set to face Patrickswell in the 2019 Bon Secours Hospital Limerick Senior Hurling Championship Final in the LIT Gaelic Grounds at 3.30pm.

Na Piarsaigh are looking to complete a first ever three-in-a-row, while Patrickswell have the chance to go top of the Limerick honours board with a 20th Daly Cup.

These sides finished deadlocked on the top of the table on eight points in the group stages with Patrickswell taking top spot after their second round victory over the Caherdavin side.

Patrickswell started their campaign with an impressive 1-13 to 0-10 victory over Doon in difficult circumstances in Kilmallock in the opening round before getting a win over the defending champions a week later in the same venue with a 2-17 to 1-15 victory.

They followed this up with a win over South Liberties that assured them of progress into the knockout stages.

Their round four draw with Kilmallock saw them qualify for the semi finals with a game to spare before they finished their group stage campaign with a draw against Adare.

In the semi final they were paired with Doon, who defeated  Ballybrown in the quarter finals.

After suffering defeat to Doon in the last four last year, Ciarán Carey’s charges made no mistake this time around, earning a relatively comfortable 2-14 to 0-15 win over Tom Murphy’s side.

Their final opponents Na Piarsaigh have had five wins and just the solitary loss thus far in 2019.

Mick Ryan’s men began their season with a 22-point win over South Liberties before that defeat to Patrickswell in round two.

They responded emphatically in round three, with a 6-15 to 2-11 win over Kilmallock before finishing out their group campaign with wins over Adare and Doon to solidify their place in the semi finals.

They were also in a repeat of last year’s semi final as they faced off against Kilmallock. Na Piarsaigh got the job done to advance to a third consecutive county final by virtue of a 0-23 to 0-18 win in the semi final

Four years ago the sides met in the decider when Na Piarsaigh claimed their third title in five years with a 1-22 to 4-12 win over the Ciarán Carey managed side.

Goals from Diarmaid Byrnes (2), Thomas O’Brien and Kevin O’Brien were not enough to hold a five point lead heading into the final 15 minutes as 1-5 from man-of-the-match Kevin Downes helped Na Piarsaigh to victory.

Na Piarsaigh would go on to win Munster honours before capturing a first ever All-Ireland title the following March.

However, 2016 would prove to be Patrickswell’s year as they avenged the previous year’s final loss with a win over neighbours Ballybrown in the final.

Patrickswell did not meet Na Piarsaigh that year and have failed to defeat their city rivals in a knockout game since Nap won their first title in 2011.

Indeed, Patrickswell have suffered a brace of semi final defeats as well as that final loss at the hands of Na Piarsaigh since the turn of the century.

Both teams are capable of beating each other on any given day and Sunday should be no different.