Sunday afternoon saw us compete in our twelfth county senior hurling final since our maiden appearance in 2009. We were going for title number 9 in this year's showpiece but for our senior rivals from East Limerick to edge us out. On the balance of play Doon may have deserved the result, but we’ll always tend to look back on a loss with a small sense of regret. Had one or two decisions gone our way, this for one would be a lot easier to write but alas, we must take the result on the chin. 

We went in a point ahead at half time having buried 2 exceptional goals through Adrian Breen and Daithí Dempsey. Both men had to battle through serious injury this year and to have Adrian and Daithí lining out fully fit today was huge. We went 6 up after the 2 goals went in but we struggled to maintain our foothold. Doon brought it back to a point before the break. Half time score: Na Piarsaigh 2-03 Doon 0-08

The second half continued where the first finished. Our opponents weren’t letting up and were 3 points up with 10 to play. We battled on and got it back level close to the end but Doon found a way to get ahead. We had more than one shout for a free with seconds remaining but the ref wasn’t budging. An afternoon where the ref’s whistle could have been kinder you might say but we won’t make excuses. The final one was blown with Doon a point to the good, and their first county title won. Final score: Na Piarsaigh 2-09 Doon 0-16

Great credit must go to Shane O’Neill and his management team for all the hard work and dedication they have given to this team since coming in last year. They have assembled a new squad, blooding fresh talent that will certainly stand to the group in the coming years. We will undoubtedly see a couple more young lads given their shot in 2025.

Today’s game saw the return of Na Piarsaigh’s Peter Casey to competitive action. And what a roar he got when he entered the field in the second half. The Gaelic Grounds was stunned into silence back in April when Peter suffered a massively unfortunate injury in Limerick’s Munster Championship tie with Tipp. To see Peter being brought on today will certainly have warmed the hearts of all Na Piarsaigh people and Limerick fans alike. While the result didn’t go our way today, we can still come away proud that our man Peter is back. 

Team: Shane Dowling(0-02f), Vince Harrington, Mike Casey, Emmet McEvoy, Mike Foley(0-01), William O’Donoghue, Jerome Boylan, Ronan Lynch(0-02f), Tommy Grimes, Kevin Downes, Will Henn, Conor Boylan(0-01), Adrian Breen(1-00), JJ Carey(0-01), Daithí Dempsey(1-00).

Sub: Peter Casey(0-01) for Will Henn(42mins), Dylan Lynch(0-01) for Adrian(53mins), Keith Dempsey for Kevin Downes(59mins).