Video - All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Paddy Buggy Cup (Under 18.5 B Hurling) Final - John The Baptist Community School 2-14 St Mary's CBGS 1-8 - Munster PPS GAA - Comhairle Iarbhunscoileanna Na Mumhan - Munster PPS GAA

John The Baptist Community School defeated St Mary’s CBGS by 2-14 to 1-8 in the All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Paddy Buggy Cup (Under 18.5 B Hurling) Final on Saturday March 25th at Semple Stadium Thurles.

Video footage of the game

Click to view photos from the game

MATCH REPORT: John the Baptist CS defeat St Mary’s CBGS in Masita Paddy Buggy Cup Final. https://t.co/sMVz6Kjnfa

— The GAA (@officialgaa) March 25, 2017

COMHGHAIRDEAS le John the Baptist Community School @jtbcstweets; 2017 @MasitaIreland @PostPrimaryGAA All-Ireland Paddy Buggy Cup champions!👍 pic.twitter.com/Uyoo7D8HLr

— The GAA (@officialgaa) March 25, 2017

Report – All Ireland hurling title for John the Baptist of Hospital. Read here…. #limerick #GAA @jtbcstweets https://t.co/U8r3kuaK4t pic.twitter.com/wDM620dcho

— Jerome O'Connell (@JeromeSport) March 25, 2017

Hospital’s John the Baptist win All Ireland hurling crown

Report by Jerome O’Connell for the Limerick Leader newspaper

HOSPITAL’S John The Baptist Community School were crowned All Ireland Post Primary School Senior B Hurling champions this Saturday afternoon in Semple Stadium, Thurles.

The south Limerick secondary school lifted the Paddy Buggy Cup with a 2-14 to 1-8 win over St Marys of Belfast. It brings to four the All Ireland GAA tiles won by JTBCS in recent weeks with two camogie and one ladies football title on top of this hurling. Still to come in their ‘drive for five’ is an All Ireland Junior A ladies football final.

The Limerick side were 2-8 to 0-3 ahead after a fine opening half. Hospital settled early and put scores on the board to lead 0-4 to no score after eight minutes with Eoin Sheehan and Michael O’Grady on the mark as well as two Dylan O’Shea frees.

The Antrim side found their feet with three unanswered points with Darren Grego leading the way to reduce the margin to one point at the mid-point of the half. But the Hospital response was impressive.

Sheehan ended 11-minutes without a score and it started a run of five successive scores for Hospital with The Belfast side not to score for the final 15-minutes of the half. The first of the Hospital goals came on 19-minutes with Eoin Sheehan crashing to the net after a flowing move involving Eoin O’Mahony and Tadhg Leddin.

In injury time, Hospital added a second goal – Ryan Tobin doing brilliant to work possession goalwards from his right corner forward position and then beating the goalkeeper from a tight angle with a fine finish.

The second half scores were scarce but the Limerick side always looked winners. Captain Paudie Maher was among the early scores as they led 2-11 to 1-4 as the game entered the final quarter. Ryan Tobin sealed the win with two late points.

HOSPITAL: Byran Heavey (Garryspillane); Mark Quinlan (Garryspillane), Conor Philips (Emly), Kyran O’Donnell (Pallasgreen); Brian O’Grady (Kilteely-Dromkeen), Paul O’Heney (Emly), Kevin Boner (Bruff); Michael O’Grady (Knockainey), Dylan O’Shea (Garryspillane); Sean Teefy (Ballybricken-Bohermore), Paudie Maher (Patrickswell), Eoin Sheehan (Garryspillane); Tadhg Leddin (Hospital-Herbertstown), Eoin O’Mahony (Garryspillane), Ryan Tobin (Garryspillane)
Subs: Bradley McNamara (Bruff) for Tadhg Leddin (46mins), John O’Donnell (Pallasgreen) for Eoin Sheehan (54mins).

ST MARYS: Philip Kennedy (O’Donovan Rossa); Michael Napier (Bredagh), Niall McCann (St Teresas), Sean Wilson (St Johns); Dominic McEnhill (O’Donovan Rossa), Nathan Gibson (Gort na Mona), Aodhan O’Brien (Gort na Mona); CJ McKenna (St Johns), Shea Shannon (St Johns); Colm McLarnion (St Pauls), Odhran O’Callaghan (Carryduff), Darren Grego (O’Donovan Rossa); Gerard Smyth (Lamh Dearg), Paddy Doyle (St Pauls), Tiarnan Murphy (O’Donovan Rossa)
Subs: Caolan Crossan (St Pauls) for Odhran O’Callaghan (41mins), Odhran McKenna (St Johns) for Paddy Doyle (60mins), Manus Smyth (O’Donovan Rossa) for Sean Wilson (61mins).

REFEREE: Gavin Quilty (Kilkenny)

Great champions! John The Baptist Community School take the Masita GAA All Ireland Post Primary Schools Paddy Buggy Cup Final in Thurles pic.twitter.com/U1whDLTgG2

— sportsfile (@sportsfile) March 25, 2017

This Saturday's @MasitaIreland GAA All Ireland PPS Senior Hurling A&B Finals will be streamed worldwide on https://t.co/gki5y8E6pX #PPGAA

— PostPrimaryGAA (@PostPrimaryGAA) March 21, 2017

BUGGY CUP FINAL SET TO BE A CRACKER

It has been a massive GAA year in general for John The Baptist who won Munster Senior ‘A’ and Junior ‘A’ Ladies football honours as well as excelling in camogie.

The Hospital-based school have already lifted the Corn Thomais MhicChoilm in Munster hurling after a season that also saw them reach the semi-final stage of the prestigious Dean Ryan Cup.

Along the way to this particular final they have etched out wins over Glanmire, Mitchelstown and CBS Dungarvan and in the Munster final they scored a very impressive 1-19 against Rice College, Ennis, but also conceded three goals which they must watch out for.

And with players like Tipperary minor Paul O’Heney at centre half back, Limerick minors Michael O’Grady and Dylan O’Shea at midfield and Paudie Maher at centre-forward, the Limerick school is exceptionally strong in pivotal areas.

Their opponents, Danske Bank Mageean Cup champions St Mary’s CBGS, are also a fine team.

They showed their battling qualities when they booked a spot in today’s final with a hard-fought win over a fast-developing Naas CBS.

In Shea Shannon, St Mary’s have a very reliable free-taker and, especially in finals, reliable free-takers can often be the difference between winning and losing.

St Mary’s CBGS roared into 0-3 to 0-0 lead against the Kildare school early on and one suspects they will try to do the same again this afternoon – get off to a ferocious start to plant seeds of doubt in the minds of the John The Baptist players.

In that regard live-wire forward Odhran O’Callaghan and colleague Tiarnan Murphy will have to be watched very closely by their Limerick opponents, as they are in great form at present.

St Mary’s are a wise side and even though they played a strong second-half breeze in the Buggy Cup semi-final they still showed enough cuteness to come through, with players like Paddy Doyle scoring at critical times.

It could be telling that they have endured a very tough campaign to get to the final and are battle-hardened.

However, so, too, are John the Baptist Community School who battled hard to get to this stage and dug out a three-point win, 1-10- 1-7, over St Joseph’s Galway in their semi-final.