Limerick hurling stars impress as Mary Immaculate College edge past ATU Galway in Fitzgibbon Cup

MARY IMMACULATE COLLEGE produced a dramatic second-half turnaround to edge past ATU Galway by 1-24 to 5-9 in round three of the Fitzgibbon Cup on Wednesday evening at Liam Mellows GAA Club.

ATU Galway burst out of the blocks and built a five-point advantage inside the opening minutes when Galway senior hurler Oisín Lohan fired the sliotar to the net. Paddy Commins and Conor Dolphin followed with points to give the hosts an ideal start. Limerick star Shane O’Brien kept Mary I in touch with two early frees.

Loughrea’s Darren Shaughnessy was a constant threat for the Galway side and struck their second goal on seven minutes. Immediate replies from O’Brien and Donnchadh Campbell cut the deficit to four. Points from Pierce McGurk and Adam Donohue stretched ATU Galway’s lead to six, but O’Brien’s accuracy kept Mary I within striking distance as he struck three points on the trot to leave the score at 2-4 to 0-7 after the opening quarter.

ATU Galway continued to cause problems with direct running from deep, and a surging run from the wing resulted in a well-taken goal past Darragh Walsh. Shane O’Brien and Jimmy Quilty responded for Mary I, but another Shaughnessy goal pushed the Galway outfit into a commanding position at 4-4 to 0-9. The hosts finished the half strongly and led 4-7 to 0-11 at the break.

Jamie Wall’s side emerged with renewed intensity in the second half. O’Brien struck 1-4 in the opening ten minutes to haul Mary I back into contention, reducing the gap to 4-7 to 1-15. The Limerick sharpshooter then levelled matters with a free before the third-quarter mark. Moments later, Oisín O’Farrell landed his first point of the night to give Mary I the lead for the first time.

ATU Galway responded on 49 minutes when Darren Shaughnessy completed his hat-trick with a goal under heavy pressure. However, Mary I finished strongly, registering seven of the final nine points through Joe Caesar, O’Brien, Eoin Craddock, Adam Daly and O’Farrell.

That late surge proved decisive as Mary Immaculate College held on for a narrow three-point victory, eliminating ATU Galway from the Fitzgibbon Cup. 

SCORERS: 

MARY IMMACULATE COLLEGE: Shane O'Brien (1-15, 0-11 frees), Oisin O'Farrell 0-3, Eoin Craddock, Joe Caesar, Adam Daly, Jimmy Quilty, Donnchadh Campbell 0-1 each Darragh Walsh (0-1, 0-1 free).

ATU GALWAY: Darren Shaughnessy 3-0, Adam Donohue and Oisin Lohan 1-0 each, Rory Burke (0-2, 0-2 frees), Dylan Dunne (0-2, 0-1 free), Conor Dolphin, Paddy Commins, Cillian Trayers, Pierce McGurk, Darragh Donohue 0-1 each. 

Mary Immaculate College: Darragh Walsh (Turloughmore, Galway); Conor Lawless (Athenry, Galway); Eoin Lawless (Athenry, Galway), Vince Harrington (Na Piarsaigh, Limerick); Bobby Drohan (St. Molleran’s, Waterford), Jimmy Quilty (Blackrock, Limerick), Ronan O’Connor (Feakle, Clare); Dara Whelan (Turloughmore. Galway), Donnchadh Campbell (Cappataggle, Galway); Cathal Quinn (Cashel King Cormacs, Tipperary), Joe Caesar (Holycross Ballycahill, Tipperary), Eoin Craddock (Holycross Ballycahill, Tipperary); Shane Walsh (Tullaroan, Kilkenny), Shane O’Brien (Kilmallock, Limerick), Oisin O’Farrell (Askeaton Ballysteen Kilcornan, Limerick).

SUBS: Adam Hogan (Feakle, Clare) for O'Connor (19 minutes), Adam Daly (Knockavilla-Donaskeigh Kickams, Tipperary), for Quinn (23 minutes), Cian Scully (Dromin-Athlacca, Limerick) for Dara Whelan (45 minutes), Sean Whelan (Cappamore, Limerick) for Shane Walsh (52 minutes). 

ATU GALWAY: Mark Grealish (Carnmore, Galway); Cillian Trayers (Turloughmore, Galway), Rory Burke (Oranmore Maree, Galway), Eoin Cooley (Gort, Galway) ; James Downey (Meelick Eyrecourt, Galway), Dylan Dunne (Clarinbridge, Galway),Darragh Donohue (Sarsfields, Galway); Robert Meehan (Ballindereen, Galway), Pierce McGurk (Ardrahan, Galway); Adam Donohue (Sarsfields, Galway), Oisin Lohan (Skehana Moutbellew-Moylough, Galway), Eoin Horan (Killimor, Galway); Darren Shaughnessy (Loughrea, Galway), Paddy Commins (Gort, Galway), Conor Dolphin (Mullagh, Galway). 

SUBS: Enda Gardiner (Ardrahan, Galway) for Horan (43 minutes). 

Referee: Shane Scanlon (Cork).