LIMERICK football manager Maurice Horan is facing a defensive crisis ahead of the 2012 season following the retirement of two key defenders.

THE announcement yesterday by Jerry O’Sullivan, chairman of the committee charged with appointing a Cork senior hurling manager, that Denis Walsh — who has held the position for the past two and a half seasons — will not be reappointed has taken many by surprise.

ON the field the Mohican-haired Stephen Lavin is a sight to behold in full flow and a hard man to stop.

LIMERICK manager Maurice Horan has confirmed dual players Stephen Lucey and Mark O’Riordan have returned to the football panel ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-final against Kerry.

LIMERICK senior hurling manager Donal O’Grady has made two changes in personnel from the team that started against Antrim for Sunday’s All-Ireland SHC quarter-final against Dublin at Semple Stadium.

HE never planned on straying too far from Nemo. Ephie Fitzgerald’s football roots are with the aristocrats of the Cork club game, his playing days spent kicking ball in Capwell and when the time came to hang up the boots, he moved seamlessly into management.

WICKLOW PRO Pat Mitchel has admitted the lack of floodlights at Aughrim is a concern after their All-Ireland SFC second round qualifier replay against Armagh was fixed for 7pm this Saturday.

LIMERICK took another small step on their road to redemption when they hammered 14-man Antrim by 19 points at Parnell Park last Saturday night to book an All-Ireland quarter-final date with Dublin.

DONAL O’GRADY has challenged the GAA to prove they are serious about the threat of burnout to young players as his Limerick side face another fixture dilemma.

Antrim 0-12 Limerick 3-22

WATERFORD manager Davy Fitzgerald has made three changes for Sunday’s Munster SHC final against Tipperary in Páirc Uí Chaoimh from the side that defeated Limerick at the semi-final stage.

LIMERICK dual players Stephen Lucey and Mark O’Riordan are expected to commit to the hurlers next Saturday as the county board’s request to have the game played on a separate day to the footballers’ qualifier fell on deaf ears with the GAA’s Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC).

A DECISION on the date and time of the Limerick footballers’ second round qualifier against Offaly won’t be made until next Monday due to their dual player commitments.

IT was a heartbreaking way to lose a Munster championship match but Limerick manager Donal O’Grady adopted a pragmatic stance in the aftermath in Thurles yesterday.

COMING out of the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday, John Galvin could have been forgiven for thinking the match scoreline was his fault.

LIMERICK defender Seamus Hickey last night revealed that he will be fit for Sunday week’s Munster SHC semi-final against Waterford despite being troubled by a heel injury over the past fortnight.

KERRY defender Shane Enright will make his first senior championship start in Saturday’s Munster semi-final against Limerick, while manager Jack O’Connor has also recalled Anthony Maher at midfield for the Gaelic Grounds clash.

LIMERICK attacker Niall Moran will be fit for Sunday’s Allianz Hurling League Division 2 trip to Dr Cullen Park to face Carlow having recovered from a neck injury sustained last week against Laois.

IT has taken longer than he hoped, but Maurice Horan finally achieved a competitive victory as Limerick football manager at the Gaelic Grounds yesterday.

LIMERICK dual star Stephen Lucey is a doubt to line out for both the county’s Allianz National League matches this weekend after suffering a hamstring injury.

TIPPERARY were transformed after half-time at Semple Stadium yesterday as they got off to a winning start against Limerick in Division 3 of the Allianz NFL.

LIMERICK senior footballers have received a massive boost with the news two of their dual stars will be available to new manager Maurice Horan.

LIMERICK senior footballers have received a massive boost with the news two of their dual stars will be available to new manager Maurice Horan.

GAVIN O’MAHONY is set to captain the Limerick senior hurlers this season.

LIMERICK’S new football manager Maurice Horan has countered any suggestions that describe his team as an ageing side.

TO Kerry the spoils, to Limerick the admiration.

NIALL RIGNEY has stepped down as Laois hurling boss in the wake of last Saturday’s surprise All-Ireland championship exit at the hands of Carlow.

HE’LL head to Killarney on Sunday with conflicting emotions.

Waterford 1-9 Limerick 1-17

IT may be coming up to Valentine’s Day but Galway footballers could be forgiven for thinking it is Halloween after being made watch a horror DVD.

THE Limerick hurling crisis took a sharp twist last night when the 24 disaffected players issued a hard-hitting statement, attacking both Justin McCarthy, their former manager, and their own county board.

HEADING inexorably down the same rutted briar-ridden cul-de-sac as that travelled by Cork GAA several times over the past decade, that’s Limerick hurling today.

FORMER Limerick hurling captain Damien Reale last night confirmed his decision to quit intercounty hurling claiming he had “to stand up for what I felt was right”.

FORMER Limerick hurler Ollie Moran has blasted Justin McCarthy’s decision to cut 12 players from the 2009 panel describing the development as ‘shameful’.

LIMERICK senior hurling manager Justin McCarthy has sensationally dropped several high-profile players from the panel that took part in this year’s league and championship.

WHEN the red mist descended on Stephen Bray in Portlaoise a few weeks back, the Meath attacker immediately feared the worst. His football season, which had been sizzling with promise, looked to have ground to a premature halt.

MEATH attacker Stephen Bray looks certain to miss tomorrow’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-final against Mayo, after his bid to have last weekend’s straight red card against Limerick rescinded was rejected by the GAA’s Central Hearings Committee.

MEATH GAA chiefs have confirmed that they will appeal Stephen Bray’s sending-off in last Saturday’s All-Ireland qualifier win over Limerick that is threatening his participation in next Sunday’s quarter-final showdown against Mayo.

MEATH GAA chiefs may challenge the red card issued to captain Stephen Bray, which rules him out of Sunday’s All-Ireland quarter-final against Mayo.

FOUR weeks on and that searing pain is struggling to go away. Limerick football has endured plenty of trauma during their 103-year search for a Munster title and the most recent provincial final setback hurt as much as anything that went before.

TYRONE boss Mickey Harte has drafted Pascal McConnell into his starting line-up for Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-final against Kildare.

GOING through the records, we have two very unusual situations tomorrow in Thurles, two games in which two teams have never beaten their opposition in championship – I’m talking about Galway and Dublin.

WATERFORD have made one change from the side that lost to Tipperary in the Munster final for Sunday’s All-Ireland SHC qualifier with Galway at Semple Stadium, Thurles.