“The boys were incredible” | Liam Cronin reflects on Mungret St Pauls’ Munster semi-final loss

Limerick’s Premier Intermediate Champions Mungret St Pauls just missed out on the Munster final after being beaten by a solitary point by Courcey Rovers on Saturday afternoon.

A slow start saw the City side trail throughout the first hour but a late Paul O’Brien free eventually levelled proceedings in the TUS Gaelic Grounds.

But four on the trot from Courcey either side of the half in ET proved too much with a late goal for Mungret not enough as Courcey escaped with a 1-18 to 1-17 win.

Reflecting on the epic encounter, Mungret St Pauls manager Liam Cronin spoke of his pride in the team who fought to the bitter end.

“Yeah just didn’t have enough. You could probably tell that we were the team that had the six week break without making excuses. But once we settled we had more than enough chances to win it, I’d say our wides tally won’t make for pretty reading.

“But I’m so so proud of the boys. Their fourth quarter performance was just incredible. They showed everyone, but more importantly, themselves, what they are capable of. I’m just so proud of the boys and their effort. They really died on the pitch for us.”

But for Cronin and his squad, the main objective for the year was met in late October as they ended a 30 year wait to earn senior status.

And while the defeat in Munster will take a while to digest, the manager says the side can be proud of what they achieved in 2021.

“Our only goal was to make sure Mungret were a senior team at the end of the year for 2022 and we achieved that.

“That’s not to say that this is a bitter pill to take, it will take a few weeks to get over this but the boys can be incredibly proud of the year they put down. The boys were incredible.”

Watch the interview with Cronin in full below.