THERE WAS A time when Ballygunner were stuck in a rut in Munster.
Watching the assured and clinical manner which they displayed to close out their opening 2025 assignment yesterday afternoon, it was hard to reconcile their current form with the period where they were locked into a cycle of setbacks.
When they first met Na Piarsaigh in the 2011 semi-final in Walsh Park, they leaked three goals in defeat. The 2015 and 2017 Munster finals culminated in the same outcome, Na Piarsaigh’s hurling strength winning out.
The 2018 decider represented a turning point, a major breakthrough for this Ballygunner generation of players. Since then they have taken flight and soared. Yesterday’s 0-18 to 0-15 quarter-final success represented their third win in four seasons over Na Piarsaigh. In the keen rivalry that exists between the two camps, Ballygunner are now the clear dominant force.
That extends beyond just their meetings with the Caherdavin outfit. Yesterday was the fourth successive year Ballygunner have travelled to the Gaelic Grounds and emerged with victory against the Limerick champions – Na Piarsaigh (2022, 2023, and 2025) and Doon (2024).
Their control in these showdowns is impressive, the 2018 Munster final success over Na Piarsaigh was the start of an unbroken sequence of seven victories against the Limerick county champions with Patrickswell (2019) and Kilmallock (2021) also discovering how formidable Ballygunner are.
Jason Ryan is at the helm for the first time in a provincial journey with Ballygunner, a new coaching chapter after a career that has seen him gain prominence through county football roles with Wexford, Kildare, and Cork.
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Ballygunner’s relentless attitude and their insatiable appetite for competing does not surprise him.
“These guys are serial winners and they want to win more. Today was all about coming here and grinding out a performance. Prior to that (2018 win) they didn’t have those victories against Na Piarsaigh. They’re still very much in the memory of the players.
“We knew how tough this game was going to be. We knew it was going to be a challenge. We didn’t play in eight weeks, it’s a big gap it’s just getting yourself up to that kind of intensity. The last game that we played in Waterford in the county final was nowhere near the intensity of this one.When you’re playing at this level you’re playing to enjoy, but you’re playing to win.”
Ballygunner manager Jason Ryan Tom O'Hanlon / INPHO
Tom O'Hanlon / INPHO / INPHO
The inactivity since the Waterford final does not knock Ballygunner out of their stride. They are accustomed to the playing structure of the year and refuse to let it affect them.
If there was a target area yesterday, it was spotting that Na Piarsaigh had struck two goals in each of their previous five games in the Limerick championship. Those green flags lifted their challenges particularly in the county semi-final and final victories but that boost was absent when they met Ballygunner.
“Second half wise, it was just real attrition and if someone had that bit of luck and scored a goal that was the end of it then,” admitted Ryan.
“Credit to our defenders that they blocked things up really well. It was an area that we were very aware of. Against Doon, Na Piarsaigh did create goal scoring chances. In the Kilmallock game and the games prior to that they’d been scoring goals. We’re delighted to have protected the goals so well.”
His counterpart could see the Ballygunner emphasis on putting the squeeze on the Na Piarsaigh attack, particularly as they chased a goal late on.
“The low block, I suppose they call it,” reflected Shane O’Neill.
“There was everybody back there. But, you know, when you’re coming towards the end of a game, most teams are actually doing that now. We got caught maybe for a score or two. But generally the boys, one on one back there, did very well.
“But it was hard to create space then up front. We were trying to recycle it and stuff. In fairness to Ballygunner, they worked very hard. They’re very systematic, but they put in a serious shift there as well.”
The relationship between these two clubs has shifted. Na Piarsaigh collected the first four Limerick senior titles in the club’s history between 2011 and 2017, converting them into a quartet of Munster successes was a remarkable feat. Since then they have won a further five Limerick titles but have found Munster a barren hunting ground in their last four campaigns, the province was out of bounds after their local victory in 2020 due to Covid.
O’Neill was not dwelling on result patterns in the build-up to this game and when he clearly analysed the action, a historical trend was not a factor in influencing the result. The root cause lay in Na Piarsaigh’s own output. They again enjoyed a good day in curbing Ballygunner’s forward line, keeping them under the 20-point mark has eluded several other teams, but converting their own chances was the issue.
“I thought we settled down very well, defensively very well set up, dealt with everything they threw at us. I suppose they score the least amount every time they play against us. What probably caught us again was just not being clinical enough. Fifteen or 16 out of 32 shots – you’d be doing really well to win games with that.
“We had 16 shots in each half, I believe – five and ten (converted). So it was (the) first half especially. We knew we were creating shots; we knew we were controlling the game because we were set up really well. We were dominating their long puckout, which again was a huge positive for us.
“So, we were very confident at half-time and I think that showed in the second half. David (Dempsey) going out midfield, I thought he was immense, got on a huge amount of ball and really gave us a platform going forward.
“We were looking forward to today and really thought that we’d come out victorious. But, unfortunately, just shy.”
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A hamstring injury sustained in extra-time of the county final robbed Na Piarsaigh of the towering influence of William O’Donoghue. He could be seen visibly encouraging his team-mates during their warm-up, but they missed his presence on the pitch.
Ballygunner lacked their own figurehead in Pauric Mahony due to an ankle injury. Dessie Hutchinson deputised on frees and missed four placed balls, but also struck five points, including a crucial score late on. The energy off the bench of Cormac Power and Conor Tobin also helped as Ballygunner tapped into the more powerful form in the finale.
Mahony is expected to be fit again for the Munster semi-final in a fortnight where Ballygunner will renew acquaintances with the Sarsfields outfit that dismantled them in last year’s final.
“It’s a Munster semi final so it’s a huge game,” said Ryan.
“Ballygunner and Sarsfields have played regularly over the last few years. Last year I’m very much aware of but prior to that they had other encounters. It’ll be a massive game for both teams.”
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'These guys are serial winners' - Ballygunner's Munster dominance over Limerick teams continues
THERE WAS A time when Ballygunner were stuck in a rut in Munster.
Watching the assured and clinical manner which they displayed to close out their opening 2025 assignment yesterday afternoon, it was hard to reconcile their current form with the period where they were locked into a cycle of setbacks.
When they first met Na Piarsaigh in the 2011 semi-final in Walsh Park, they leaked three goals in defeat. The 2015 and 2017 Munster finals culminated in the same outcome, Na Piarsaigh’s hurling strength winning out.
The 2018 decider represented a turning point, a major breakthrough for this Ballygunner generation of players. Since then they have taken flight and soared. Yesterday’s 0-18 to 0-15 quarter-final success represented their third win in four seasons over Na Piarsaigh. In the keen rivalry that exists between the two camps, Ballygunner are now the clear dominant force.
That extends beyond just their meetings with the Caherdavin outfit. Yesterday was the fourth successive year Ballygunner have travelled to the Gaelic Grounds and emerged with victory against the Limerick champions – Na Piarsaigh (2022, 2023, and 2025) and Doon (2024).
Their control in these showdowns is impressive, the 2018 Munster final success over Na Piarsaigh was the start of an unbroken sequence of seven victories against the Limerick county champions with Patrickswell (2019) and Kilmallock (2021) also discovering how formidable Ballygunner are.
Jason Ryan is at the helm for the first time in a provincial journey with Ballygunner, a new coaching chapter after a career that has seen him gain prominence through county football roles with Wexford, Kildare, and Cork.
Ballygunner’s relentless attitude and their insatiable appetite for competing does not surprise him.
“These guys are serial winners and they want to win more. Today was all about coming here and grinding out a performance. Prior to that (2018 win) they didn’t have those victories against Na Piarsaigh. They’re still very much in the memory of the players.
“We knew how tough this game was going to be. We knew it was going to be a challenge. We didn’t play in eight weeks, it’s a big gap it’s just getting yourself up to that kind of intensity. The last game that we played in Waterford in the county final was nowhere near the intensity of this one.When you’re playing at this level you’re playing to enjoy, but you’re playing to win.”
The inactivity since the Waterford final does not knock Ballygunner out of their stride. They are accustomed to the playing structure of the year and refuse to let it affect them.
If there was a target area yesterday, it was spotting that Na Piarsaigh had struck two goals in each of their previous five games in the Limerick championship. Those green flags lifted their challenges particularly in the county semi-final and final victories but that boost was absent when they met Ballygunner.
“Second half wise, it was just real attrition and if someone had that bit of luck and scored a goal that was the end of it then,” admitted Ryan.
“Credit to our defenders that they blocked things up really well. It was an area that we were very aware of. Against Doon, Na Piarsaigh did create goal scoring chances. In the Kilmallock game and the games prior to that they’d been scoring goals. We’re delighted to have protected the goals so well.”
His counterpart could see the Ballygunner emphasis on putting the squeeze on the Na Piarsaigh attack, particularly as they chased a goal late on.
“The low block, I suppose they call it,” reflected Shane O’Neill.
“There was everybody back there. But, you know, when you’re coming towards the end of a game, most teams are actually doing that now. We got caught maybe for a score or two. But generally the boys, one on one back there, did very well.
“But it was hard to create space then up front. We were trying to recycle it and stuff. In fairness to Ballygunner, they worked very hard. They’re very systematic, but they put in a serious shift there as well.”
The relationship between these two clubs has shifted. Na Piarsaigh collected the first four Limerick senior titles in the club’s history between 2011 and 2017, converting them into a quartet of Munster successes was a remarkable feat. Since then they have won a further five Limerick titles but have found Munster a barren hunting ground in their last four campaigns, the province was out of bounds after their local victory in 2020 due to Covid.
O’Neill was not dwelling on result patterns in the build-up to this game and when he clearly analysed the action, a historical trend was not a factor in influencing the result. The root cause lay in Na Piarsaigh’s own output. They again enjoyed a good day in curbing Ballygunner’s forward line, keeping them under the 20-point mark has eluded several other teams, but converting their own chances was the issue.
“I thought we settled down very well, defensively very well set up, dealt with everything they threw at us. I suppose they score the least amount every time they play against us. What probably caught us again was just not being clinical enough. Fifteen or 16 out of 32 shots – you’d be doing really well to win games with that.
“We had 16 shots in each half, I believe – five and ten (converted). So it was (the) first half especially. We knew we were creating shots; we knew we were controlling the game because we were set up really well. We were dominating their long puckout, which again was a huge positive for us.
“So, we were very confident at half-time and I think that showed in the second half. David (Dempsey) going out midfield, I thought he was immense, got on a huge amount of ball and really gave us a platform going forward.
“We were looking forward to today and really thought that we’d come out victorious. But, unfortunately, just shy.”
A hamstring injury sustained in extra-time of the county final robbed Na Piarsaigh of the towering influence of William O’Donoghue. He could be seen visibly encouraging his team-mates during their warm-up, but they missed his presence on the pitch.
Ballygunner lacked their own figurehead in Pauric Mahony due to an ankle injury. Dessie Hutchinson deputised on frees and missed four placed balls, but also struck five points, including a crucial score late on. The energy off the bench of Cormac Power and Conor Tobin also helped as Ballygunner tapped into the more powerful form in the finale.
Mahony is expected to be fit again for the Munster semi-final in a fortnight where Ballygunner will renew acquaintances with the Sarsfields outfit that dismantled them in last year’s final.
“It’s a Munster semi final so it’s a huge game,” said Ryan.
“Ballygunner and Sarsfields have played regularly over the last few years. Last year I’m very much aware of but prior to that they had other encounters. It’ll be a massive game for both teams.”
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Ballygunner club GAA Hurling On the march Waterford