Ahane relegate Patrickswell into group two of Limerick senior hurling championship

AHANE defeated Patrickswell 1-21 to 2-14 in round four of the Whitebox Limerick Senior Hurling Championship on Friday evening in Claughaun. 

This result now means that Ahane have retained their group one status in the Limerick senior hurling championship for the 2026 season. Meanwhile Patrickswell will play in group two of the senior hurling championship next year. After a draw and two defeats in their opening three games Ahane got their first win in the SHC. 

Patrickswell suffered their fourth defeat in-a-row and they were still without Aaron Gillane who remains sidelined with an injury. 

John Meskell’s side are still in the hunt for a knockout spot, but they’ll need to beat Doon in their final group game and hope other results go their way. 

Tom Morrissey impressed with 0-10 for the winners, Jack Cosgrove marked his return from injury with four points from play, and Dan Morrissey delivered an inspirational performance at centre half back.

Declan O'Grady made the decision to deploy Cian Lynch at the edge of the square for Patrickswell. On a challenging night for Patrickswell, Jack Kelleher and Thomas O’Brien stood out as two of their most impressive performers.

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Ahane started brightly and raced into a 1-8 to 0-3 lead after seventeen minutes. Early points from Tom Morrissey, Ronan Fox, Will McCormack and Jack Cosgrove gave Ahane an early lead in this contest. After a surging run from distance, Leaving Cert student John O’Connor finished clinically by firing the sliotar into the net from close range. Patrickswell were struggling to get their hands on possession and they could only manage scores from Thomas O'Brien, Cian Lynch and Jack Kelleher in the opening seventeen minutes. 

However Patrickswell's response in the next thirteen minutes of the first half was impressive. Declan O'Grady's charges outscored their opponents 2-6 to 0-1 during that period. Cian Fitzgerald, Jack Kelleher, Mark Carmody and Cian Lynch began to bring their side back into the game. 

Having found the net from a 21-metre free the previous week, Diarmaid Byrnes repeated the feat with another powerful strike that flew past the Ahane goalkeeper Cathal Ryan. Just three minutes later, Patrickswell earned a second 21-metre free, and while Byrnes’ attempt was saved on this occasion, teammate Kevin O’Brien reacted quickest to fire the rebound into the back of the net.

Hughie Maher pointed before the break as Patrickswell went in 2-9 to 1-9 in front at the break. Ahane to their credit started the second half like they started the first half. 

Four quickfire points through Tom Morrissey, Mark Donnellan, Jack Cosgrove and Will McCormack had Ahane leading 1-13 to 2-9 five minutes into the second half. 

Jordan Higgins responded to level matters for Patrickswell but that was as good as it for last year's quarter-finalists. The victors began to take control of proceedings in the city venue. Two points from the ever-reliable Tom Morrissey, along with a score from Ronan Fox in between, pushed their side 1-16 to 2-10 ahead

Ahane were able to maintain their three point advantage midway through the second half. Then on 50 minutes, Patrickswell's Kevin O'Brien was dismissed on a straight red card for an off the ball incident with Andy Rowesome. Five minutes later, Morrissey began to give Ahane some breathing space. 

The Well managed to keep battling away, with Seanie O'Brien reducing the gap to three points but Morrissey made no mistake from a placed ball to keep Ahane in control. On 62 minutes, Jack Kelleher made it a one score game and despite trailing by three points with two minutes remaining the city outfit were still in this game but they couldn't the goal they needed in the end. 

However, down at the other end Morrissey clipped over a fine effort from a difficult angle to seal Ahane's first victory of the Limerick senior hurling championship in 2025. 

Patrickswell will finish off their group one campaign against Na Piarsaigh, while Ahane will look to defeat Doon in their group game on the weekend of September 11. 

SCORERS: AHANE: Tom Morrissey (0-10, 0-6 frees), Jack Cosgrave 0-4, Ronan Fox 0-3, John O'Connor 1-0, Will McCormack 0-2, Mark Donnellan and Dan Morrissey 0-1 each. PATRICKSWELL: Jack Kelleher (0-6, 0-4 frees), Diarmaid Byrnes (1-0, 1-0 free), Kevin O'Brien 1-0, Cian Lynch 0-2, Seanie O'Brien, Hughie Maher, Cian Fitzgerald, Thomas O'Brien, Mark Carmody and Jordan Higgins 0-1 each

AHANE: Cathal Ryan; Andy Rowesome, Ciaran Barry (Captain), Gavin Rowesome; Padraig Harnett, Dan Morrissey, Dan Minihan; Conor Heffernan; Conor Ryan; John O'Connor, Tom Morrissey Mark Donnellan; Ronan Fox, Will McCormack, Jack Cosgrove. SUBS: Shane O'Grady for Heffernan (Half-Time), Kevin Morrissey for McCormack (47 minutes), Conor Bickford for Andy Rowesome (51 minutes), James Rennison for Ronan Fox (57 minutes).

PATRICKSWELL: Jason Gillane; Kelvin Lynch, Nigel Foley, Eoin Harmon; Cian Fitzgerald, Diarmaid Byrnes, Hughie Maher; Thomas O'Brien, Evan Fitzgerald; Jordan Higgins, John Murray, Jack Kelleher; Kevin O'Brien, Cian Lynch (Captain), Mark Carmody. SUBS: James Carrig for Harmon (13 minutes), Liam Fitzgerald for Higgins (45 minutes), Seanie O'Brien for Murray (54 minutes), Andrew Carroll for Carmody (57 minutes).

REFEREE: John O'Halloran (Bruree)