O’Neill stars on centre-stage with Limerick

WITH a heathy contribution of 1-4 and overall excellent outing, Cathal O’Neill was selected as Man of the Match in the 139th All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final. The 24-year-old was on fire in the runaway victory against Galway. O’Neill’s goal – which was set-up through a gorgeous pass from Aaron Gillane – pushed Limerick into a match-winning position. Interestingly, O’Neill was priced at 18/1 to raise the first green flag of the final, and an even better 20/1 to be named the most outstanding player of show. He is now in line to win a first All-Star in the autumn. Since O’Neill’s debut in 2021, the Crecora/Manister speedster has featured in just shy of 60 competitive fixtures with Limerick, during which he has scored a most creditable 6-109. “It’s unreal to get over the line today,” O’Neill said as he accepted the award live on RTÉ’s The Sunday Game. “It’s just special.” “We started a good few months ago and to have the league, the Munster, and the All-Ireland, it’s special.” Modestly, he added: “I wasn’t moving too well in the first half. Look, we were hoping that performance would come all year, and I think there were signs in training that the lads could see the performance was coming.” “We were just a small bit off the last few games. It’s just so satisfying to get that performance in the final.” O’Neill first came to prominence in the Dr. Harty Cup with Ardscoil Rís, then later at both minor and under-20 with Limerick, along with University of Limerick in the Fitzgibbon Cup. Over the last while, those Limerick players to have been named Man of the Match in Finals have been Kyle Hayes (2018), Gearóid Hegarty (2020 and ‘22), Cian Lynch (2021) and Peter Casey (2023). The post O’Neill stars on centre-stage with Limerick appeared first on Limerick Post.