Limerick PIFC: Blackrock seal last semi-final spot after dramatic final round

ON FIRE: Limerick senior Hugh Flanagan was scorer in chief for Garryspillane. Pic: David Keane

The four semi-finalists have been confirmed in the Limerick Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship following a dramatic final round of games.

Effin, Garryspillane, Croagh-Kilfinny and Blackrock will battle it out for a spot in Group 2 of the senior grade.

Three of those sides (Effin, Garryspillane and Croagh-Kilfinny) had already qualified and have now been joined by a Blackrock side that could have been facing relegation if results had gone against them.

At the other end of the table, Glenroe and South Liberties will face off in a relegation playoff after finishing on four points.

Glenroe were seconds away from clinching safety only to be denied by a Callum Sheehan goal deep into their fixture with Garryspillane in Kilfinane.

Danny Murphy’s charges were 3-14 to 0-20 up three minutes into added time when Sheehan struck a killer blow.

Darren Frewen landed 10 points for Glenroe and was aided by two Oisin Browne goals and another three-pointer from Daithi Dennehy.

Limerick senior hurler Hugh Flanagan was the scorer in chief for Garryspillane, while Sheehan finished with 1-4.

The teams were level at the break, 0-10 to 1-7, and it was a similar story in the second half until Browne landed his second goal that was quickly added to by Dennehy.

With their status almost secure, Glenroe failed to deal with a long range delivery and it was Sheehan that pounced to fire to the net from close range.

Glenroe will now be joined by South Liberties in the bid to stay in Premier Intermediate hurling for 2026 after the latter were well beaten by Blackrock in Mick Neville Park.

The Rockies followed up their big win over Glenroe in the last round with a 2-18 to 0-11 victory over Liberties that sees them finish fourth and clinch a semi-final spot.

It was a straightforward afternoon for Blackrock as they never looked in any danger of recording anything but a win.

They registered the first four points of the contest and confirmed their dominance at the end of the first quarter with a Sean O’Neill goal.

The one-way traffic resumed in the second half with Blackrock on top from start to finish. They already had an 11-point lead by the time Ruairi O’Shaughnessy fired in their second goal. Ken Byrnes was Liberties' top marksman with 0-5.

Four-time All Star Sean Finn was the hat-trick hero for Bruff as their 3-16 to 0-12 win over Croagh-Kilfinny in Clarina ensured a stay at this grade for 2026.

Finn operated in the relatively unfamiliar position of full-forward due to a persistent hamstring injury and bagged a scoring haul of 3-1.

Despite two heavy losses in their last two outings, Croagh-Kilfinny’s early championship form had put them in a semi-final position.

Nickie Quaid’s Effin finish top of the table following a 0-21 to 0-19 victory over Granagh-Ballingarry in Ballyagran. The defeat ended Granagh-Ballingarry’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals.

It was a tight contest throughout and with six minutes remaining Granagh-Ballingarry were three points clear but were undone as Effin fired over six of the last seven points to finish first.

The semi-finals now see Effin face Blackrock, while 2024 beaten finalists, Garryspillane face Croagh-Kilfinny.