Limerick SFC final: Hugh Bourke’s 1-5 helps Adare secure a fourth title

Adare are Limerick senior football champions for 2024 following a 1-10 to 0-8 victory over Fr Casey’s at Mick Neville Park in Rathkeale.
The victory is Adare’s fourth ever at senior level, with the others coming in 2017, 2018 and 2020.
A man-of-the-match performance from Limerick star Hugh Bourke propelled Adare to a well-deserved victory.
Bourke finished with a scoring total of 1-5 but it was an all-round display that helped his side to earn final glory.
Fellow Limerick player Paul Maher opened the scoring early on for Adare but Casey’s should have taken the lead on six minutes.
A long-range delivery was palmed down into the path of Martin Scannell by David Ward, only for Adare goalkeeper Jeffrey Alfred to smother the shot.
Bourke made no mistake a few minutes later when he darted past his marker and fired a powerful shot to the net.
Bourke and Shane Costelloe added to Adare’s total to give them a 1-3 to 0-0 advantage midway through to the half.
Fr Casey’s got on the board through Diarmuid Buckley and Scannell efforts but Adare finished the half strongly with Bourke on the target twice more to give them a 1-5 to 0-2 advantage at the break.
Eliah Riordan and Davy Lyons traded scores at the beginning of the second half before Casey’s fought back into the contest with efforts from Rory O’Brien, Scannell and Daniel Daly as the Abbeyfeale side cut the gap to three on 45 minutes.
O’Brien then made it a two-point game but Adare’s nerve held with Bourke’s fourth of the game accounting for their second score of the half.
Another Riordan free gave the Fr Casey’s hope in the final stages but two Mikey Lyons points and one from Bourke sealed victory for an impressive Adare.
ADARE: J Alfred; S Doherty, D Connolly, D Lane; O Collins, E Costelloe, R Gleeson; P Maher (0-1), J Sweeney; D Lyons (0-1), R Bourke, R Connolly; S Costelloe (0-1), H Bourke (1-5, 0-2f, 0-1m), S O’Connor.
Subs: C Sparling for Lane (45 mins), M Lyons (0-2) for S Costelloe (48), M Keane for Gleeson (51), J Fitzgerald for Collins (58), M Southgate for O’Connor (60).
FR CASEY’S, ABBEYFEALE: S O’Connell; M McCarthy, F Cotter, S Kilbridge; S Quigley, M Kilbridge, C Quigley; E Riordan (0-2, 0-2f), D Buckley (0-1); D Daly (0-1), M Scannell (0-2, 0-1f), D Quirke; R O’Brien (0-2), D Ward, A Enright.
Subs: C Roche for Quirke (37 mins), D Kelly for Ward, C Boyle for Quigley (both 51), E O’Connell for Scannell (58), O Woulfe for Riordan (60).
Referee: D O’Callaghan (Feohanagh-Castlemahon).