'Would mean the world' to Bruff to land Premier Intermediate crown

The south Limerick side earned their place in this year’s decider following an enthralling one-point win over Blackrock in the semi-final a fortnight ago,

The final four clash clash in Kilmallock looked to be headed to extra time when Blackrock’s Colm O’Keeffe struck over a free with the three allotted minutes of injury time all but up but there was late drama.

Darragh Butler popped up with a score at the death to send his side into the decider on a scoreline of 1-18 to 1-17.

Bruff’s captain Paul O’Riordan insists ‘the mood is good’ as his side prepare for a chance at promotion back to Limerick hurling’s elite.

"The mood is good. The buzz around the place is very good and we're happy to be in the county final, that's where you want to be at the start of the year, we're happy out.

"We started back in February through the muck and the slog and the rain, it's all been worth it, you're getting your reward at the end of the day with a county final.

"It was a great win to get. We knew what Blackrock would come with. They're a tough, tough team, always have been but we dug deep and got the win which was the main thing.

"Darragh Butler got a great score at the very end to win it for us, it's great and it'll definitely stand to us,” he said.

O’Riordan said the win and the manner in which his side prevailed a fortnight ago will stand to the group as they prepare for what is sure to be a mouth-watering tie against their neighbours.

"The mood and the confidence, for everyone, is a great thing to have going into a final.”

O’Riordan and co. are under no illusions as to how tough of a task Dromin-Athlacca will provide.

Like Bruff, Dromin-Athlacca were pushed all the way in their semi-final win over Murroe-Boher two weeks ago.

Late scores from Jack Fitzgibbon and David Reidy gave the south Limerick men a late lead and they managed to hold on in Kilmallock.

Inter-county star Reidy was in inspired form, notching 11 of his side’s 19 points on the day in what was a 0-19 to 0-18 win.

"They're a tough team, they're well coached and well organised.

"We came across them in the group stages so we know what they bring and we know what we're capable of so we're looking forward to it.”

The pair met earlier on in the championship and it was Bruff who came out on top in a thrilling 1-18 to 2-14 win in Kilmallock.

Eoin Meaney struck 0-11 from placed balls including the last three scores as Bruff secured a valuable win and what was Bruff’s first win in this year’s championship.

Paddy O’Leary’s side went into their fourth round tie with two draws and a narrow defeat to Murroe-Boher to their name.

The were pushed all the way by their opponents with David Breen and David Griffin netting goals for Dromin-Athlacca.

Captain O’Riordan says it would ‘mean the world’ should his side get over the line on Sunday.

Bruff were last in a Premier Intermediate decider in 2022, where they were beaten by eventual All-Ireland Intermediate winners Monaleen on a scorline of 2-16 to 0-16

"It would mean the world to us. We've been there two or three times and we've fallen on the last hurdle and hopefully we get it done now.”

Manager Paddy O’Leary insists his side are building ‘something special’ as Bruff eye the Premier Intermediate crown.

Manager O’Leary says the group are ready for the decide after what has been a year full of dedication and hard work.

"We're super excited, the lads are ready, we've worked all year for this so it's just about now getting ready with the last few training sessions and going out and doing our best.

"From early on I think we've been improving every game, every training session and that's been our motto this year, every game you go out, you try to improve on the last day and so far we've done that and we plan to do it again for the final.”

O’Leary says their semi-final epic with Blackrock was ‘brilliant’ to be a part of and says ‘sticking to the process’ went a long way in his side getting over the line in Kilmallock.

"It was brilliant to be a part of it. As players all year and as a group, we go out and we give it a go. During games we're going to have good times and bad times. It's just a case of sticking to the process, doing what we do and hopefully by the time the final whistle sounds, we're ahead and that's exactly what happened the last day.”

O’Leary pays tribute to their county final counterparts and says it would ‘mean everything’ to get over the line.

"We're neighbours and they're a good hurling team. Like ourselves, they've earned their place in the final, we both got over the line and now it's about looking forward and giving it a go.

"It would mean everything to win. We're building something as a group. We believe in each other. Every training session we do, every game that we play, it's about improving and being honest with each other.

"We have young lads in the group who aren't afraid to speak up, have a chat and talk about how things are going. The lads have flourished in that environment and long may that continue,” he concluded.

Bruff will hope that Meaney will continue his semi-final form in this weekend’s decider. The Bruff sharpshooter has been in fine form in this year’s championship. The wing-forward is tied at the top of this year’s premier Intermediate scoring charts alongside Murro-Boher’s Seánie Tobin.

The pair are tied on 75 points each, Meaney 0-75 and Tobin 2-69. A single score from Meaney will see him finish the season as the competition’s highest scorer but he will be hoping collective glory as well as individual glory in the Gaelic Grounds.

Dromin-Athlacca’s David Reidy leads the way in the scoring charts for his side in this year’s championship with an impressive 0-54.