AMONG next weekend’s many sporting highlights is the Munster Junior Cup Final between Regional United and Newmarket Celtic (Clare) at Jackman Park on Saturday (kick-off 5pm).
In the semi-final, Regional stunned Ballynanty Rovers 4-1 while Newmarket prevented an all-Limerick Final with a 1-0 defeat of Fairview Rangers.
Inside the last fortnight, Newmarket won the FAI Junior Cup title with a penalty shoot-out victory over St Michael’s (Tipperary) in Limerick.
This is a big ask of Regional, but the side has already knocked-out plenty of the big guns, including Blarney, Avondale, and last season’s FAI Cup winners Villa FC, and will certainly not fear their more fancied opponents.
Regional United: Peter Healy, Tom Frawley, Joey Rushe, David Cowpar, Eduardo Almeida, Ewan O’Brien, Brian O’Connor, Shane Carmody, Eoin Duff, Kieran O’Connell, Oleg Vysochan, Ruairi Casserley, Paudie Hartigan, Felipe Mostowy, Rhys Foley, Willie Griffin.
Fairview Rangers, meanwhile, can move top (with a game extra on leaders Pike Rovers) of the Premier League with victory at Ballynanty Rovers this Thursday (6.30pm).
Meanwhile, in-form Treaty United are at Bishopsgate to meet eighth-placed Longford Town that night (7.30pm). It comes just ahead of back-to-back home fixtures against leaders Galway United and Finn Harps.
RUGBY:
SHANNON, nine-time champions, retained their All-Ireland League Division 1A status with a comfortable 32-12 weekend win over Highfield at Thomond Park.
Highfield actually led 12-10 at the interval but Stephen Keogh’s side dominated the closing-half.
“We always knew against Highfield it was going to be tight and you really saw that in the first half,” reflected Shannon captain Ronan Coffey to IrishRugby.ie.
“It was nip and tuck, much like the three times we played them last season. We knew once we got going, we’d have enough for them, but it was a much tighter game than the scoreline suggests.”
He added: “You can talk about finishing in the top half of the table but staying up was really our goal in our first season back in 1A. We’ve had cup winning teams at U18 and U20 level this year as well so we should have a good crop coming through as well.”
Michael Cooke and Josh Costello grabbed a brace of tries apiece for the winners.
HORSE RACING:
ALTHOUGH he ended up riding without his irons, Abbeyfeale apprentice Paddy Harnett ran ‘Amusement’ home by a nose in Sunday’s concluding 12-furlong handicap at Leopardstown.
GAA:
LIMERICK play Tipperary in the quarter-final of the Munster Minor Football Championship in Mallow on Thursday night at 7pm.
It’s a repeat of an earlier round-robin meeting between the pair, won by Tipp (1-11 to 0-7) at Mick Neville Park in Rathkeale. John Ryan’s Limerick side have since beaten Clare and Waterford to reach the business end of a championship only won once by the Shannonsiders in 1956 when the team was captained by Eamon O’Connor of Abbeyfeale.
Aidan O’Shea of Cappagh/Rathkeale is the current Limerick captain, and the fixture will be refereed by James O’Regan of Cork.
Cork and Kerry are guaranteed semi-final slots.
GREYHOUND RACING:
RACEGOERS to Limerick contributed handsomely towards the €10,000 collected nationally through a fundraising weekend – during which attendees sported their county or club jerseys – for the Dillon Quirke Foundation
John Tuohey, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Limerick-based Greyhound Racing Ireland, said: “As an industry with such strong links to the GAA through our shared fan base, we were proud to have the opportunity to support the Dillon Quirke Foundation. I am also delighted to announce that plans are already underway to host a follow-up Jersey At The Dogs nationwide event in 2024.”
The foundation was established in memory of the young Tipperary hurler who died during a match in Thurles, and its aim is to provide a screening programme for Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) throughout Ireland.
Meanwhile, the Epic Hero Limerick Oaks Final is the centre-piece of Saturday night’s card at Limerick, from 7.40pm.
