Adare looking to halt treble seeking Newcastle West

There is little doubt that the two leading lights of this year’s championship have arrived at Sunday’s showpiece event.

Sat, 04 Nov, 2023 - 06:59

Tom Clancy

The leading forces in Limerick senior football for the last decade will battle it out for the Fr. Casey Cup on Sunday afternoon. Consistent Adare are seeking to avoid three final losses on the bounce, but it is Newcastle West who are eyeing a first three-in-a-row on Shannonside since Treaty Sarsfields achieved this in the mid-1970’s.

There is little doubt that the two leading lights of this year’s championship have arrived at Sunday’s showpiece event. Both eased through the group phase, with Newcastle West claiming an easier than expected 1-9 to 0-5 victory over Monaleen in the last four.

For Adare - winners in 2017, 2018 and again in 2020 - they survived a real scare in their semi-final. Fr. Casey’s cut down a seven-point buffer in the final quarter before John Brudair’s side recomposed themselves in extra-time to win by three points.

Both towns are along the N21, and their familiarity is gained by those last two final meetings, while they’ve also met in a 2020 quarter-final, and a 2019 semi-final, while Adare annexed their maiden title with a last gasp Jack English goal in 2017, which stunned the Magpies.

That head-to-head is now 3-2 in favour of the reigning champions, with an aggregate lead of just seven points emphasising the closeness of the pair. It took extra-time for Newcastle West to claim their sixth title 12 months ago.

Familiarity has led to cagey, low scoring contests but both are capable of open, attacking football at times. Adare’s approach in 2021 and indeed 2022 proved their downfall, so a case could be made for removing the shackles against a very disciplined Newcastle West outfit. Darren O’Doherty sent the final to extra-time last year as Adare failed to hold on as the clock ticked into the red.

Newcastle have had to evolve their squad. With stalwarts Mike O’Keeffe and James Kelly at the back, there have been powerful displays from captain Iain Corbett, target man Mike McMahon and rising star, Emmett Rigter. Those talents remain, despite numerous losses, including Jamie Lee, AJ O’Connor and most recently, Limerick star, Cian Sheehan.

O’Connor was the match-winner two years ago, but new options have complemented the old guard.

“We are led by the older lads, the likes of Mike McMahon, Iain (Corbett), James Kelly – and they are showing them the ropes. The Aaron Nevilles, Emmett Rigters are learning. Aaron was 17 playing in the Munster final last year. For such a young age, he has a lot of experience. It is the players who drive the agenda”, explained Jimmy Lee.

“The Juniors are playing the county final too. We are losing people (year on year) but we are bringing through people. I think ten of the 2021 team haven’t played (senior) in 2023, but we are lucky in terms of that depth and youngsters coming through”.

There was little talk of three-in-a-row from Lee, who takes the Limerick job for 2024. Instead, he knows how tight things are likely to be with the red and black of Adare.

While often considered a hurling stronghold, football has taken a sharp rise since Jack English’s match-winning goal in 2017. They’ve been in the top two since that breakthrough expertly led by Paul Maher, Davey Lyons and Hugh Bourke. The latter is a huge plus in 2023, with a shoulder problem denying him action at the business end of last year's championship. His guile, form and overall quality evident with 1-6 last time out, as well as assisting a goal for the in-form Lyons.

A surprising relegation in 2015 has sparked unprecedented success for one of four dual senior clubs in the Treaty county. Intermediate champions in 2016, they followed this by collecting three recent senior titles to make Adare a leading force in Limerick football.

“(There was) a lot of hurt that time, when we were relegated. We’ve had a good bunch of young players, committed to training and backing each other up. They’ve been well supported by the top table in the club,” explained club officer Padraig Ryan.

“Newcastle West are a very talented team with an excellent backroom team. The person looking after them is going in to manage the county team, so there won’t be any questions there”.