Limerick GAA and greyhound community ready for final of €160,000 Con & Annie Kirby Memorial

THE stage is set for a thrilling decider in the 2026 Con & Annie Kirby Memorial at Limerick Greyhound Stadium this Saturday evening.
Now in its 13th year, the event has become one of the highlights of the Irish greyhound racing calendar.
Sponsored by JP McManus and Noreen McManus, the competition is widely recognised for its unique community element, which sees Limerick GAA, Camogie or LGFA clubs assigned a greyhound in a special nominator competition.
The clubs in Saturday’s final will share in a €20,000 prize fund, with the winning nominating club receiving €10,000 and a complimentary benefit night at Limerick Greyhound Stadium.

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The event has grown into the richest juvenile greyhound race in the world, boasting a total prize fund of €160,000, including a top prize of €80,000 for the winning connections
This April 18, gates open at Limerick Greyhound Stadium at 6.30pm and admission is €10. The final will also be broadcast live on Virgin Media 2 from 9pm-10pm.
The six dogs and nominated GAA clubs left chasing their respective prizes are Ballymac Setanta (Dromin-Athlacca GAA), Ballycowen Frank (Kilmallock GAA), Jaykay Fly (Patrickswell GAA), Buckos Gold (Gerald Griffins GAA), Bouncing Monarch (Effin GAA) and Beanos Yank (Granagh-Ballingarry Camogie).
The stage is set for a thrilling decider following two high-class semi-finals, where standout performances from Bockos Gold and Ballymac Setanta lit up the competition.
Bockos Gold, trained by Graham Holland, produced a career-best display to remain unbeaten in the competition. Sent off the 5/6 favourite, the powerful black greyhound broke sharply and dominated from the outset, clocking an exceptional 1.21 sectional.
Ballymac Setanta delivered an equally authoritative performance in the opening semi-final for trainer Liam Dowling. Building on his impressive quarter-final run, Ballymac Setanta justified favouritism with a dominant trap-to-line victory.
Drawn in trap one, he showed sharp early pace to take control and never looked in danger, stretching clear down the back straight and crossing the line three and a half lengths in front in 27.97.