Longford take on Limerick in the Tier 2 Tailteann Cup

With a home game against Wicklow the following weekend and the remaining fixture against Carlow at a neutral venue on June 3/4, Longford will be aiming to finish  top of the group in what appears to be a favourable draw in the battle for the bonus of home advantage in the last eight of the second tier senior football championship.

Paddy Christie will point to the unlucky loss against Offaly in the Leinster Championship as the platform for better things to come and his side really need to achieve an extended run in the Tailteann Cup to make amends for the bitter disappointment of relegation in Division 3 of the National League. 

But there is some bad news for Longford as  the injured Daniel Mimnagh is ruled out while also on the casualty list is Darren Gallagher who is struggling to be fit to feature in the Tailteann Cup. 

Despite the fact that Limerick failed to win a game in their eventual demotion from Division 2, they were playing at a higher level against much stronger teams like the promoted pair  Dublin and Derry.

The best they could do was a draw at home to Meath and to make matters worse the subsequent player unrest in the aftermath of the horrific 6-18 to 0-12 hammering against Cork in the league saw the Limerick manager Ray Dempsey step down after just five months in the job. 

The former Mayo forward, who featured for his native county in the 1989 and 1996 All-Ireland senior football finals, was replaced by one of the Limerick selectors, Kerry native Mark Fitzgerald.   

Limerick ran Clare close in the recent Munster Championship semi-final, losing by 1-16 to 0-16, and might well have won as a goal attempt from Brian Donovan was denied by a great save by the opposing keeper in the closing minutes of the match with just a single point separating the sides.

That gutsy performance following the very poor run of results in the league will have given the experienced Limerick side a bit of a boost and they will be targeting the top spot in Group 3 of the Tailteann Cup  

It must be said that Limerick made plenty of progress under the guidance of their previous boss Billy Lee during his six years in charge, guiding the Treaty county to promotion from Division 4 to Division 2, and the shannonsiders will be difficult to beat on Saturday. 

The most recent meeting between the counties was the 2022 National League Division 3 Round 1 clash at the Gaelic Grounds at the end of January and a poor first half display cost Longford dearly as they conceded  crucial goals in the eventual 4-9  to 1-11 defeat.  

Most of the damage on that occasion was inflicted by the dangerman in the attack,  Brian Donovan (2-1), along with powerful midfielder Cillian Fahy (1-3), while another key figure on the physical Limerick team is commanding centre-half-back Iain Corbett.

Longford are well warned about the tough task they are facing and will probably be hard pressed to come away from Limerick with a positive result.

Longford’s Tailteann Cup Group 3 Fixtures

Saturday May 13: v Limerick at TUS Gaelic Grounds, 6pm 

Saturday May 20: v Wicklow at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, 5pm

TBC: Saturday June 3/Sunday June 4: v Carlow at neutral venue 

New York will enter the Tailteann Cup at the preliminary quarter-final stage and will be joined by the three best placed third placed teams in the group stage along with the four second placed teams.

The winners of those four games on June 10/11 will be away to the top team in each of the four groups in the quarter-finals proper on June 17/18.

Whoever makes it through to the semi-finals will be in action at Croke Park on June 24/25 with the Tailteann Cup final scheduled for GAA headquarters on Saturday July 15.