They may have already achieved promotion, but Limerick will aim to win the Division Four title when they face Carlow.
An All-Ireland Junior final appearance in Croke Park was achieved by Limerick in 2023 and while they lost to Down 1-7 to 0-8, they have continued their impressive form into this season.
Now they face Carlow in the Lidl LGFA Division Four Final in St Brendan’s Park in Birr, Co. Offaly at 2pm this Saturday.
Promotion was already secured when the Treaty shocked high-flying Leitrim in the semi-final, winning by 2-10 to 1-11.
A late goal by their top scorer Iris Kennelly in the seventh minute of added time won a ticket to Division Three in dramatic fashion.
What’s more, Michael Quilligan and Sean Kiely’s side already beat Carlow by 1-11 to 1-9 earlier in the campaign.
Limerick have won four games in the league, drawing two and only losing to Leitrim and Fermanagh.
Kennelly is the obvious danger player for the Treaty County, hitting 2-16 in eight games, 2-13 from play.
Deborah Murphy (2-10), Caoimhe McGrath (0-11) and Karen O’Leary (1-6) can shoot the lights out too.
Midfielder Roisin Ambrose is regarded as Limerick’s star player by many, even getting nominated for Junior Footballer of the Year in 2023.
The Treaty have an average winning margin of one point in the league, indicating they have had tight games throughout.
Quilligan and Kiely may be new in the job, but they have carried that togetherness and performance levels on from the work of Graham Shine.
Limerick’s recent results:
- Limerick 2-10 Leitrim 1-11
- Limerick 1-11 Carlow 1-9
- Limerick 0-4 Fermanagh 0-9
- Limerick 1-7 Leitrim 2-11
- Limerick 2-7 Longford 2-7
As for their opponents, the Leinster county also had a shock last gasp win in the semi-final when a Maeve O’Neill goal broke Fermanagh hearts as Carlow won by 2-8 to 1-10.
The South Easterners have three key forwards to keep an eye out for, with Cliodhna Ni She scoring 4-26 in the league, Rachel Sawyer hitting 3-19 with Sara Doyle scoring 2-12.
Ruth Bermingham has been a colossal player at half back while Edel Hayden and Maeve O’Neill are other reliable forwards.
While they did lose to Limerick, they have only lost one other game in the league against Leitrim.
A winning margin of three points on average is better than Limerick’s, proving they’ll be a tough match at the weekend.
Carlow’s recent results:
Carlow 2-8 Fermanagh 1-10
Carlow 1-9 Limerick 1-11
Carlow 1-9 Leitrim 2-15
Carlow 3-9 Wicklow 0-11
Carlow 3-13 Kilkenny 0-0
This game will be a double header with the Division Three Final between Roscommon and Clare (throw in at 4pm).
Tickets for the finals are available using this link, Adults are €15, Student/OAP’s are €5, U18s are €2 and U12s go in for free.
Sport TG4 will be live streaming the game, the link can be found here, the stream is on YouTube for free.