Doon and Na Piarsaigh share the spoils in Limerick senior hurling championship

Na Piarsaigh and Doon had to settle for a 2-16 to 1-19 draw in Kilmallock on Saturday evening in the opening round of the Whitebox Limerick senior hurling championship.

The contest ebbed and flowed throughout the 60 minutes and both sides will have regrets that they didn’t claim the two points on offer.

Adam English was in impressive form from the placed ball finishing with 1-7, while Kevin Downes was on target with 1-7 for the city club.

Doon and Na Piarsaigh met in a repeat of last year’s county final in Kilmallock on Saturday evening. Na Piarsaigh were without Mike Casey, Peter Casey, Conor Boylan and Jerome Boylan.

Doon won their first ever Limerick senior hurling championship title in 2024. The east Limerick club have Waterford native Derek McGrath in charge of the club again this year. 

A minute’s silence was held before the game following the sad passing of Brigid O’Neill, mother of Na Piarsaigh senior hurling manager Shane O’Neill. In Shane O'Neill's absence, selector Thomas Downes took charge of the team in Kilmallock.

After coming up short in last year’s final, Na Piarsaigh are hoping to go one step further than last year. Doon hit the ground straight away and McGrath’s side showed their intent when they led by five points on nine minutes.

Early on, Jack Ryan was able to drift into space for the opening two scores and that was followed by efforts from Adam English, Barry Murphy and Donal Coughlan.

Na Piarsaigh were appearing to just be hanging in the contest. James Finn, Kevin Downes and Dylan Lynch who was part of the Limerick senior hurling panel this year reduced the gap to two points.

Doon and Na Piarsaigh traded scores between Chris Thomas and Kevin Downes. David Dempsey then played a beautiful crossfield pass to Keith Dempsey and he split the posts to make it 0-6 to 0-5.

Darragh O’Donovan, Gareth Thomas and Adam English pushed Doon back into control as the 2024 champions were now leading 0-9 to 0-5. Downes replied to keep the Caherdavin club within touching distance.

On 23 minutes, William O’Donoghue played a clever handpass into Adrian Breen who was fouled inside the small square. Referee John O’Halloran awarded a penalty and Shane Dowling’s penalty hit the post.

Darragh O’Donovan added his second point of the evening and it looked as if Doon were starting to take control leading 0-10 to 0-6.

A long ball was sent into the Doon full back line, Adrian Breen flicked the sliotar onto Keith Dempsey who impressively slotted the sliotar into the back of the net and Downes nailed a placed ball before the break to have the sides deadlocked 1-7 to 0-10 at the interval.

The sides continued to exchange points in the early stages of the second half. On 34 minutes Adam English decided to go for goal from the 21 yard free and Na Piarsaigh goalkeeper Shane Dowling misjudged English’s effort and the Doon’s sharpshooters effort ended up in the back of the net.

Pat Ryan added his first point of the evening shortly after that, extending Doon's lead to 1-12 to 1-9. However, Na Piarsaigh continued to fight back, with impressive contributions from Kevin Downes, David Dempsey, Will Henn, and Keith Dempsey narrowing the margin to a single point. During this spell, English and O’Donovan remained reliable from placed balls, helping their side stay narrowly ahead.

Two more Adam English frees shoved Doon 1-16 to 1-13 ahead then Adrian Breen cut down the right corner and his pass found Kevin Downes who managed to raise the second green flag of the evening and the sides were level again.

Will Henn, Kevin Downes and Ronan Lynch then all combined to put Na Piarsaigh ascendency leading 2-16 to 1-16. Doon held their composure late and English’s free taking proved crucial and Pat Ryan landed his second point from a difficult angle and both sides had to settle for the draw.

Scorers:

Na Piarsaigh: Kevin Downes (1-7, 0-5 frees), Keith Dempsey 1-2, Will Henn 0-2, JJ Carey, David Dempsey, James Finn, Dylan Lynch, Ronan Lynch (0-1, 0-1 free)

Doon: Adam English (1-7, 1-7 frees), Darragh O’Donovan (0-3, 0-2 frees), Chris Thomas, Pat Ryan and Jack Ryan 0-2 each, Donal Coughlan, Barry Murphy, Gareth Thomas 0-1 each

Na Piarsaigh: Shane Dowling; Emmet McEvoy, Cathall King, Ronan Lynch; Mike Foley, Vince Harrington, Tommy Grimes; James Finn, William O’Donoghue, JJ Carey, Keith Dempsey, Daithi Dempsey; Kevin Downes, Dylan Lynch, Adrian Breen.

SUBS: Will Henn for Dylan Lynch (40 minutes)

Doon: Darragh Stapleton; Eoin Fitzgibbon, Tommy Hayes, Cian O’Donovan; Chris Thomas, Barry Murphy, Richie English; Darragh O’Donovan, Jack Ryan; Gareth Thomas, Adam English, Eddie Stokes; Donal Coughlan, Mikey O’Brien, Pat Ryan.

SUBS: Kevin Maher for Stokes (32 minutes), Dean Coughlan for Coughlan (46 minutes), Aidan O’Connell for O’Brien (42 minutes), Cormac Ryan for Fitzgibbon (55 minutes).

Referee: John O'Halloran (Bruree).