GALTEE GAELS G.A.A. CLUB

- C’mon the Gaels! -

Saturday, 23rd of February, we had been waiting for this day since before Christmas when it was announced that we would be taking part in ‘Celebrity Bainisteoir’. When the day did arrive it was over in a flash, but not before a mammoth amount of work had been carried out by members of Galtee Gaels GAA Club.

Before I go any further I would like to thank everyone who helped out in the last few weeks leading up to the game. I’m not going to mention names in case I forget someone but the work that was carried out had to be seen to be believed. From setting up scaffolding for our friends from RTE, to lining the pitch, to painting, setting up toilets and tents for tea and sandwiches, to organising the parking, the list of chores was huge.

But the work was done and everyone that turned up Saturday was in agreement O’Mahoney Park had never looked better. Also I’d like to thank all of our generous sponsors for their kind donations. So thanks and well done to everyone that helped out, the day couldn’t have gone on without ye.

From the team point of view our lead up to the match started Friday evening when we had our final filmed training session with Jon Kenny. This was under lights in Ballyporeen. This was a light session and Jon and his mentor John Ryan both went through the agenda for Saturday. Saturday morning at 11 we all met in the car-park of The Firgrove Hotel. There were no doubt a lot of butterflies in the stomachs, and also an awful lot of hair-gel flying around.

We arrived in Kilbehenny at about 12 and the Faughanvale side arrived soon after led out by their Bainisteoir Nell McCafferty and her mentor Brian McEniff. Both teams went through their warm-up routines and returned to the dressing rooms. The mood was good. Everyone was focused in on the job in hand. We then ran onto the field and lined up for the national anthem, played by the Liam Lynch Pipe Band. The match itself couldn’t have started better for us.

The first few nervous minutes apart we were well on top all over the field. Points from Des Lane, Eddie O’Gorman and John Quane had us 4 points to 1 up, and we were to lead by 6 points to 1 at one stage in the first half. Our backs were playing well at this stage and Faughanvale were being restricted to very few chances. The last 5 minutes of the first half though were to cost us very dearly.

Three frees were conceded, at least one was debatable and one was 100% wrong!! Faughanvale went in at half time 6 points to 5 in arrears but this did not at all reflect the way the first half had gone. We returned to the dressing rooms for half-time and one substitution was made, Patrick Cleary for Johnny Cleary.

Everyone regained their composure and we returned to the field in the second half determined to play like we did for the first 25 minutes.

The second half turned out to be a much tighter affair. Again we had the majority of the possession but we were struggling to turn this in to scores. We held onto the lead for much of the second half with points from John Quane and Padraig Slattery who had come on as a second half substitute.

Again though through a contentious free Faughvale took the lead and it took a superb injury time equaliser from Quane to bring the game to extra-time with the game tied at 10 points apiece. Two ten minute periods followed and despite some wonderful points from the boot of Tom Noonan we conceded a goal in each half and our race was run. Each and every man that played had given his all but unfortunately we had fallen short.

Everyone was gutted and the general feeling amongst us was that we had left the game behind us. After the match we had words of consolation from the opposition manager Nell McCafferty and Brian McEniff. Both teams were brought down to Kilbehenny Community Hall for food and tea and then on to The Three Counties where there was singing and music galore til late that night.

Despite the result of the match this was a great day for the Galtee Gaels Club. Hopefully now the good work so far will be carried on for the rest of the year and we can give the intermediate championship a good shot. Next up is the Under 21 championship with our first match on the weekend of the 8th March. Many of these players have been training with the intermediate team since Christmas so confidence should be high.

However, getting a full 15 together is going to be the biggest problem here. The intermediate championship is due to commence on the 20th of April with round 2 the following weekend. We are in a group with Ballysteen, Cappamore, Na Piarsaigh, Oola and Gerald Griffins.

If the numbers keep turning up for training we have a great chance of progressing out of this group into a county semi-final. Up the Gaels!

BALLYHOOLY TENNIS CLUB

- Mixed doubles tournament proving a big hit -

MICHAEL DANIELS AUCTIONEER MIXED DOUBLES TOURNAMENT

The mixed doubles senior tournament is into the final stages. The tournament which is very kindly sponsored by Michael Daniels Auctioneers has been a great success so far. All the games have been of a very high standard with almost every adult member in the club taking part.

Numerous games have gone to tie-breaks which indicates how high the competition is and of course how many games are decided by a little bit of luck. The standard of new players is very evident with at least four new members reaching the finals. This is an indication of how much the club has grown in the last year.

It is a very encouraging sign and hopefully a lot of our new members will compete in future competitions. The finals are on tomorrow, Friday night at 8pm and 9pm. The standard of competition is high and we would encourage people to come along and show your support for the players.

The presentation by Michael Daniels Auctioneers will take place immediately after the last game at approx 10.30pm in O’Sullivan’s Bar.

U12 JUVENILE TOURNAMENT

The U12 team of Peter O’Driscoll, Callum McClean, Aine Roche and Melanie Ryan have qualified for the semi-finals of the North Cork competition which is being run by Kilworth Tennis Club. They will play Whitechurch team C in the semi-final but no date has been arranged at this time. This is a great achievement for the club and we wish them well in their game.

WINTER LEAGUE

Our Grade 5 team of Michael Daniels, Colum McCarthy, Kitty Collins and Anne Feehan have qualified for the quarter-final of the winter league competition. They will play Bandon in the quarter final on Sunday, 2nd March in Bandon at 6.30pm. This is a high quality competition with teams from all over Munster competing. We wish them the best of luck on Sunday.

MEMBERSHIP

New members are always welcome. The club has recruited a lot of people over the last year and would encourage all players of every grade to sign up. It is a great social outlet for anyone who is interested in starting a new sport, while it could also be the first stepping stone to Wimbledon for the more ambitious among us!!!

Membership is very reasonable at €60 for an adult and €100 for a family. For details on membership contact, Deirdre on 086-8312307.

COLAISTE AN CHRAOIBHIN, FERMOY - RUGBY

- Rollercoaster keeps on rolling! -

QUARTER FINAL BECKONS

Colaiste an Chraoibhin 19 St Caimins, Shannon 14

Colaiste’s rugby rollercoaster ride keeps on rolling with an injury time try from captain Edward O’Connell which leaves Colaiste waiting for the visit of Carrigaline in the quarter final.

This was a cup tie that Colaiste were somewhat lucky to get through as the Shannon team at stages looked the more likely to advance. However, with over 15 minutes of injury time played, a fantastic block down from wing forward Wayne Fitzgerald left scrum half O’Connell with the opportunity to pick and sprint over for the winning try.

This fairytale ending looked far from a reality in the first half with St Caimins dominating the opening proceedings. Ciliate never got into their stride after the long journey down to Shannon and an early kick off seemed to pass them by as countless mistakes were clocked up in the opening half. St Caimins deservedly opened a seven point lead after a number of missed tackles left Colaiste trailing by a converted try.

Half time gave the Fermoy side a chance to regroup and this initially seemed to work as Colaiste responded straight from the kick off. The pack secured quick ruck ball and when given the chance, Thomas McAuliffe chipped over the top for Steven Pratt to catch the bouncing ball and charge in under the posts. McAuliffe converted and Colaiste were back in the game. Colaiste’s foothold in the game never looked like giving them the foundation to win the match as St Caimins camped themselves in the Colaiste 22.

With the clock having only 6 minutes of normal time remaining the Shannon side looked destined for victory. However a despairing tackle from Laurence Lomasney stopped a certain try and as a result denied St Caimins victory.

Unfortunately a despairing tackle led to despair for the heroic wing forward as a serious knee injury brought the game to a halt, despite the Shannon siders crossing for a try on the next opportunity. Credit is due to the referee who spotted the Araglin man’s knee injury and immediately stopped the game as the stricken player was priority over the attacking opposition.

The sight of Lomasney being carried off the field gave Colaiste some needed focus and from the resulting scrum St Caimans attacked; only for a huge tackle from winger Kevin Walsh to stop them in their tracks. The ball broke lose and full back Aidan O’Sullivan left the opposition in his wake to sprint the length of the field to give Colaiste the lead.

This capped a great week for the Castlelyons native who won an All Ireland vocational schools medal with Cork hurlers last Saturday. McAuliffe converted from under the posts and Colaiste looked set for victory. St Caimins nevertheless were given a lifeline with an outrageous amount of injury time to be played and used the wind advantage to once again camp themselves deep in the Colaiste half.

Things got worse for the Fermoy school soon after as the outstanding Thomas O’Donoghue was harshly yellow carded for the remainder of the game. This left Colaiste facing the breeze and an extra man and eventually St Caimins scored a converted try to leave the score level on 14 points apiece deep into injury time. Eyes solely focused on the referee’s watch and whistle as Colaiste tried to stay in the opposition half to play down the clock and try to get the match to two periods of extra time.

However, from a Shannon scrum their out half looked to clear until Fitzgerald and O’Connell combined and as they say the rest is history. There wasn’t even time for the conversion as the heart-broken St Caimins couldn’t believe they had lost a game they dominated for so long.

Colaiste now stumble on and all eyes turn to Laurence Lomasney and his recovery.

Team: Roy Gallagher, James O’Driscoll, Kenneth O’Flaherty, Thomas O’Donoghue, Thomas Donnegan, Wayne Fitzgerald, Laurence Lomasney, Darren Hartnett, Edward O’Connell, Thomas McAuliffe, Owen McCarthy, Geoffrey Shanahan, Kevin Walsh, Steven Pratt, Aidan O’Sullivan. Subs used: Raymond Slattery and Larry Murphy. Subs: David Kingston, Jason Pratt, Cilian Tobin.

MITCHELSTOWN BOXING CLUB

- Munster title for Michael McDonagh, now for All-Ireland! -

Mitchelstown Boxing Club are delighted to have a new Munster champion in the club, this title was won by Michael McDonagh at the Munster championship held in the Corpus Christi Boxing Club in Moyross, Limerick over the weekend, Michael was one of three competitors from the club in search of a title to bring back home to Mitchelstown Boxing Club, we also had Danny Murphy and John Sheehan.

Danny Murphy lost to Ward from St. Paul's Boxing Club in Waterford, Danny got off to a slow start in the first round and was down by five points, the second round Danny started to find his feet and started to box but was still trailing by six points at the end of the second round.

Going into the third and final round with a mountain to climb Danny put up a great fight and boxed very well but unfortunately left it too late and too much to do with the Munster title going to Ward with a score of 14 to 11, we all share the disappointment for Danny as he is an excellent boxer and will be back next year, Johnny Sheehan was boxing D O’Reilly from the Knocklong Boxing Club Kerry in the 91kg weight.

This was the final for the Munster title. Johnny put a huge effort into the first round and was ahead of O’Reilly by four points going into the second, in this round it all fell apart for the Mitchelstown boxer as he took two cautions from the ref for having his head too low with the ref finally disqualifying Sheehan from the contest.

This decision took everyone by surprise, although Johnny took two cautions, he never got a warning from the ref. Both corners were amazed by this decision, however that was the final decision and the Munster title went to the Knocklong club from Co. Kerry.

Michael McDonagh had three hard fights en route to his impressive Munster title for the Mitchelstown club, his first fight was in the quarter final against D O’Connor from Sunvale Boxing Club, Michael took the first round 4-1, the second round 7-4 and the third round 15-10.

This was no easy fight as can be seen by the scoring, both boxers gave no quarter, after this bout Michael was looking towards the next bout and was keen to get on with the job. In the semi final Michael was up against T O’Sullivan from the Ballyduff Boxing Club, Co. Kerry.

Michael took the first round 4-1, second 13-6 and third 18-14, and the Mitchelstown boxer was in the final for the Munster title on the Monday night where he was up against R. Lacey from St. Nicholas Boxing Club, if Michael could take this fight not only would he be the Munster champion but also he would qualify for the All Ireland boxing championship held in the National Stadium, the mecca for Irish boxing being held on February 29th and March 1st and 2nd.

This would be an amazing achievement for Michael or for any young boxer to get a chance to fight in the National Stadium to represent their club and provence, Michael had to win to do this…… and he did! Michael took the first round 2-1, 6-4 the second and final round 9-8.

Congratulations Michael on winning the title Munster champion and we wish you the very best of luck in the All Ireland from everyone in the Mitchelstown Boxing Club.

Also the club would like to thank head coach Paul Murphy, coaches Sean Maher and Dave Byrne for their time and dedication in training the boys for the Munsters and for being in their corner, inside and outside of the ring, well done.

Thanks also to Noel Murphy and John O’Donoghue who oversaw training at the club Monday night while the boxers took part at the championships. On a final note we would like to appeal to any business in the Mitchelstown area for any financial contributions big or small, leading up to the All Ireland championships in Dublin, these would be greatly appreciated.

Further enquiries to Dave Byrne at (086) 0866782.

CASTLEBRIDGE CELTIC F.C.

- Unbeaten runs extended -

The junior side returned to league action last weekend with an away visit to Brideview and a game under floodlights on Saturday night. Our other unbeaten side this year took on Ballybridge in the U12 league also on Sunday with a win ensuring them a semi-final spot for the playoffs.

Castlebridge Celtic 2 Brideview Utd 0

A windy and cold night in Tallow last Saturday night was the scene for another vital league match in the race for promotion and the league title. Again a full squad meant selection headaches for the manager but that is always a welcome problem especially at this stage of the season.

Castlebridge played against the strong wind in the first half and although the defence was on top it was hard to get any decent possession in the midfield and create chances for the front two. The best chance fell to leading scorer Mick Linehan when he had a headed effort narrowly go wide when it looked certain to go in the net.

Shortly after the restart though he got his chance when Castlebridge were awarded a penalty and the reliable ‘Legend’ stuck away spot kick to give Celtic a deserved lead. The wind was now at full force and it was getting hard to keep any control on the ball. Sub Mike Hegarty had a couple of half chances and Declan Wallace also made a couple of surging runs into the box but it took a long ball from Stan the Man to result in a second goal scored from the edge of the box by Kevin Cotter.

That killed off any hope of Brideview coming back into the game and gave Celtic another valuable win which sees them retain the lead over rivals Pinewood by a single point with four games to go.

UNDER 12

Castlebridge 2 Ballybridge 0

Another win for the Under 12s last Sunday means that they will now finish top of the league and will gain an automatic place in the semi-finals. Castlebridge were the stronger team but it took them a while to settle into the game.

At half time the sides were level at 0-0 but shortly after the restart Ronan Bransfield broke through to score a good goal. Castlebridge tried hard to get a second but Ballybridge were determined not to make it easy for us. Eventually from a corner kick super sub Alan Corbett scored with his first touch when a corner kick was flicked on and Alan was in at the far post to snatch a good goal and put the game beyond the home side.

All the team played well again especially the back four. All the subs got a run and it’s always a bonus when you can bring on players who can make a difference. If this team can keep this form going then there is no doubt they can win this league but there is still plenty of games to go and a league and cup double is still a possibility.

On duty were S Hickey, D Beausang, C Murphy, N Daly, B O’Donovan, E Donnellan, C Kearney, R Bransfield, S Moroney, C Lawlor, D O’Shea, T Collins, M Geary, S Fenton, A Corbett, J Barry, D Quirke.

FUTSAL

On Saturday, Mar 1 we will have another round of Futsal for our U10 and U8s. This is a very fast indoor game which is designed to give players as much playing time as possible and to have fun as well. Any boys or girls between 7 and 10 interested in playing can contact Paul Donnellan on 086 8733738.

LOTTO

Draw held in the Peddlars Rock on Feb 21. Nos drawn: 3, 15, 68. No winner. Match 2: Gene O’Shea; Mark Milward; the Griffin Family. Next draw in Abbey Bar on Thursday, Feb 28. Jackpot €1,000.

FIXTURES

Sun, Mar 2: Dungarvan Tyre Centre Cup: Castlebridge v Ballybridge ko 11.30am. Players should be in dressing rooms by 10.45pm. Sun, Mar 2: Under 12s and U14s v Pinewood ko time and venue tbd.

Please keep an eye out for the text or contact Paul or Joe if you do not get one.

BRIDE ROVERS G.A.A. CLUB

- Hectic weekend in store -

FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP AND DINNER DANCE

It is only the first weekend of March but this Saturday will be a hectic one for the club. In the afternoon we play our first game in defence of the East Cork junior ‘A’ football championship title, which we won last year.

Later on Saturday night we will gather in The Vienna Woods Hotel for our annual dinner dance. It’s only a few months since we defeated Carrigtwohill in the East Cork final in 2007 and now we are back on the road again. With the last few years the East Cork junior ‘A’ football championship started on St Patrick’s weekend.

This year, however, we are involved in a preliminary round against Youghal and that’s why the championship is starting so early. We’ve had just two games in Division One of the football league. We lost to Glanmire by a point in the first game and then last Sunday had our first win, at home to Fr O’Neills.

The team this year shows several changes from last year’s winning fifteen. We will need to be in top form to defeat Youghal – they’ve won 3 out of their 4 league games to date.

The championship game is fixed for Ballynoe at 3pm.

JUNIOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE V FR O’NEILLS

Bride Rovers junior ‘A’ footballers played their second match of the 2008 league campaign on Sunday afternoon last with a home game against Fr. O’Neills. With the opening game of the 2008 championship less than a week away it was essential that the Rovers posted a positive result and this was the case with a final score of 2-09 to 10 points in their favour.

Fr O’Neills came out of the blocks the stronger and had 4 points on the board before the home team decided to wake up and get their opening score from the boot of Sean Ryan.

From here on the Bride lads dominated first half proceedings and with goals from the penalty spot by Jerome O’Driscoll and one from play by Brendan Walsh this left the Bride lads leading on a scoreline of 2-05 to 0-05 at half time.

The second half was similar to the first with Fr. O’Neills knocking over 5 points in the opening 10 minutes to bring them back to within a point and looking like they would go on to win the match. However, the Rovers decided to wake out of their comfort zone and slotted over four points without reply to close out the game and win by five points.

This was an entertaining hour’s football played on an excellent Rathcormac pitch and should serve as good preparation for next Saturday’s championship opener. This is to be played in Ballynoe at 3pm against Youghal and all support is welcome.

Team: Barry Johnston, Trevor Maloney, Pa O’Driscoll, Jim O’Connor, Shane Kearney, Pat Walsh, Liam Forde, Brendan Walsh, Sean Ryan, Eoin O’Flynn, Richie Cahill, Donal Ryan, Sean O’Brien, Jerome O’Driscoll, Colm O’Keeffe. Subs: Alan Broderick, George Johnson, Stephen Pratt, Shane O’Connor, Mike Kearney.

JUNIOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION 3

Our division three team played their third game in the competition last Sunday at home to Glenbower Rovers. In a very low scoring game we won by 0-6 to 0-3. This win gives us 5 out of a maximum 6 league points.

Team: Vinnie O’Keeffe, John Kearney, Jim O’Connor, Brian Collins, Padraig O’Brien, Liam Forde, Pat Barry, Stephen Pratt, Sean O’Brien (0-4), Eoin O’Flynn, Pat O’Reilly, John O’Dowd, Gavin O’Flynn, Georgie Johnson (0-1), Daniel Dooley (0-1). Subs: Alan Broderick, Philip Hazelwood, Niall Hogan, Colm O’Keeffe.

DINNER DANCE

Our dinner dance is on Saturday night in Hotel Vienna Woods in Glanmire. Last year we won the East Cork junior ‘A’ football championship and also the junior ‘B’ hurling championship. The presentation of these medals will take place at the dinner dance.

Anyone still looking for tickets for the dinner dance is reminded to contact club officers before Friday night the very latest.

KENYAN COLLECTION

We are taking up a church gate collection at all Masses in the parish this weekend for the Kenyan Relief Fund. We are all aware of the situation that has developed in Kenya since the disputed elections last December. Our own Fr Seanie Barry and Fr Martin Barry from Glanmire and Fr Oliver Barry from Midleton all work on the Kenyan Missions. Your support for this very worthy cause will be very much appreciated. We are also holding a table quiz in The Rathcormac Inn on Friday week, March 7th.

SCOR

We’d been planning to compete in the county semi final of the Senior Scor in Ballyclough on last Sunday night. Lack of competition however, meant that the two semi finals were cancelled.

As a result we are now in the county final of the solo singing and the novelty act.

The final is on this Sunday night, March 2nd in the Eire Og GAA Pavilion in Ovens starting at 7pm. Your support would be appreciated.

WORK IN THE PITCH

On Saturday last we started the work behind the goalmouths. Good progress was made and we hope to get the wire up on next Saturday with work commencing at 11 o’clock.