All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Senior A hurling Dr Croke Cup semi-finals

• St Kieran’s College 1-19 Ardscoil Rís 0-14
• St Raphael’s Loughrea 1-20 Nenagh CBS 3-13

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ST KIERAN’S COLLEGE have rolled into an incredible ninth successive Croke Cup final with an eight-point victory over 2022 champions Ardscoil Rís.

The Kilkenny kingpins haven’t missed a decider since 2013 and they will target a seventh title to cap that streak when meeting St Raphael’s from Loughrea in the final.

The Connacht champions saw off their Munster counterparts Nenagh CBS with a late rally in the other semi-final at Tulla.

Under the snow-capped Galtee Mountains in Bansha, inside forwards Seán Hunt (1-2) and Rory Glynn (0-4) did the damage as St Kieran’s were only headed once by Ardscoil.

That came in the 11th minute after quickfire points from Fintan Fitzgerald and the impressive Michael Collins moved the Limerick school 0-3 to 0-2 ahead.

From the short puck-out, Kieran’s worked it through the lines with corner-back Seán Bergin delivering the ball into Hunt. He beat his marker before dispatching a low finish to the far corner.

Despite losing other corner-forward Ed McDermott to injury, the combination of Hunt and Glynn were an effective first line of defence, hounding the Limerick backs throughout.

Glynn added three points and assisted another pair before the break, Aaron McEvoy (0-6) kept ticking over from frees, and captain Jeff Neary surged forward from centre-back to score. 1-11 to 0-7 at midway.

Ardscoil moved Jamie Moylan into midfield and he immediately won a free for Marc O’Brien (0-6) to convert on the restart. They pressed up on the Kieran’s puck-outs and twice cut the deficit to five thanks to Collins’s third point and O’Brien’s accuracy.

But Kieran’s were inspired by the work of Dicksboro wing-back Tom McPhillips to ensure their victory. He produced an 80-yard dash to score, caught a long clearance to instigate the move for a Tom Brennan point, and won a free for goalkeeper Stephen Manogue to launch between the posts.

Meanwhile, St Raphael’s left it late to join Kieran’s in a repeat of the 2004 final.

They traded goals in the space of a minute early on, with Danny Quinn’s tap-in for Nenagh CBS cancelled out by Bobby Feeney after a pass from his Loughrea clubmate Vince Morgan.

O’Connor had created the first goal for the Harty Cup champions and he scored their next pair in the second quarter to send Nenagh in 3-8 to 1-8 ahead at half-time.

St Raphael’s had the wind for the second half and they channelled it well to strike seven of the first eight points upon the resumption, led by Paddy Mac Cárthaigh (0-7). That left the sides level entering the final quarter, 3-9 to 1-15.

Nenagh rallied with three points on the spin and almost had a 63rd-minute goal from captain Darragh McCarthy only for a superb Shane Murray save. McCarthy slotted the 65 to take his contribution to 0-11 and restore Nenagh’s three-point lead.

It looked like St Raphael’s would need a goal. Instead, they landed four points in a frantic finish.

White flags from Feeney (free), Mac Cárthaigh, and Morgan brought the sides level before Nenagh substitute Brian O’Meara was red-carded for an off-the-ball incident.

The winner arrived in the eighth minute of stoppage time as Donnacha Campbell grabbed a puck-out and Cullen Killeen launched an outstanding finish from the sideline.