Huge excitement in Caherdavin as Limerick's champions bid to defend their crown
‘Pass it up to Peter or Kevin, and we’ll win’, beams Na Piarsaigh fan
‘JUST pass it up to Peter or Kevin, and we’ll win!’
That’s the verdict of seven-year-old Na Piarsaigh fan Daithi O’Callaghan ahead of this Sunday’s county hurling final against Kilmallock.
The Caherdavin club will make a bid for la decima – their 10th county title – with a 3:45pm throw-in at TUS Gaelic Grounds on Sunday.
Daithi, of course, was referencing two former students of Christ the King Boys National School in Caherdavin, Peter Casey, and Kevin Downes, who rolled back the years with a man-of-the-match performance in Na Piarsaigh’s semi-final win over Doon.
In fact, you could fill the entire starting panel of Limerick’s kingpins with former students of Christ the King.
No fewer than 15 of the men likely to be in Sunday’s squad were educated at the school – and you can throw three of the coaches into that mix too, plus manager Shane O’Neill.
While Daithi was predicting a comfortable seven-point win for the Elm Drive club, his friends, Shane Quinn and Diarmaid Horan, both seven, forecast nervy two-point victories.
"He has to come into school with the trophy if they win,” smiled Diarmaid of Peter Casey, his favourite player.
Asked what Na Piarsaigh need to do to banish the Balbec, Sam Cronin, 11, whose brother Dylan is the club’s football captain, channeled his inner Diarmaid Byrnes: "Just put it over the bar,” he laughed.
His friend Elliot Shanahan, also 11, said: “They need to score some goals too!"
Principal Doireann Garrard said there’s been great energy around the school with the students dressed in blue, adding: "It'll be a tough game, but we think Na Piarsaigh will come out the winners.”