2025 Electric Ireland GAA Football All-Ireland Minor Championship Tier 3 Preliminary Quarter-Final – Wicklow 3-11 Limerick 0-7

Wicklow defeated Limerick by 3-11 to 0-7 in the 2025 Electric Ireland GAA Football All-Ireland Minor Championship Tier 3 Preliminary Quarter-Final on Saturday May 10th at the Bog Garden Rathkeale.

🏐 No joy for Limerick minor footballers who have been beaten by Wicklow in their Electric Ireland GAA Football All-Ireland Minor Championship clash in Rathkeale ⤵️#LLSport @LimerickCLG 🟢⚪️ v🔵🟡 pic.twitter.com/gqkyQA2yVq

— Limerick Leader Sport / Limerick Live Sport (@LimkLeaderSport) May 10, 2025

Limerick minor footballers eliminated from All-Ireland series

Report by Oisin Nolan for the Limerick Leader newspaper

THE Limerick minor footballers have been eliminated from the 2025 Electric Ireland All-Ireland minor Tier 3 championship following a 3-11 to 0-07 preliminary quarter-final defeat in Sean Finn Park, Rathkeale on Saturday afternoon.

This result brings the minor footballers’ season to a close following a spirited Munster Championship campaign which saw them win back-to-back games against Tipperary and Waterford but miss out on a spot in the Phase 1 final.

After an evenly-contested opening 30 minutes, after which the visitors led 0-6 to 0-5, Wicklow began to turn the screw, netting three second-half goals which ultimately saw them over the line.

Whilst the second half was one sided, the first half was anything but. With both sets of defenses on top early on, Limerick raced into a four-point lead mid-way through the first half. Wing-back Jake Higgins, who was busy throughout, opened the scoring with a fine effort. Points followed from Ryan Sheehan and Aaron O’Kelly giving Limerick a 0-05 to 0-01 lead.

Wicklow struggled to cope with the work-rate and intensity of the Limerick forwards early on but to their credit weathered the storm and started to pick off some excellent scores of their own. The defending on display by both teams was commendable. Limerick corner-back Aaron Murphy excellent in his battles with the Wicklow forwards.

Full-forward Patrick Kehoe was a constant threat throughout, notching over some fine efforts to give the Leinster side a one point advantage at the interval, 0-06 to 0-05.

Wicklow carried their strong finish from the first half into the second. Full-forward Kehoe again proving a handful, getting his side off the mark at the beginning of the second half. Limerick centre-forward Ryan Sheehan, kicked Limerick’s opening score of the half soon after.

From there, Wicklow began to flex their muscles. With a four-point lead established, two goals in three minutes ensured that they would not be caught. Both sides traded points before substitute Tiernan Byrne added a third goal in injury time to seal it.

The final score is harsh on Mike Lenihan’s side. The Limerick manager said afterwards that his team “died with their boots on,” and it is a fair assessment.

His team’s work-rate and determination wasn’t represented on the scoreboard and had a few goalmouth scrambles gone Limerick’s way in the first half, it may have been a different result.

SCORERS: LIMERICK: Ryan Sheehan 0-04 (1 2-pointer, 2 frees), Aaron O’Kelly, Jake Higgins, Oisin Healy 0-1 each.

LIMERICK: Jack Noonan (Dromcollogher-Broadford), Matthew Cox (Ballybricken-Bohermore), Ronan Butler (Ahane), Aaron Murphy (Father Casey’s), Olin Ryan (Galtee Gaels), Markus Vang (Cappagh), Jake Higgins (Kildimo/Pallaskenry), Keelan Lomergan (Glin), Shane Gill (Ahane), Aaron O’Kelly (Father Casey’s), Ryan Sheehan (Dromcollogher/Broadford), Oisin Healy (St Senans), Ben Kiely (Monaleen), Jamie Crowley (Monaleen), Eoin Williams (Monaleen).
SUBS: Darragh Maloney (Feoanagh/Castlemahon) for Eoin Williams (39 minutes), Paddy Ryan (Oola) for Jamie Crowley (42 minutes), Ryan Downey (Ballylanders) for Aaron O’Kelly (42 minutes) Amhlaoibh Bohane (Mungret St. Pauls) for Matthew Cox (51 minutes) Rory Vaughan (Newcastle West) for Markus Vang (51 minutes).

WICKLOW: Ryan Sargent (Blessington), Enda Leacy An Tochar), Simon O’Brien (Kilmacud Crokes), Ethan Hutton (Coolenko), Chiristopher Kehoe (Dunlavin), Conor Coffey (Rathnew), Christopher O’Toole (Kiltegan). Jack O’Leary (St Patricks), Sean Corrigan (Hollywood), Harry Butler (Rathnew), Aaron Kenna (AGB), Ordhan Cullen (AGB), Lucas Reid (Avoca), Patrick Kehoe (Dunlavin), Conor Fitzgerald (Blessington).

REFEREE: Gary Twomey (Clare).

Team News

Mike Lenihan and his selectors has released their Limerick Minor Football team and match panel for their Electric Ireland Minor Football Championship series against Wicklow

Limerick Minor Football team will face Wicklow this Saturday in Sean Finn Park at 3pm is as follows pic.twitter.com/CEKZ7Zc6oH

— Limerick GAA (@LimerickCLG) May 9, 2025