Four and a half years after calling time on his inter-county career due to injury, Shane Dowling will make a remarkable return to the Limerick senior hurling panel next season.
Dowling, who turns 32 in February, was named in a 46-man 2025 'pre-season panel' by manager John Kiely tonight.
The ace forward-turned-goalkeeper was one of three netminders included, with Jason Gillane and Conor Hanley Clarke also set to compete to fill the number one shirt while Effin's Nickie Quaid recovers from a ruptured cruciate ligament.
Dowling played a key role as a forward in Limerick ending a 45-year famine to win the Liam MacCarthy Cup in 2018.
An All-Star came his way in 2014 and an All-Ireland club title with Na Piarsaigh in 2016.
He scored 21-292 in just 59 league and championship games for his county, overtaking the legendary Gary Kirby as the county’s leading scorer along the way.
Dowling came on in the pulsating 2018 All-Ireland decider against Galway and bagged a crucial goal.
In 2019, he added to his haul with Allianz Hurling League and Munster Championship honours.
One year later, however, he was forced to retire from inter-county hurling due to degenerative knee and cartilage issues.
For the three years leading up to that decision in 2020, Dowling was dealing with a condition called osteochondroma; an overgrowth of cartilage and bone in the knee area.
Following his decision to step aside from the top flight, he focused on recuperating and subsequently linking up with his club and becoming a hurling analyst with RTÉ Sport.
After 32 months away from the club senior side, he was added to the Na Piarsaigh senior panel in the summer of 2022 and also played in goal for their intermediate team.
From there, he stepped back up to play in goal for the senior side, helping the team win the 2023 Limerick senior hurling title.
In last year’s county semi-final against Doon, he saved four penalties in a shootout after extra-time and his prowess from the placed ball remains sharp, as are his long-range frees.
Jason Gillane has been the team’s understudy goalkeeper in recent times.
Conor Hanley Clarke is another fine player who impressed in goal with UL and plays outfield for his club, Kilmallock.
Glenroe's David McCarthy has also been rated as a goalkeeper option in the last number of years.
Watch the Leinster Club SFC final, St Mary's Ardee (Louth) v Cuala (Dublin), on Saturday from 5.25pm on RTÉ Player
Watch the Leinster Club SHC final, Na Fianna (Dublin) v Kilcormac Killoughey (Offaly), on Saturday from 7.35pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
