All you need to know ahead of round three of the Limerick senior hurling championship

THERE are six games taking place in the Whitebox Limerick senior hurling championship across Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Clubs are now switching their focus to round three of the Limerick SHC this week. 

Limerick SHC Group One

Doon v Kilmallock in Knocklong on Thursday at 7pm 

DOON and Kilmallock both remain unbeaten in the Limerick SHC. Both sides sit on three points after two games.

Kilmallock sharpshooter Shane O'Brien has been in fine scoring form hitting 1-17 for the south Limerick club in the SHC. James Hickey's side recorded a victory over Patrickswell in round one and rescued a draw late on against Ahane in round two. 

Meanwhile, Limerick senior hurler Adam English has been on target with 1-14 for county champions and Thomas brothers Chris and Gareth have scored 1-12 between them. 

Doon senior hurler Jack Ryan is expecting a tough challenge from Kilmallock. “It'll be a very tough game, we played them last year we only beat them by a point so again it's going to be a very tough game. We're very well aware of what Kilmallock bring,” said Ryan.

Kilmallock's Conor Staunton said his side know what Doon will bring to the table on Thursday night. “We know what Doon are going to bring, they were setting the standard last year but they were knocking on the door before that,” added Staunton.

Verdict: Doon

Patrickswell v Ballybrown in Mick Neville Park on Saturday at 6:30pm

IT HAS been a mixed campaign for Ballybrown with one win and one loss on the board. Patrickswell are yet to register a win in the SHC.

Declan O'Grady will be hoping his side can register more scores from play this weekend. The Well have scored 0-34 in the SHC and 0-21 of those points have came from placed ball. 

Ballybrown sharpshooter Aidan O'Connor has impressed scoring 2-15. 

Ballybrown goalkeeper Cian Hedderman is looking forward to the local derby against his neighbours. “Ballybrown and Patrickswell what more can you say, the last couple of meetings there's been nothing between either of the two teams. You're from the one parish and I think Saturday night will be a great game,” said Hedderman.

Patrickswell's Patrick Kirby said their focus is to win their remaining three games . “When you look at the two teams, we have played, you could say their two of the best teams in the county at the moment. We still have three games to go, we'll just have to try and overcome the three games and move on from there then,” said Patrick Kirby.

Verdict: Ballybrown

Ahane v Na Piarsaigh in Claughaun on Sunday at 2pm

AFTER an opening round defeat, Ahane bounced back playing out a draw with Kilmallock. Na Piarsaigh sit on three points after two games.

Limerick senior hurler Tom Morrissey has hit 0-22 for Ahane in the east Limerick's outfit opening two games. Former Limerick hurler Kevin Downes has been a standout performer for Caherdavin side in 2025 nailing 1-15 in the SHC. 

Na Piarsaigh captain Jerome Boylan said last year's county final defeat to Doon has been parked.

“Every year you lose or win, you take learnings from it, but you can't dwell on it too much. You try and park it, you look back on it, lads might look back and learn from their own mistakes, Doon were by far the better team and we have just got to learn from it."

Meanwhile, Ahane captain Ciaran Barry feels the younger players have fitted into their squad seamlessly.

“We have known that they have been coming for a while and they have integrated into the squad seamlessly, we've had them in a few challenge matches even earlier on in the year before Tom and Dan and came back, you can see the work-rate and the passion for it as well, the three of them have it in spades,” added Barry.

Verdict: Na Piarsaigh

READ NEXT: WATCH: Ciaran Barry keen for Ahane to make strides in Limerick senior hurling championship

Limerick SHC Group Two

Monaleen v Mungret St Paul's in Claughaun on Friday at 6:30pm

MONALEEN sit on the top of the table in group two of the SHC on four points. Andrew La Touche Cosgrove and Donnacha O'Dálaigh have been a constant threat in the Monaleen full forward line scoring 2-12 between them. 

Limerick U20 star Mark O'Brien's accuracy has been crucial for Mungret St Paul's. O'Brien has been off the mark with 0-15 with eleven of those points coming from the placed ball. 

Mungret St Paul's who were relegated from group one last year have two draws on the board in the SHC.

Mungret St Paul's' Brian O'Meara said the last two weeks have given Brian Begley's side a chance to reset.“We're happy enough going into the break with two points, not overly happy with our performance levels but we had a two week break to fix that and go into the final few games of the championship to try and rectify that.”

Monaleen's Luke Muprhy said the Castletroy side aimed for a good start to this year's SHC. “The main thing this year was to get off to a good start the last two years before that we lost our first two games. The big thing was to get the four points on the board and try and continue that from for the rest of the season,” added Murphy.

Verdict: Monaleen

Adare v Kildimo-Pallaskenry in Sean Finn Park, Rathkeale on Friday at 6:30pm

Both sides picked up injuries in round two.Tony McCarthy and Kyle Hayes remain sidelined through injury for Kildimo-Pallaskenry and Adare's Willie Griffin and Wayne McNamara were forced off through injury in round two.

Kildimo-Pallaskenry are in second place of group two on three points, while Adare sit on one point in fifth place. 

“We've been dealt a couple of injuries early days which is not the easiest but to be fair we've had young lads step in and just to see them take ownership and accountabilty for what they're doing already is great to see,” said Kildimo-Pallaskenry's Liam Griffin.

Retaining their senior status is Adare's first aim according to Joe Sweeney.“Disappointing really, we had hoped for better in the first game. We got the performance in the second game, but unfortunately not the result."

Verdict: Adare

Dromin-Athlacca v Newcastle West in Croagh on Saturday at 3pm 

Both sides are still chasing their first victory in the SHC. Dromin-Athlacca have suffered defeat in their opening two fixtures of the Limerick championship, while Newcastle West have been held to draws in both of their opening games.

The Magpies have spread their scoring threat, with ten different players getting on the scoresheet across those two draws. Meanwhile, Dromin-Athlacca’s David Reidy has been in outstanding form, racking up an impressive 1-23 so far

“Three games left now, hopefully looking for three wins and try get into a quarter-final,” said Dromin Athlacca's Jack Fitzgibbon.

“We still have no win on the board yet but two draws we have to be happy enough with that for our first year up senior,” said Newcastle West's Brian Hurley.

Verdict: Newcastle West