Blackrock score precious win over South Liberties in Limerick premier intermediate championship

IMPRESSIVE Blackrock booked their place in the semi-finals of the Lyons of Limerick premier intermediate hurling championship after easing past South Liberties 2-18 to 0-11 in their Round 7 clash at Mick Neville Park, Rathkeale on Saturday afternoon.

The result sends South Liberties in a relegation play-off meeting with Glenroe to determine which side will play at premier intermediate level in 2026.

The 'Rockies, who had eased past Glenroe in their previous outing, flew out of the traps in Saturday's round clash clash, registering four points inside the opening eight minutes.

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Paudie Leahy set the tone with the first, followed by a fine effort from Sean O’Neill and two well-taken scores from Colm O’Keefe.

Meanwhile, Liberties looked sluggish, with Shane Kilcoyne finally getting them on the board after nearly 10 minutes of play.

O’Neill, a former Limerick U20 panellist, then delivered the game’s first big moment.

Picking up possession inside the square, he surged through the defence on a solo run before slotting low into the bottom corner to give Blackrock a six-point cushion on the quarter-hour mark.

A Ken Byrnes free briefly steadied Liberties, but Blackrock’s relentless work rate and accuracy soon had them firmly in the driving seat. Points from O’Keefe, Jimmy Quilty, Ciaran Considine, and Leahy ensured the South Limerick men opened a 1-9 to 0-3 lead heading into first half stoppage time.

However, Brian Garry, John Hickey, and Sean Holland chipped in for Liberties late in the half, before O’Keefe replied once more to leave the Rockies well in command at the break, 1-10 to 0-6.

The second half followed a familiar pattern, with Blackrock dictating proceedings. O’Keefe picked up where he left off, notching three points in quick succession to stretch the margin to 10 points.

Leahy and O’Neill added to the tally as the lead grew to twelve before Byrnes finally got Liberties off the mark in the half with a placed ball – 17 minutes into the second period.

Marty Farrell then landed a superb effort for Blackrock, while at the other end goalkeeper David Moloney denied Garry with an excellent save. Byrnes and Barry Nash tried to spark a response with frees, but the introduction of substitute Ruairi O’Shaughnessy effectively ended the contest.

He first clipped over a neat point before rifling an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net, pushing Blackrock into an unassailable 2-17 to 0-9 advantage with just minutes remaining.

Nash showed his class with a sublime late score, and Byrnes added another free, but Farrell closed the game with the final point as Blackrock ran out comprehensive 2-18 to 0-11 winners.

SCORERS: Blackrock: Colm O’Keeffe 0-7 (4f), Paudie Leahy 0-4, Sean O’Neill 1-2, Ruairi O’Shaughnessy 1-1, Marty Farrell 0-2, Jimmy Quilty 0-1 (1f), Ciaran Considine 0-1. South Liberies: Ken Byrnes 0-5 (4f, 1 65), Barry Nash 0-2 (1f), Shane Kilcoyne 0-1, Brian Garry 0-1, John Hickey 0-1, Sean Holland 0-1.

BLACKROCK: David Moloney, Simon Hennessey, Richie McCarthy, Shane Lyons, Killian Ahern, Conor Gilligan, Ian O’Brien, Jimmy Quilty, Marty Farrell, Ciaran Considine, Paudie Leahy, Sean O’Neill, Callan Ensor, Colm O’Keefe, Aidan Gilligan. SUBS: Shane Phillpot for Conor Gilligan (46 mins), Ruairi O’Shaughnessy for Ciaran Considine (46 mins), Niall Ryan for Paudie Leahy (52 mins), Nigel Hosford for Jimmy Quilty (58 mins).

SOUTH LIBERTIES: Ben Garry, Paddy O’Donnell, Eoin Quilty, Alex Keyes, Ben O’Donoghue, Barry Nash, Brendan Aherne, Eoghan Godfrey, Shane Kilcoyne, Sean Holland, John Hickey, Shane Brosnahan, Brian Garry, Darragh Godfrey, Ken Byrnes
SUBS: Brendan McSweeney for Shane Kilcoyne (19 mins).

REFEREE: Donnacha O’Callaghan (Feohanagh Castlemahon)