PREVIEW | Eight teams prepare to do battle for Limerick Premier Intermediate Hurling honours

The championship is into it’s ninth season since it was created in 2014.

Arguably the most consistent championship in Limerick since its inception nine years ago, the Limerick Premier Intermediate Championship returns this evening.

Following on from a pair of Covid interrupted years, the competition returns to its original format with each of the teams playing seven games.

Last year, Mungret St Pauls were comprehensive champions, avenging the defeat in the 2020 final, with a comfortable victory over Cappamore.

They are replaced by Monaleen, who are back in the grade after earning promotion to the top tier in 2016.

However, previous year’s have shown how difficult it is for teams to regroup when relegated to the second tier with Murroe Boher suffering successive relegations that has them now in the Intermediate ranks.

Looking at the eight teams, all will harbour genuine aspirations of earning promotion, with a top four finish the goal from the round robin stages.

At the end of the group stage, first will play first while second and third are matched up in the semi-finals. The bottom two meet in the relegation final.

After reaching the final last year, Cappamore have to be favoured to go one better following an excellent season. They were the only team to really lay a glove on Mungret St Pauls, pushing them all the way in the group stages. Backboned by a young core coming through, Declan Deere’s side will be keen to follow in the footsteps of Mungret (2021), Kildimo Pallaskenry (2020) and Garryspillane (2018) who all earned promotion the year after losing in the final.

Likewise, even though history will count against the relegated senior side, Monaleen know how to win this competition as they defeated Cappamore in the 2016 final. Although they never pulled up trees in the top tier, they were rarely overwhelmed and will be keen for a quick bounce back in a notoriously difficult grade. They meet Cappamore in round one in a tie that promises to tell a lot.

Glenroe have reached successive semi-finals after finally winning the Intermediate championship in 2019. On both occasions, Mungret St Pauls proved too strong but they will have learned from those contests.

Newcastle West were the other losing semi-finalists as they were beaten by Cappamore in the last four. In their first year in the grade, the west side hit the ground running and will be keen to build on that maiden campaign. They meet Glenroe in round one.

By winning the Intermediate ranks last year, Effin are back in the premier intermediate ranks after a five year wait. Suffering relegation in 2017, a new look Effin side has emerged which is still backboned by a number of the county winning teams of 2010 and ’11. Nickie Quaid is the obvious name but Fergal O’Connor and Paddy O’Donovan were also key members of the Limerick U20 that reached the All-Ireland final.

They take on Bruff in round one with the inaugural champions looking to find the form from 2018 when they reached the decider. There is no doubting their talents with four-in-a-row All-Star Sean Finn the pick of the bunch. But they will have their work cut out for them against Effin and will be desperately keen to avoid a similar situation to last year when they participated in the relegation final after a slow start.

The other game in the group pits two teams who’s season petered out last time out. Dromin Athlacca and Knockainey both finished in third in their respective groups, avoiding relegation but missing out on the promotion race. Dromin Athlacca are backboned by David Reidy who was a key figure in Limerick’s three-in-a-row run. Yet, they are yet to reach the last four since winning the intermediate championship in 2018.

Their opponents, Knockainey, are into their third season in the grade after suffering relegation in 2019. They have struggled at the grade with just win in the two years. However, that came against Dromin Athlacca in 2020 as they condemned them to the relegation play-off.

Limerick Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship

First Round Fixtures

Cappamore v Monaleen (29 July at 7pm in Caherconlish)

Newcastle West v Glenroe (30 July at 7pm in Feenagh)

Effin v Bruff (30 July at 5pm in Kilmallock)

Dromin-Athlacca v Knockainey (30 July at 7pm in Knocklong)

It is all to play for and with seven group games, teams can afford a slip up along the way. But as Mungret St Pauls and Kildimo Pallaskenry have shown in previous year’s, it is often the team that starts the quickest that stays the course.