Ardscoil Rís exit Harty Cup after Limerick school suffers defeat to St Flannan's College

ARDSCOIL RIS' Dr Harty Cup campaign came to an end on Wedensday afternoon when they were defeated by St Flannan's College, Ennis 1-19 to 0-18 in Clarecastle GAA Grounds. 

Nenagh CBS and St Flannan's have booked their place into the quarter-finals, while two defeats and a win during their group campaign wasn't enough for Ardscoil Rís to book their place into the knockout stages of the competition. It will be the first time since 2019 that Ardscoil Rís have not competed in the knockout stages of the Harty Cup. 

It was a game St Flannan's controlled for long periods, but the Limerick school did have chances to level the contest in the final quarter. A goal late on in the seocond half from Clare u20 hurler Harry Doherty sealed a narrow point victory for St Flannan's College, Ennis.

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The opening ten minutes were evenly matched and very little separated the sides as they were deadlocked at 0-3 apiece. St Flannan's moved 0-6 to 0-3 in front on 12 minutes when Rory Ralph, Patrick Finneran and Eoin O'Connor all pointed in a two-minute spell. Limerick U20 hurler Jack Cosgrove and Alex Kearns reduced the gap to the minimum on 18 minutes. David O'Keefe then played an excellent diagonal ball into Conor Ryan, who laid the sliotar off to Alex Kearns, but his shot was saved by St Flannan's goalkeeper Leon Talty.

Brendan Bugler’s side were settling into the contest and their use of the ball was impressive as they moved through the gears, hitting 0-4 in a row through Patrick Finneran, Harry Doherty and two points from Graham Ball. Ahane’s Conor Ryan began to limit the Clare school’s purple patch, but Hassett, Finneran and Harry Doherty pushed last year's Harty Cup finalists six clear on 27 minutes.

Before the break, Jack Cosgrove and Conor Ryan combined to reduce the gap to four, but the accurate Harry Doherty replied on the stroke of half-time to leave St Flannan’s 0-14 to 0-9 ahead at the interval.

Ardscoil Rís needed a fast start to the second half if Niall Crowe’s side were to revive their hopes of reaching the Dr Harty Cup quarter-finals. Crowe’s charges obliged, as Malachy McKenna, David O'Keefe and John O'Keefe brought them thundering back into the contest.

However, Darragh McNamara and Doherty gave St Flannan’s some breathing space. Na Piarsaigh’s Alex Kearns responded with two placed balls in succession to make it 0-16 to 0-14 on 43 minutes. It looked like Ardscoil Rís were beginning to mount a comeback, but St Flannan’s showed their quality in attack, with Rory Ralph, Ben Talty and John Barry putting the Ennis school five points to the good with 13 minutes remaining.

The North Circular Road school didn’t go away, and two more placed balls from Kearns along with a terrific long-range point from John O’Connor left them trailing just 0-19 to 0-17 on 57 minutes. However, Ardscoil Rís were left to rue missed opportunities in front of goal during that spell, and they were punished when St Flannan’s went down the field and Harry Doherty fired his shot past goalkeeper Marcus Murphy to seal a narrow victory for the Ennis school.

Limerick senior hurler Shane O’Brien’s brother, Gavin O’Brien, pointed late in injury time, but it wasn’t enough as Ardscoil Rís’ year came to an end

SCORERS: 

Ardscoil Rís: Alex Kearns (0-6, 0-6 frees), Jack Cosgrove and John O'Connor 0-3 each, Conor Ryan 0-2, David O'Keefe, Malachy McKenna, John O'Keefe and Gavin O'Brien 0-1 each

St. Flannan's College: Harry Doherty (1-6, 0-4 frees, 0-1 65), Patrick Finneran 0-3, Graham Ball, Rory Ralph and Eoin O'Connor 0-2 each, Darragh McNamara, Ben Talty, John Barry and Ivan Hassett 0-1 each

Ardscoil Rís: Marcus Murphy (Na Piarsaigh); Eoin Hennessy (Patrickswell), Jack O'Halloran (Sixmilebridge), Evan Ryan (South Liberties); Adam Fitzsimons (Na Piarsaigh), Eoin Brosnan (Na Piarsaigh), Conor Ryan (Adare); David O'Keefe (Na Piarsaigh), Conor Ryan (Ahane); John O'Connor (Ahane), Jack Cosgrove (Ahane), Malachy McKenna (Pallasgreen); John O'Keefe (Murroe Boher), Alex Kearns (Na Piarsaigh), Paul McDonagh (Na Piarsaigh). 

SUBS: Gavin O'Brien (Kilmallock) for McDonagh (28 minutes), Rian Horgan (Murroe Boher) for David O'Keefe (50 minutes).

St. Flannan's College: Leon Talty (Doora-Barefield); Conor Hill (Ballyea), Sean McNamara (Clooney Quin), Darragh Murrihy (Inagh-Kilnamona); Darragh Ball (Doora-Barefield), James Cullinan (Ruan), Colm Daly (Doora-Barefield); Graham Ball (Doora-Barefield), Rory Ralph (Clarecastle); Harry Doherty (Clarecastle), Patrick Finneran (Clooney Quin), Isac Hassett (Doora-Barefield); Thomas O'Connor (Doora-Barefield), Eoin O'Connor (Ballyea), Darragh McNamara (Clooney Quin). 

SUBS: John Barry (Doora-Barefield) for Hassett (36 minutes), Ben Talty (Doora-Barefield) for Eoin O'Connor (39 minutes), Donnacha Mahon (Clooney Quin) for Thomas O'Connor (45 minutes), Jason Keane Hayes for Graham Ball (60 minutes).

REFEREE: Johnny Healy (Clare)