Na Piarsaigh claim Limerick intermediate hurling title

“WE'D a man who was desperate to start, and when we brought him on, he got us the goal. That's the kind of club Na Piarsaigh are.”

Winning manager James Ryan summed up the explosive introduction of James Daly in the closing minutes as Na Piarsaigh's second string added the county intermediate hurling title to their senior crown and also to their success in the intermediate football as they saved their best until last to get the better of Croagh-Kilfinny 1-19 to 0-14 in Sunday's delayed final in Ballyagran.

“It was the goal that killed it,” agreed Croagh coach James Hall as his side attempted to go one better than last year's final loss to Effin and make it two promotions up through the grades in just three seasons.

But with a huge support from the small mid-Limerick parish roaring them on, a wasteful start left them trailing by six points before they finally found their range coming up to the break.

Indeed, a surprise looked on the cards when Croagh drew level twelve minutes after the restart but that was when Na Piarsaigh's experience told.

A side featuring former county seniors Shane Dowling and Alan Dempsey, who struck three scores from deep in his own half at crucial points in the game, and another handful with county and All-Ireland senior club medals, had the edge in game management and physique, not just to break the momentum but to recover and then close off any chance of a response after Daly's game-changing intervention.

Even worse from the losers' point of view, Séamus Hickey, their only player who'd sampled hurling at its highest level, failed to shake off a leg injury and was unable to influence play before he was substituted after 22 minutes. 

SCORES: NA PIARSAIGH: Pat Gleeson 0-7 (6 frees), James Daly 1-1, Alan Dempsey, Evan Sweeney 0-3 each, Kieran Daly, David Sheppard, Kevin Daly, John Fitzgerald, Dylan Cronin 0-1 each; CROAGH-KILFINNY: Cian O'Carroll 0-9 (9 frees), Brian Hannan 0-3, James Lanigan, Andrew Meade 0-1 each.