Newcastle West edge past Mungret St Paul's in Limerick senior football championship

NEWCASTLE WEST did just enough to overcome a determined Mungret St Paul’s outfit in the opening round of the Limerick Senior Football Championship, prevailing by a single point in a thrilling 0-20 to 2-13 encounter on Friday evening in the Adare GAA grounds. 

An injury-time point from wing-back Aaron Neville proved decisive as Newcastle West held firm during a frantic finale to seal a narrow victory. The west Limerick side dominated the first half, but Mungret responded with a spirited second-half display that pushed the contest to the wire.

Limerick senior footballer Emmet Rigter was only fit enough to make an appearance off the bench for Newcastle West. Both sides were defeated at the semi-final stage of the Limerick SFC in 2024. Limerick footballer Iain Corbett was back in action for the Magpies, while Darragh O'Hagan, Jason Hassett, Killian Ryan, Ronan McElligott and Jack McCarthy all lined out for Mungret St Paul's. 

Mungret St Paul’s flew out of the blocks, racing into an early 1-2 lead. Darragh O’Hagan, fed by impressive link play from John Hutton, palmed home the opening goal, and Shane Barry followed up with two points in quick succession to give the city side a five-point cushion.

However, Newcastle West regrouped impressively. In an eleven-minute spell, they reeled off seven unanswered points, with scores from Thomas Quilligan, Eoin Hurley, Brian Foley, Iain Corbett, and Aaron Neville, taking the lead for the first time at 0-7 to 1-2. Quilligan and Hurley each landed a two-pointer, capitalising smartly on the new scoring rules.

Mungret St Paul's were handed a lifeline when Brendan Giltenane was fouled inside the square, but John Hutton’s penalty effort drifted wide. Giltenane responded moments later with his first point, reducing the gap again, but late scores from Foley and Hurley pushed Newcastle three clear before a Diarmuid Hynes point on the stoke of half time left it 0-10 to 1-3 at the break. 

The second half began in Mungret St Paul's favour, as they outscored their opponents 0-4 to 0-2 in the early stages, with John Hutton accounting for all four points. Soon after, Jack Sommers finished off a flowing team move by palming in his side’s second goal, putting Mungret ahead at 2-8 to 0-12.

Newcastle West responded instantly through Sean Murphy, and Iain Corbett’s inspirational two-pointer restored their lead. The end-to-end nature of the contest continued, with substitute Diarmuid Hynes energising Kevin O'Hagan's side, landing two consecutive two-pointers to push them 2-12 to 0-15 ahead.

However, with the game finely poised, Newcastle West regained composure. Eoin Hurley and Mike McMahon landed a two-pointer each to nudge them back in front, only for Shane Barry to level the contest once again.

As the clock ticked into injury time, referee John O’Halloran indicated two additional minutes. It was Newcastle West’s Aaron Neville who stepped up with the decisive point, sealing a dramatic and hard-fought win.

Under new management in Kerry native Liam Weir, Newcastle West will take confidence from their resilience, especially considering they were without Ruadhan O’Connor, Darren O’Doherty, Byran Nix and Mike O’Keefe. Mungret St Paul's were missing Frank Corcoran, Oisin Moss, Darragh Bridgeman, and Brian Barry (ACL injury), but the city side showed considerable depth.

Given the quality on show, both teams look likely to feature again at the business end of the championship.

SCORERS:

Newcastle West: Thomas Quilligan (0-3, 0-1 two pointer), Iain Corbett (0-4, 0-1 two pointer), Eoin Hurley (0-7, 0-2 two pointer, 0-3 frees), Mike McMahon (0-2, 0-1 two pointer), Aaron Neville 0-2, Sean Murphy and Brian Foley 0-1 each

Mungret St Paul's: Darragh O'Hagan 1-0 and Jack Somers 1-0 each, Shane Barry (0-3, 0-2 frees), John Hutton (0-4, 0-3 frees), Diarmuid Hynes (0-5, 0-2 two pointers), Brendan Giltenane 0-1 

NEWCASTLE WEST: Michael Quilligan; Evan Sheehan, Michael Cremin, Brian O'Sullivan; Seamus Hurley, Lee Woulfe, Aaron Neville; Sean Murphy, Mike McMahon; Todd Donovan, Iain Corbett, Brian Hurley; Thomas Quilligan, Brian Foley, Eoin Hurley. 

SUBS: Emmet Rigter for Brian Hurley and Niall McAuliffe for Quilligan (both 50 minutes). 

MUNGRET ST PAUL'S: Ronan McElligott; Jason Hassett, Robert Hegarty, Ciaran Uwatse; James Garvey, Killian Ryan, Liam Harrington; Darragh O'Hagan, Jack Somers; Darragh O'Sullivan, James Killian, Jack McCarthy; Shane Barry, John Hutton (Captain), Brendan Giltenane. 

SUBS: Diamuid Hynes for O'Sullivan (28 minutes), Tom Lloyd for Harrington (46 minutes), Conor O'Longaigh for Giltenane (49 minutes). 

REFEREE: John O'Halloran (Bruree).