Limerick ladies footballers start league campaign in Kilkenny

GRAHAM Shine’s Limerick ladies footballers get their LIDL LGFA Division 4 National League campaign underway on Sunday with an away fixture against Kilkenny.

Limerick will be looking to go one further in the competition in 2023 having reached the final last year. That game ended in defeat for Limerick on a 3-12 to 4-4 scoreline to their hosts, Offaly, in Birr last April.

Limerick beat Offaly, London and Carlow on their way to the Division 4 League final last year before that defeat to the Faithful County in the decider.

Limerick then went on to reach the All-Ireland Junior Championship semi-final but that also ended with a defeat by nine-points. Shine confirmed a 36-player panel earlier this week with Old Mill’s Roisin Ambrose again taking on the captain’s role for 2023.

Twelve different clubs are represented within the group, with county champions Monagea landing the biggest representation of eight. Oola come next on the list with six, while Old Mill, Ballylanders and have four players on the panel.

The Listowel man has opted to make a number of changes to the panel for the coming season with the vastly experienced Kristine Reidy, Catriona Davis, Mairead Kavanagh, Aine McGrath and Niamh Ryan not included.

However, there is a place for several new faces in the set-up, including Galtee Gaels’ starlet Roisin Breedy. She had an excellent campaign in the Limerick junior championship that ended with her firing in a hat-trick in the final.

Limerick begin their season against a Kilkenny side that are returning to national league duty for the first time since 2019. They sides last met in that season and it was Limerick that came out with a comfortable victory.

Shine will be hopeful that Limerick can get off to a winning start before they make the trip to Wicklow in their second game on February 12.

Limerick then host Leitrim the following week, before they make the trip up to play Derry on Sunday, March 5. The game versus Kilkenny has a 2pm start at Kilkenny Training Centre in Dunmore.