Back in January 2014, I was asked to speak at the national coaching and games conference in Croke Park as part of a keynote address discussing some of the factors that made Kerry and Kilkenny seemingly perennial contenders in the senior football and hurling championships.

Limerick U21 manager Pat Donnelly was correct to say this performance won’t be sufficient to overcome Tipperary in the Munster semi-final on June 21.

Champions Na Piarsaigh remain unbeaten after two rounds of the Limerick SHC.

KILKENNY 0-11 - LIMERICK 0-17: Familiar territory, this, for Limerick. And a familiar question is again posed: Can this latest U21 success pave the way to senior hurling glory?

The 2016 All-Ireland club champions Na Piarsaigh made their mark on round two of the group phase of the Limerick SHC with a 3-18 to 1-15 win over champions Patrickswell.

Patrickswell, the champions, have begun their Limerick SHC title defence with a 0-16 to 0-14 win over Adare, on Sunday afternoon, in Kilmallock. They scored three late points.

A Liam O’Shea penalty one minute into second-half stoppages saw Midleton edge this thrilling Harty Cup quarter-final replay.

Ardscoil Rís 4-16 Charleville CBS 1-7: Ardscoil Rís produced another impressive display in the Dr Harty Cup at Kilmallock yesterday, beating Charleville CBS by 18-points. The champions, who defeated Hamilton High in the first round by a big margin, scored 4-14 from play, are now in the last eight.

Tipperary 1-21, Limerick 0-17: Of course it was unfair to expect Tipperary to click for a third consecutive game.

Limerick minor hurling manager Pat Donnelly says the county’s appearance in a fourth consecutive Munster minor final is proof positive that the underage academy established back in 2011 is working.

St Kieran’s College (Kilkenny) 1-15 Ardscoil Rís (Limerick) 1-13: The terms of engagement may have been changed for this latest joust, but the students draped in black and white still prevailed.

Ardscoil Rís 0-11 Our Lady’s Templemore 0-8: Eighteen sides have won the Dr Harty Cup since its inception, 92 years ago.

Ardscoil Rís 2-11 St Francis Rochestown 1-7: Two goals in a four-minute spell midway through the second-half propelled Ardscoil Rís into the penultimate round of the Harty Cup.

Six steps from heaven stand the students of Rochestown College.

Last year’s champions Thurles CBS made it two wins from two in Group C of the Dr Harty Cup as they pulled away from Scoil na Tríonóide Naofa of Doon in the final quarter at Toomevara yesterday.

It’s funny how the first shots of a revolution are often fired when a people are on their knees. 

Champions Kilmallock remain unbeaten in their Limerick SHC title defence.

Bord Gais Energy Leinster U21HC fi nal

The absence of Shane Kingston is a major blow to Cork’s hopes of beating Limerick tonight (7.30pm, Gaelic Grounds) for the second time in this year’s Electric Ireland Munster minor hurling championship, manager Denis Ring has admitted.

Kilkenny 2-14 Carlow 2-12: They never actually trailed but Kilkenny still departed Netwatch Cullen Park wiping beads of sweat from their brow last night.

Revenge could well be a dish best served cold to Cork’s minor hurlers by Leo O’Connor’s Limerick on July 1.

They’ve contested the last two Electric Ireland Munster minor hurling finals but Waterford or Limerick will bow out of the championship in Thurles this evening (7pm).

Less than two months after their All-Ireland Club final defeat to Ballyhale Shamrocks, Kilmallock got off to a winning start in the group stages of the Limerick senior hurling championship.

Limerick minor manager Leo O’Connor has described the instant turnaround from colleges hurling to intercounty championship as “crazy”.

Allianz FL Division 1

Limerick GAA chiefs last night rubber-stamped the controversial appointment of John Kiely as U21 hurling manager.

Limerick GAA chiefs have decided against re-appointing Brian Ryan as minor hurling boss — a week after he brought the county to the All-Ireland final.

MHC Final: Kilkenny 2-17 Limerick 0-19

Failure to score a goal was the main reason for Limerick’s failed All-Ireland bid, insisted defeated manager Brian Ryan.

Stephen McDonagh grew up in one of the few houses in Limerick where an All-Ireland minor medal sat proudly on the mantelpiece.

ALL-IRELAND MHC FINAL: