East Cork GAA

02 September, 2010

THE ALL JUNIOR CLUB EAST CORK HURLING FINAL

AS CASTLEMARTYR TAKE ON DUNGOURNEY

*Our apologies for some inaccuracies in an previous version of this article

Sat the 4^th of September 2010

By Derek Kiely

IT’S one of the hardest East Cork Junior A Hurling Finals to call in years and when you consider both Castlemartyr and Dungourney become one club, ‘Kiltha Og’ when the underage players of the parish of Imogeela take to the field together, there will be no such togetherness next Saturday evening at Pairc Ui Chinnéide in Killeagh when these two Junior Clubs go in search of Imokilly’s holy grail in the East Cork Oil Junior A Hurling championship title, the ‘Jamsey Kelleher Cup’.

Following Castlemartyr’s historic victory in last year’s final closing a gap of over four decades, a lot of credit must go to the men in Red who have battled their way back to the final in an attempt to defend the title they found so elusive for so many years and so far it has been a flawless passage through the rounds for Seamus Lawton’s men who have always looked in control of their matches and seem to have an extra gear to go to if they need it.

As for Dungourney, well they have shown incredible resilience and improvement beyond recognition following their first round defeat to Sarsfields.

Dungourney have something about them this year that is hard to explain, there has always been that Dungourney passion, a life or death pride in the jersey and a determination to play to the final whistle, but this campaign has seen the men from Dungourney take some very fancied scalps along the way, not least Sarsfields in the Quarter Finals which gave Dungourney a real sense of revenge for the earlier first round defeat and a comfortable semi final win over Midleton.

This final is a very tough one to call with both sides very capable of playing stylish hurling or mixing it up if necessary, there is nothing quite like a ‘Local Derby’ to get the blood pumping that little bit faster and when you consider that these two clubs come from the same parish, local derbies don’t get much closer than that.

The Imokilly Division has always been blessed with some outstanding Senior Clubs, Intermediate teams and Inter County players down through the years, but this year’s final will be contested by two Junior Clubs and as far as junior hurling goes most people in the division would agree that an all junior club final not only adds a little spice to the affair but also doesn’t happen that often in the divisional championships, plus the importanceof both sides first teams winning is even greater than ever.

In this year’s Championship Dungourney have played one more game than Castlemartyr due to their first round loss, but en route to the final John Cody’s men have struck the oppositions nets on no less than 15 times and raised 55 white flags. Incidentally John Cody is one of seven remaining players who lifted the Jamsey Kelleher Cup back in 2006.

As for Castlemartyr, they have scored three goals, but have pointed 62 times in their campaign after playing a game less, so if the stats are anything to go by Castlemartyr will be very dangerous from point scoring opportunities and Dungourney will be dangerous in search of goals.

All in this all junior club East Cork 'Parish' Final should have a huge crowd full of passion and it should make for a cracking atmosphere and a very special occasion on September the 4^th.

The Managers' View:

Seamus Lawton Castlemartyr “It’s great to be back in the final, we were lucky to get straight back in and considering we lost two key players from last year to emigration, it is a fair testament to the lads dedication and work rate in this year’s championship. This final is a local derby, it couldn’t be any more local and anything can happen in a final and the winning side will need things to go their way on the day, we are looking forward to it”.

John Cody Dungourney “When we were drawn against Lisgoold in the losers group, we knew that would be very tough and when we saw the remainder of the championship draw with teams like Sars and Midleton we had to dig deep, but it helped us focus on this championship even more and there has been a great confidence built. Having said that Castlemartyr have to be the favourites after winning it last year and getting straight back into the final, but at the end of the day it’s a 50 – 50 game and anything can happen on the day it will be a great day out for everyone in Dungourney”.

Castlemartyr’s Route to the Final

Round 1: Castlemartyr 1-15 St Ita’s 3-06

Round 3: Castlemartyr 1-12 Carrigtwohill 1-10

Quarter Final: Castlemartyr 0-18 Russell Rovers 1-11

Semi Final: Castlemartyr 1-17 Bride Rovers 1-09

Dungourney’s Route to the Final

Round 1: Sarsfields 3-17 Dungourney 1-10

Round 2: Dungourney 4-08 Lisgoold 0-16

Round 3: Dungourney 3-14 Carraig na bhFear 1-12

Quarter Final: Dungourney 3-14 Sarsfields 2-12

Semi Final: Dungourney 4-09 Midleton 2-10

The East Cork Oil Junior A Hurling Championship

Saturday September 4^th at 6.15pm

Pairc Ui Chinneide Killeagh

Castlemartyr v Dungourney

Referee Cathal McAllister