Injury Time . . . with Jerome O'Connell

LÁ na gClub takes place across the county this Sunday May 10 and everyone is to be encouraged to partake in their local celebrations.
Every GAA clubhouse and pitch in the county should be a hive of activity throughout the day and all should make a special effort to get involved in celebrating 125 years of the GAA.
It appears that most clubs will start the day’s proceedings with a mass for deceased members. Another common event appears to be a parade of all club teams.
Most clubs have also been busy gathering items for an exhibition of old photographs, artefacts, etc. On the field of play, underage blitzes appear to dominate most schedule of events.


Check out the varying clubs GAA notes in this section of the newspaper or see local posters for details of all local GAA club activities.

Ardscoil Ris
THIS Friday night in the Radisson Hotel, Ardscoil Ris will honour their victorious Dean Ryan winning hurling side. Last December’s 1-9 to 1-7 win over St Flannans was a first ever Munster under-16 1/2 A hurling championship for the North Circular Road secondary school.
This was Ardscoil’s first ever title at the top level in Munster colleges hurling and a first Dean Ryan title for Limerick since Limerick CBS in 1968.
Indeed this was the first provincial ‘A’ title to be won by any Limerick side since Sexton Street’s Dr Harty Cup success of 1994. The team was managed by teachers; Liam Kennedy (Na Piarsaigh) and Niall Moran (Ahane).
Many of that underage team were also involved with the school’s senior side that could very well have reached the Dr Harty Cup final - losing to St Caimin’s in a semi-final replay. Clearly, hurling is making giant strides in Ardscoil Ris. Next season they could be joined by another Limerick City side in the Harty Cup.
Tentative discussions have taken place to enter a Limerick City amalgamation side in the top level competition. The finer details are yet to be ironed out, but schools like Castletroy College, St Clements, St Munchins, Limerick CBS and Crescent College Comprehensive would have plenty hurlers to offer from a variety of clubs.
A Limerick City side (and indeed a south Limerick side) entered the Corn Ui Mhuiri some years ago. Fitting the games into an already hectic sports calendar in the respective schools was a problem - not to mention that collective training was near impossible.
A Limerick City amalgamation in the Harty Cup would certainly give at least 20 hurlers top level of colleges action - which would not doubt benefit the county minor side. However, this amalgamation must not be used to paper over any cracks in the respective individual schools, who in their own right could have strong teams.

Revamped website
LIMERICK’S GAA is to ‘go live’ with a revamped website in the coming days.
Some fine-tuning took place over the Bank Holiday weekend on the eagerly awaited revamping of the website www.limerick.gaa.ie
When completed, this new website should be a great resource for clubs and the general public. A demonstration on the new website is to take place at this month’s County Board meeting on Tuesday May 12 in Claughaun. Last month, those responsible for Lifting the Treaty unveiled, www.limerickgaacoaching.ie which has been an instant success.
A complete and comprehensive fixture list for under-8, under-10 and under-12 hurling and football games is available. This site is very user friendly and to date has been well maintained with upcoming fixtures, the latest news and information available, valuable coaching resources and techniques.