Limerick's Ardscoil Rís crowned Dean Ryan Cup champions after victory over CBC Cork

ARDSCOIL Rís were crowned Dean Ryan Cup champions on Monday afternoon after overcoming Christian Brothers College Cork 1-11 to 0-12 at Kilmallock GAA Grounds.

Niall Moran’s team outscored CBC 1-4 to 0-1 in the final quarter, a dominant spell that ultimately secured the Limerick school their fourth Munster U17 A Hurling title. 

After a disappointing Dr Harty Cup campaign in 2025, Ardscoil Rís will be hoping to use this as a springboard.

Ardscoil Rís booked their place into the Dean Ryan Cup final when Moran's side got the better of Coachford College 1-23 to 2-15. Their final opponents, CBC, Cork defeated Thurles CBS 2-15 to 2-9 in the other semi-final.

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Conditions in the south Limerick venue were challenging, making free-flowing hurling difficult and scores hard to come by in the opening stages.

Ardscoil Rís started well and held a 0-5 to 0-3 advantage after the first quarter. Shane Waters and captain Rian Horgan contributed two points each, with Clare’s Ian O’Brien adding one point from play. Ben Hegarty, Bobby Power and Tom Hugguns kept the Cork side in touch early on.

However, CBC Cork enjoyed their best spell in the second quarter, hitting the final six points of the half. Hugguns struck 0-5, and Gerard Kingston added another to give the Cork college a 0-9 to 0-5 lead at the break.

Limerick senior hurler Shane O’Brien’s brother, Gavin, along with Shane Waters, cut the deficit to 0-9 to 0-7 by the 40-minute mark. Three minutes later, Bobby Power fired over two excellent scores from tight angles to restore CBC’s four-point cushion.

Ardscoil Rís then delivered a powerful final quarter, outscoring their opponents 1-4 to 0-1. Na Piarsaigh’s Waters pointed from a placed ball before Ian O’Brien burst through the CBC defence, his shot deflecting off corner-back Dessie Carroll and into the net, levelling the game at 1-8 to 0-11 with 13 minutes left.

Waters and Horgan followed up with further scores to put the Limerick city school ahead for the first time in the second half, 1-11 to 0-12, with six minutes remaining. CBC Cork narrowed the gap to a single point through Conor Stack on 59 minutes, but Eamon O’Sullivan added a late point to secure a two-point victory.

SCORERS: 

ARDSCOIL RÍS: Ian O'Brien 1-1, Shane Waters (0-5, 0-4 frees), Rian Horgan 0-3, Eamon O'Sullivan and Gavin O'Brien 0-1 each

CBC CORK: Tom Hugguns (0-6, 0-4 frees, 0-1 65), Bobby Power 0-3, Ben Hegarty and Gerard Kingston 0-1 each, Conor Stack (0-1, 0-1 free). 

ARDSCOIL RÍS: Sam Collins (Crecora-Manister); Cian Hickey (Crecora-Manister), William Ryan (Murroe-Boher), Donagh Horgan (Murroe-Boher); Rowan Collins (Adare), Eoin Hennessy (Patrickswell), Billy Gavin (Ballybrown); Calum Butler (Patrickswell), David Moran (Ahane), Ian O'Brien (Cratloe), Shane Waters (Na Piarsaigh), Colm Ryan (Newport); Gavin O'Brien (Kilmallock), Xavier Nelligan (Kilmallock), Rian Horgan (Murroe-Boher, Captain). 

SUBS: Killian O'Neill (Murroe-Boher) for Butler (37 minutes), Ruan Kelliher (Adare) for Collins (50 minutes), Eamon O'Sullivan (Adare) for Moran (58 minutes). 

CBC CORK: Khaled Abdelrazik; Dessie Carroll, Patrick McCarthy, David Cronin; Sean Riordan, Conor Stack, Ciaran Kelly; Cal McCarthy, Alex Maher; Bobby Power, Ben Hayes, Ben Hegarty; Tom Huggins, Gerard Kingston, Danny O'Donovan. 

SUBS: Hugo Rafferty for Hayes (39 minutes), James Harrington for Cronin (54 minutes).

REFEREE: Michael Kennedy (Tipperary)