Superb Limerick minors earn Munster minor crown

Munster Final day at the LIT Gaelic Grounds has started perfectly for Limerick after the minor team saw off Clare by 1-17 to 1-11 to earn the Munster MHC title.

Cathal O’Neill was once again the star for Diarmuid Mullins’ side with nine points in an excellent display.

Patrick O’Donovan also chipped in with 1-1, while Adam English, Aidan O’Connor and Patrick Reale also had excellent outings.

Clare settled the quicker of the two sides with points from Tony Butler and Shane Meehan putting them 0-2 to 0-0 after four minutes.

Limerick hit four wides before their opening score through Cathal O’Neill and Aidan O’Connor soon followed up to level the game for the first time.

However, Clare were dominant in the early stages and punished Limerick’s poor shooting with three points in a row from Meehan, Cian Galvin and an excellent Diarmuid Cahill strike from the right hand sideline.

Limerick needed a lift at this stage and it was O’Neill that provided it. The Crecora-Manister sharpshooter rattled off four points in as many minutes to put his side into a 0-6 to 0-5 lead.

A well taken Killian O’Connor point levelled for Clare but a superb Patrick O’Donovan effort put had Limerick in front once more.

Cormac Murphy tied the scores up for a fourth time on 26 minutes but Adam English and a long rang O’Neill free gave Limerick a 0-9 to -0-7 half time advantage.

Limerick extended that lead to three points on the game’s resumption when O’Connor landed a fine effort from play.

The lead was soon at four when Patrick O’Donovan made a fine catch and offloaded to Adam English. The Doon man then fired over a superb point from the touchline.

Clare responded with their first score of the half courtesy of a long range Cian Galvin free but Limerick went four up again thanks to an O’Neill placed ball after Eddie Stokes was fouled en route to goal.

Shane Meehan got Clare back into the game with a sublime goal. He ran in off the left and delivered a stunning finish, however, there was controversy around the goal as his shot went through the net.

The goal was given but Limerick’s response was swift and impressive. Stokes’ delivery from the left was expertly caught by O’Connor.

He offloaded to O’Donovan and the Effin man flicked the ball past Clare keeper Aaron Shanahan. That put Limerick 1-12 to 1-8 ahead with 48 minutes played.

O’Connor then landed another, before Patrick Reale gave Limerick a six point buffer going into the closing stages.

Limerick were too strong in the last 10 minutes and deservedly landed their first Munster minor title since 2014, beating Clare on a 1-17 to 1-11 scoreline.

Limerick Scorers: Cathal O’Neill 0-9 (6 frees), Patrick O’Donovan 1-1, Aidan O’Connor 0-3, Adam English and Patrick Reale 0-2 each.

Limerick: Jack Franklin; Adam Murrihy, Ronan Lyons, Fergal O’Connor; Jimmy Quilty, Ethan Hurley, Colin Coughlan; Patrick Kirby, Patrick Reale; Adam English, Cathal O’Neill, Eddie Stokes; Aidan O’Connor, Patrick O’DOnovan, Liam Lynch.

Subs: Diarmuid Hegarty for Lynch (57 mins), Michael Cremin for O’Donovan (59 mins), Cian Casey for English (64 mins).