Treble can spell senior trouble

LIMERICK’S treble in the All-Ireland Under-21 championship offers no guarantee of success at senior level, new manager Pat Joe Whelahan claimed yesterday.

"People say it's a great for any county to win three Under-21 All-Irelands, but I would sooner win minors. If you can't make it at 19 or 20 on a county team, you're not going to make it. But when you win a minor title, you are getting players at 18 and you can work with them," he said.

Whelahan, who has enjoyed record success with Birr in the club championship, at county, provincial and national level was last involved at intercounty level with Offaly in 1989 when they defeated Kilkenny in the Leinster final but were shocked by Antrim.