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Reamainn UI hOgain Under 15B munster final
St Joseph’s Tulla 3-14 – Glanmire Community College 5-7
School’s hurling at its best was witnessed on Wednesday afternoon in Kilmallock as St Joseph’s Tulla engineered one of the great wins of Clare school’s hurling to secure the Munster Under 15 B title. On at least three occasions the Clare school looked on the way out as Glanmire struck for goals with ease. Yet, on each occasion the efforts of Liam Murphy dragged them back into the game and ultimately the championship
St Joseph’s were cheering with less than a minute played as Liam Murphy had the ball in the Glanmire net as the Clare school’s tactic of isolating the O Callaghans Mills forward paid dividends throughout. Yet, within three minutes the cheers had turned to groans as Glanmire had a like score from Ryan Dineen to level matters. An interesting side story of the first half was that St Joseph’s showed up well for the ball in the forward ranks but their Cork opponents scored with nearly every attack of intent. A low bouncing ball deceived St Joseph’s netminder Ben O’ Halloran for the Glanmire goal and a minute later Adam Dunlea sent Glanmire ahead with their first point from play. The Clare school then attacked consistently for 10 minutes and were able to add six scores and indeed had they a tad more physical power would have added two goals to this period of dominance.
Henry Moloney, Liam Murphy (4) and Paddy McPartland in particular who was tremendous all say were all on the scoresheet before the 20th minute as Eoin Considine responded for the Cork College. In this time span, Cormac Fennessy set up Cathal Galvin for the simplest of tap-in goal but the effort went wide much to the relief of Tulla.
Glanmire from the 21st to the 28th minute stunned St Joseph’s as they scored with all attacks. Cathal Galvin blasted home goal number two and added his second and his sides third goal within thirty seconds. Adam Dunlea sent in a high ball that Galvin turned into the net and in two minutes Glanmire went from four in arrears to two ahead. Dunlea added a free in the 27th minute and now St Joseph’s badly needed to stem the decline in fortunes or else the second half could be a painful lesson in chasing a deficit. The strong breeze also appeared to be benefitting the Clare boys. From their perspective, they finished the opening half with a much-needed flourish as Hugh Vaughan and Liam Murphy tagged on two badly needed scores to leave them adrift by the minimum, (3-3) to (1-8).
To win this final St Joseph’s needed to stop the goal-scoring threat of Glanmire and also really achieve more from the pace of Belenko, Vaughan and Murphy. St Joseph’s were left reeling two minutes into the new half conceding (1-1) with the penalty scored by Adam Dunlea and now Glanmire were five clear and looking good for success.
Henry Moloney and Liam Murphy narrowed the gap to two after Hugh Vaughan blasted a penalty over the bar after 40 minutes. Adam Dunlea hit back for Glanmire before a great goal from Murphy. The introduction of Patrick Murphy cannot be underestimated as he brought down a Henry Moloney free to Liam Murphy who finished to the net. Patrick Murphy outside of this move worked hard in a number of sectors. The sides were now level but two Adam Dunlea points restored a two-point Glanmire lead. Tulla had a huge let-off when after 49 minutes Adam Dunlea sent a penalty wide.
Henry Moloney was on hand from a free and now Glanmire were chasing the game even though still ahead. A brilliant pass from Mark McGrath released Liam Murphy and his pace, weaving around two opponents ended with a brilliant finish as team manager Gary Guilfoyle jumped higher than his father Tommy ever did whilst playing for Clare. Amazingly, Tulla were now two clear but the game was only beginning. Henry Moloney emerged with ice-cold veins to send over two pressure frees to move the winners four clear. Glanmire still had five minutes in total to rescue the day. Another attack ended with impressive full forward Cathal Galvin bagging his third goal in the 59th minute. One further attack saw Adam Dunlea break down the wing and just as he was about to prepare a shot Matthew Molloy tackled Dunlea and Johnny Murphy sent off the Tulla corner back. From the resultant free Dunlea sent his effort wide and the full-time whistle blew as St Joseph’s claimed the title in stunning circumstances.
The Champions had stand-out performances from Finn Minogue who was put to the pin to handle the impressive Glanmire forward Cathal Galvin, Matthew Molloy, Louis Jennings, James O’ Donnell, Paddy McPartland, Henry Moloney, Liam Moloney, Hugh Vaughan and Patrick Murphy. Glanmire possessed superb stickmen all over the field none more so than Adam Dunlea, Cathal Galvin, John Mulcahy, Adam Leahy, Cormac McCarthy, Ewan O’Shea, Cian Daly and Ryan Dineen. Following the game the Munster Under 15B crown was presented to captain Louis Jennings.
St Joseph’s Tulla scorers: Liam Murphy (3-6), Henry Moloney (0-5), Hugh Vaughan (0-2), Paddy McPartland (0-1)
St Joseph’s Tulla: Ben O’ Halloran (Clooney/Quin), Matthew Molloy (Tulla), Finn Minogue (Feakle), Cathal Ryan (Sixmilebridge), Cian Maxted (Clooney/Quin), Louis Jennings (Tulla)(capt), Harry Nolan (Tulla), James O’ Donnell (Broadford), Alex Guilfoyle (Crusheen), Marc Walsh (Tulla), Henry Moloney (Feakle), Paddy McPartland (Tulla), Nikolai Belenko (Tulla), Liam Murphy (O C Mills), Hugh Vaughan (Broadford). Sub: Eimhin Kinsella (Tulla) for Guilfoyle, Mark McGrath (Clooney/Quin) for Vaughan, Patrick Murphy (Tulla) for Ryan.
Glanmire Community College scorers: Adam Dunlea (1-6), Cathal Galvin (3-0), Ryan Dineen (1-0), Eoin Considine (0-1)
Glanmire Community College: Cormac McCarthy, Derry Crowley, Roan Fitzpatrick, Rory Dennehy, Sean Sheehan, John Mulcahy, Ewan O’ Shea, Adam Leahy, Cian Daly, Eoin Considine, Ryan Dineen, Adam Dunlea, Craig Turnbull, Cathal Galvin, Cormac Fennessy.
Referee: Johnny Murphy (Limerick)
Under 17C hurling league final
Bodyke/Mills 4-16 – Whitegate 0-20
A gem of a final hidden away in division three minor league. A strong start by one side, consolidation by their opponents leading to a storming fightback only for the winners to finish with confidence to seal a win in which the scoreline hides the real story.
Whitegate will bemoan the opening 15 minutes and also their inability to strike for a goal in their 20 minutes of second-half dominance. Bodyke/Mills were fortunate that they had a 11-point half-time lead to act as a cushion as their hosts battered them in the second half.
Celtic Challenge colleagues Michael Bogenberger, Kalum Fahy (Whitegate) went up against Sean Boyce (Bodyke/Mills) but the ace in the pack especially in the first quarter was Liam Murphy who four hours earlier led St Joseph’s Tulla to Munster honours. Sean Boyce hit the target with less than a minute played before Liam Murphy stunned the Whitegate following bagging (2-1) in two minutes.
This eight-point deficit after seven minutes appeared too much for Whitegate even when Kalum Fahy who finished the game with a mammoth 14 points in his locker it was a brief respite as Sean Boyce hit back immediately with a brace of scores. Kalum Fahy did not rest and hit three points between the 15th and 17th minutes.
Liam Murphy saw his goal effort blocked by Whitegate netminder Tom Tuohy only for Billy Moroney to bat the rebound for goal number three. More goals looked on the horizon but Whitegate began to offer a greater resistance. Liam Heffernan, Neil Dermody and Sean Boyce were all on target to leave Bodyke/Mills 10 clear as Michael Bogenberger was operating a spare defender to cope with the long-distance Cormac Doyle puck outs.
The final five minutes of the first half saw more of the same from the winners as Liam Murphy, Sean Boyce and Billy Moroney were on target as Kalum Fahy responded with two more points to leave Sean O’ Halloran’s charges (3-10) to (0-8) clear at the break.
Two fast scores after the restart from Fahy and Dermody narrowed the deficit to three goals as Oscar Dowling hit back for Bodyke/Mills. Fahy (3) and Boyce (2) shared five points in four minutes as Whitegate were now attacking with more intent. Unfortunately, they could not entirely quell Bodyke/Mills when they made a rare foray upfield. Jake Gibbons emerged as strong target figure alongside Shane Hickey upfield for Whitegate. Fahy (3) and Hefferan dragged Whitegate back into the game to cut the Bodyke/Mills lead to five points, (3-13) to (0-17) after 50 minutes. Sean Boyce increased his sides lead to six before Fahy (2) and Harry Bogenberger with four minutes left in normal time left just a goal between the side.
Michael Bogenberger who may be one to watch in Clare hurling circles in the coming years had the ball in the opponent’s net but was called back for a free that was saved. This was the last attack from Whitegate as Bodyke/Mills in injury time added (1-2) with Billy Moroney making no mistake with the winner’s fourth goal.
The league winners were served well included Cormac Doyle, Sean Og Kilkenny, Dillon Joyce, Sean Boyce, Liam Murphy, Billy Moroney, Conor Walsh and Oscar Dowling. Kalum Fahy led the fightback in the scoring task for Whitegate whilst in the rearguard Michael Bogenberger, Neil Dermody, Jake Gibbons, Shane Hickey, Harry Bogenberger, Ryan Fahy and Liam Heffernan offered real resistance.
Bodyke/Mills scorers: Sean Boyce (0-10), Liam Murphy (2-3) Billy Moroney (2-1), Oscar Dowling (0-1)
Bodyke/Mills: Cormac Doyle, Rhys Flower, Edan Buckley, Conor Walsh, Killian Boland, Sean Og Kilkenny, Niall Melody, Oscar Dowling, Dillon Joyce, Sean Boyce, Thomas Molloy, Martin Bon, Billy Moroney, Liam Murphy. Subs: Sean Ryan for Molloy,
Whitegate scorers: Kalum Fahy (0-14), Liam Heffernan, Neil Dermody (0-2) each, Jake Gibbons, Harry Bogenberger (0-1) each
Whitegate: Tom Tuohy, Ryan Fahy, Daniel Touhy, Evan Kelly, Leo Bogenberger, Michael Bogenberger, Michael Kelly, Cathal Dooley, Harry Bogenberger, Jake Gibbons, Liam Heffernan, Shane Hickey, Neil Dermody, Kalum Fahy, Michael Heffernan
Referee: Ger Hoey (Killanena)
Following the game Gavin Moroney of Bord na nÓg Iomáint presented the league trophy to joint captains Sean Boyce and Cormac Doyle.
Sweet striking Sweeney leads Scariff/Ogonnelloe to honours
Minor B league final
Scariff/Ogonnelloe 1-17 – Corofin/Ruan 1-12
All is well with the underage hurling conveyer belt over in East Clare as Scariff/Ogonnelloe retained their hard-earned Minor B league title for the second year running following a five-point success over a game Corofin/Ruan side on Tuesday evening. A stiff breeze was on hand so each side had its support but ultimately the conditions had no meaningful effect on the story of the game.
The prematch chatter suggested that the home side would edge this tie and this viewpoint was confirmed with a supreme scoring performance from Ben Sweeney. The sharpshooter has been in sparkling form for the Celtic Challenge this season as they prepare for their quarter-final against Kilkenny on Saturday 6th May in Kilkenny. It must also be noted that Corofin/Ruan were also possessing a capable ball striker as James Cullinan kept his side in contention when Scariff/Ogonnelloe threatened to step well ahead.
This was indeed a game that provided much entertainment and was decided by the early accuracy of Scariff/Ogonnelloe that gave them a slight advantage over Corofin/Ruan that took all their energies to haul back only for Scariff/Ogonnelloe to take over again midway through the second half. Colin O’Grady whose two points were also backed up by a busy performance throughout opened the scoring from 75 yards in the 3rd minute. Ben Sweeney took over the mantle and had the scorekeeper in business with four in a row in a five-minute interval. Corofin/Ruan were fortunate not to concede a goal in the first ten minutes and eventually opened their account courtesy of the efforts of Daniel McInerney.
Scariff/Ogonnelloe did not rest and added two more scores from Sweeney and Michael Vaughan before their opponents enjoyed their best period of the game tagging on (1-2) without reply as James Cullinan was central to this with Jack Keane scrambling the ball over the Scariff/Ogonnelloe goalline. There was just the minimum between the sides and the final five minutes of the opening half saw Ben Sweeney and James Cullinan add a point each to leave Scariff/Ogonnelloe ahead (0-8) to (1-4).
Corofin/Ruan came out for the second half in fighting form and had the first two points of the new half with Cullinan and midfielder Christian Cummins. This brace of scores gave Keith Farr’s side the lead for the first time after 35 minutes. Once more Ben Sweeney led the Scariff/Ogonnelloe line and he along with Donnacha Crotty restored a narrow lead only for Corofin/Ruan’s Darragh McGroary to equaliser.
This was close as it got for Corofin/Ruan as Ben Sweeney took over proceedings striking (1-5, 4 frees) as Corofin/Ruan were on the ropes with their defence unable to cope with Sweeney’s attacking prowess and freetaking. Oisin Madden, Colin O’Grady, Donnacha Crotty and Liam Touhy were offering great support in this task. Corofin/Ruan hit back with for scores, including two frees as the winners led (1-15) to (1-11) entering the final ten minutes.
A further score from Cullinan narrowed the gap to a goal as the game was now in the final five minutes. Yet, this was as good as it got for the Mid Clare side as Sweeney and O’Grady rounded off the scoring for a deserved win.
Best for the two in a row-league winners apart from Ben Sweeney included goalkeeper Matthew Crotty who was to the fore with a number of smart saves and clearances. Donnacha Crotty, Colin O’Grady, Michael Vaughan, Harry Collins, Liam Touhy, Padraig Maher and Cian Galvin. Best for Corofin/Ruan included James Cullinan, Jack Crowe in goal, Christian Cummins, Seamus O’Sullivan, Daniel McInerney, Jack White, Darragh McGroary and Sean Healy. Following the game Pat Gavin presented the trophy to Scariff/Ogonnelloe joint captains Patrick Maher and Lee Harrington
Scariff/Ogonnelloe scorers: Ben Sweeney (1-13). Colin O’Grady (0-2), Michael Vaughan, Donnacha Crotty (0-1) each
Scariff/Ogonnelloe: Matthew Crotty, Darragh Kelly, Harry Collins, Cian Galvin, Patrick Maher, Jack Madden, Liam Touhy, Lee Harrington, Cathal McCaul, Donnacha Crotty, Colin O’Grady, Oisin Madden, Michael Vaughan, Ben Sweeney, Conor Slattery. Subs: Sean Sheedy for Vaughan, Sean Madden for Slattery.
Corofin/Ruan scorers: James Cullinan (0-9), Jack Keane (1-0) Daniel McInerney, Christian Cummins, Darragh McGroay 0-1) each
Corofin/Ruan: Jack Crowe, Daniel Guinnane, Liam Fitzpatrick Jack White, Seamus O’Sullivan, Daniel McInerney, Kriston Steigerwald, Sean Healy, Christian Cummins, Jamie Ryan, Darragh McGroary, James Cullinan, Jack Keane, Seanan Kirby, Darragh McDonagh. Subs: Cillian McDonagh for D McDonagh
Referee: Eoghan O’Leary (Whitegate)
Perrill the Jewel as Éire Óg claim Minor A league title
Minor A hurling league final
Éire Óg 1-15 – Clooney/Quin 1-09
A strong second-half showing by Éire Óg earned the Ennis side their first minor A league title for many years with a six-point win over Clooney/Quin recently. Indeed, it was not an easy win as a youthful Clooney/Quin side were the better side for most of the first half and raced into a (1-3) to (0-1) lead by the end of the first quarter. Daire McNamara who was to the fore in the full forward line was on hand with a 10th-minute goal as Matthew Corbett, son of Éire Óg hurling legend Tommy who is the current Clooney/Quin manager added scores from frees. Indeed, the Clooney/Quin defence were on top and it forced Éire Óg into second-quarter replacements. One such move instigated by Manager Keith Molloy was instrumental in their recovery as they brought on promising young star Conor Perrill and the talented youngster went on to be the scoring star for the last ten minutes of the first half. He struck for (1-3) to drag his side into the game. Clooney/Quin were not about the relent and two early second-half scores from Pat Finneran and Corbett took early control once more of the game. Yet, the better-balanced Éire Óg side eventually and decisively took a grip on midfield and Niall McMahon and Ryan Mulcahy were to the fore as Perrill continued with three second-half scores. Cian Nugent who captained the winners denied McNamara and Finneran who clear goal chances in the final quarter. The decisive scores that settled the tie the way of the Ennis youngsters were sent over by centre-back Rian Mulcahy as Rian Hickey also showed flashes of ability in the inside forward line. Others for Clooney/Quin to shine included PJ McCarthy, Patrick Finneran, Conor McCarthy, Cathal Leamy and Matthew Corbett.
Éire Óg scorers: Conor Perrill (1-6), David Loftus (0-3), Rian Mulcahy, Rian Hickey (0-2) each, Tom Kavanagh, Darragh Moroney (0-1) each
Éire Óg: Sean Hennessy, Charlie Doherty, Rian Clohessy, Cian Nugent, Bernard Keating, Roan McDermott, Luke Malice, Niall McMahon, Ryan Mulcahy, Luke Fitzgerald, Tom Kavanagh, Darren Moroney, James O’ Dwyer, Rian Hickey, Cathal Lynch. Subs: David Loftus, Conor Perrill, Michael Roche, Marco Cleary, Alex Nagle, Luke Vaughan.
Clooney scorers: Daire McNamara (1-2), Matthew Corbett (0-4), Patrick Finneran (0-2), PJ McCarthy (0-1) each
Clooney/Quin: Cathal Leamy, Sean Cassidy, Sean McNamara, Fionn O’ Gara, Dylan Browne, Matthew Corbett, Conor McCarthy, Euan Begg, PJ McCarthy, Conor Clancy, Patrick Finneran, Aidan Beirne, Conor Fennell, Daire McNamara, Andrew O’ Neill. Subs: Lochlann Carey for Fennell, Donnacha Cantwell for Begg.
Referee: Kevin Walsh (Wolfe Tones)
