Limerick full of confidence and ready to cause an upset in Tailteann Cup final
Back in March, the Treaty County recorded an emphatic 4-24 to 1-17 victory over Waterford at Mick Neville Park, with the outstanding James Naughton accounting for 4-12 of the victors' tally.
Jimmy Lee's charges proved no match for Cork in the Munster SFC, but they topped their Tailteann Cup group and progressed to the final via defeats of Wexford and Wicklow in the knockout stages.
Seven points down after 52 minutes against the Garden County in the semi-finals, Limerick rallied in spectacular fashion to prevail on a 2-18 to 1-17 scoreline.
"There has been a great buzz around the camp," Limerick captain Cillian Fahy told RTÉ Sport ahead of the Croke Park decider.
"Spirits are high and we're delighted to be here and delighted to prolong the season and to get into a final and get back to Croke Park."
Promotion to Division 3 was the county's primary goal at the start of the year, with the Dromcollogher/Broadford clubman revealing that their other achievements led to shifting ambitions for the campaign.
"We didn't look that far ahead at the start of the year," he said. "I suppose you're looking at the season in stages. The first thing we wanted to do was to be promoted.
"Then obviously we wanted to win the league final, and I suppose as the season went on, ambitions changed when you start ticking things off the list.
"I think the main thing for us entering the Tailteann Cup was to get out of our group and get back to Croke Park. To get back to a semi-final was the big goal and then when you're there, you want to win it.
"Ultimately, I suppose it wasn't our mission at the start of the year, but it definitely became it as the season went on."
Two prizes will be up for grabs on Saturday at HQ – the Tailteann Cup itself and also the guarantee of group football in the All-Ireland SFC next season.
The latter will be key in Limerick's hopes to kick on football in the county, but for Fahy, the immediate focus has to be hoisting the cup aloft on Saturday afternoon.
"I suppose in the short term it's the All-Ireland championships, the All-Ireland medal and winning a national trophy in Croke Park," he said.
"It would be a massive privilege.
"I suppose down the line, for the further development of Limerick football overall, playing Sam Maguire would be huge."
Limerick go into the final as underdogs against a Kildare outfit who secured a promotion of their own to Division 2.
"They've had a great year," Fahy admitted. "They've been putting up some massive scores throughout the league and the championship.
"They were very unlucky in their Leinster Championship game. They're an incredible team and moving up to Division 2, so they're rightly favourites.
"It'll be a tough challenge."
Watch the All-Ireland Football Championship semi-finals with RTÉ Sport. Kerry v Tyrone on Saturday from 4.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player and Meath v Donegal on Sunday from 3.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow live blogs on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to commentaries on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Sunday Game at 10.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Jim McGuinness admits 2014 All-Ireland final loss haunted him for years
Jim McGuinness has revealed he thought about the 2014 All-Ireland final loss to Kerry every day until he resumed the role of Donegal boss last season. As he prepares to lead Donegal into battle in an All-Ireland final for the third time and for a second time against the Kingdom, McGuinness opened up on the torment of losing a final. During his first stint in charge of his native county, he won an All-Ireland crown in 2012 at the expense of Mayo. Two years later, Donegal toppled Dublin in a seismic semi-final battle. Dublin's next Championship loss wouldn't come until their last four loss to Mayo in 2021. However, Donegal fell short against Kerry in the final, with Kieran Donaghy ruthlessly punishing a rare error from a Paul Durcan restart to plunder a vital goal midway through the second half, and the Kingdom eventually winning by 2-9 to 0-12. Speaking at Donegal's press night at Convoy last Tuesday, McGuinness was asked how long that defeat lingered. 'I would say until I got back involved, I would say there wasn't a day I didn't think about it,' said McGuinness. 'I can remember walking about the hotel after we lost in a daze. I didn't know what happened, didn't know where I was, didn't know what actually had gone wrong there and taking a step back from that and trying to work that out. 'It's very, very painful. You're in a banquet and there's 1,200 people and you don't want to see anybody. That's not a nice place to be. 'All of that factors into it but I think when you get back on the horse, then you're not thinking about the past, you're thinking about what you need to do. 'You're thinking about moving forward and we have moved forward and we've created this opportunity. 'If everything works well and everything goes to plan, the only thing that it guarantees you is to be competitive. That's the only thing that guarantees you. 'But if we're competitive in this All-Ireland, I'll be happy. I'll be really, really happy. That's all we're looking for is to go in, show our true colours and be competitive.' Donegal football manager Jim McGuinness after the All-Ireland semi-final McGuinness is back for another crack at All-Ireland glory and so are Donegal. Neil McGee and Colm McFadden started the 2014 final and are now in the management team, while Michael Murphy, Paddy McBrearty, Ryan McHugh remain from the playing squad. McGuinness continued: 'Losing always sharpens the pencil. There's nothing better than winning an All-Ireland and there's nothing worse than losing it. 'It's probably the best day of your life and the worst day of your life, and that's the reality. 'I've been on both sides of the fence and I suppose trying to get that message across to the players is very, very important. 'But you have to live those moments as well and it's difficult. 'When you're 18 or 19 years of age and Anthony Molloy is telling you to make the most of this because it'll fly in, you're thinking, 'it won't really fly in, I'm in a good place here.' 'And all of a sudden you're retired and you haven't got the sense to take the information and use it maximally, if you like. 'So we'll be imparting that to the players, that it's a brilliant day but also there's a football game to be played. And if you don't win that game, it's tough. And nobody has the right to win any game, but I do think that if you go out and you give it everything you've got and you fall short, at least you've done that. 'I think where regret falls sometimes is if you're coming down the road in the bus and you feel there was a bit left in the tank, I think that's when it becomes really, really hard. 'We know what we're going in against in Kerry and we know they're just brilliant in these situations and they expect to win in these situations. 'Challenging that and battling that will be very, very difficult but we have to give it our best shot, to be fair, after the work that they've put in all year. If we get that, I think I'll be happy.' McGuinness, who won two Sigerson Cup titles with Tralee IT in 1998 and '99, reiterated his view that Kerry are favourites to regain the Sam Maguire. Jack O'Connor, in his third term, will take charge of Kerry for an eighth time in an All-Ireland final and is bidding for a fifth win as manager. His counterpart stressed that Dublin and Kerry have an expectation of success every year. Donegal are appearing in only their fourth ever All-Ireland final whereas Kerry are playing in their third final in four years. 'They (Kerry) know their way about Croke Park on All-Ireland final day better than anybody else, maybe with the exception of Dublin in the last decade or so, but they were probably contesting most of those finals with them anyway,' added McGuinness. 'So the challenge is huge. That's the biggest barrier that you have to overcome as a team that's around the periphery, if you like, and I would say ourselves would be in that bracket. 'Tyrone would be in that bracket. Armagh would be in that bracket. Good teams and good sides, but trying to make a breakthrough. 'We wake up on the 1st of January and you're hoping things will go well and you're hoping you can get momentum and build a team and build an energy. 'Kerry and Dublin wake up on the 1st of January and if they don't win the All-Ireland, they'll be disappointed. So that mindset is going to be difficult for our lads to overcome because that's what they're going to be facing as soon as the ball's thrown in. 'They're going to be facing fellas that have been there, done that, and know how to do that and they also have the knowledge and the experience and the tradition to back that up. 'So that's probably the first challenge we'll meet and some of that will be played out before the ball is even thrown in.'
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Davy Fitzgerald set to stay in charge of Antrim hurlers for 2026 season
Davy Fitzgerald looks set to extend his stay as Antrim senior hurling manager into a second season with the 2013 All-Ireland SHC-winning boss expected to remain in charge for 2026.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Live Champions League qualifiers: Shelbourne host Qarabag in second round tie
Champions League second round qualifier, first leg: Shelbourne v Qarabag, Tolka Park, 7.45pm 1 minute ago Here's how Shels line out for the evening: 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝗫𝗜 Your 𝙍𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙓𝙄 is confirmed to face Qarabag FK! Kick-off at 7:45pm, live on — Shelbourne FC 🏆 (@shelsfc) 6 minutes ago Evening all! Welcome along to The Irish Times live blog for Shelbourne's Champions League qualifier against Qarabag FK. The game kicks off at Tolka Park at 7.45pm. We'll be keeping you updated on all the action, with a match report from Gavin Cummiskey to follow shortly after the final whistle.
