BRIDE ROVERS GAA NOTES.

 LAST GROUP TIE IN SHL. This weekend our Juniors and Seniors are in action. The Juniors have a practise game whilst the Seniors have a vital RED FM SHL tie. On the weekend that Dublin Destroyed our Double Dream  beating our footballers the Sky Blue Hurlers caused a seismic shock in conquering Limerick.  Now we are getting the sandwiches made for Saturday week and a trip to GAA HQ - not to meet unbackable Limerick but the Dubs in a repeat of the 2013 semi final. Lads,  hard to imagine there’s just three more games in the 2025 Senior Hurling Championship and then it’s a case of ‘Goodnight Irene’ until next January – they call it ‘promoting hurling’ .  Our Club Lotto on Tuesday June 17th had a nice jackpot of €13,600 which wasn’t won.

JUNIOR FOOTBALL. ‘Junior footballers continue championship preparation on the new roadside field in Pynes’.

Our junior footballers made history in Saturday evening as they became the first male adult team to play on the new roadside field in Pynes. They played Grange as part of their preparation for the East Cork JBFC. The game ended in a win for the North Cork side, fresh from their lengthy campaign in the confined county football championship.

With Ben Hogan, Jordan Mannix, Tom Murray, and the returning Seamus Ahern providing a strong backbone to the team, we played some nice football throughout. The first half saw Frank O'Flynn and Ryan O'Callaghan strike nice points, while Eldon O'Connor and Nicky Kelleher showed well and asked questions of the Grange defence. Darragh O'Sullivan, and his brother Cillian were busy in midfield, while Jamie Buckley and Jacob Powell were joining the attack at will. With some luck, and some better shooting, we could have had a better return from the opening half. Equally, Grange were causing some close calls in front of our own goals, but Eoghan O'Sullivan and Mike Carey were giving nothing away in front of our consistently impressive goalkeeper Ben Hogan.  The second half started brightly, with Jake Tobin getting on the scoresheet, followed by a tremendous two-pointer from the wing from Seamus Ahern. However it was Grange, aided by their very able free-taker, who ran out winners by about eight points

All in all, it was a positive performance given we had a number of players away on holidays and out with illness. Also, we look forward to welcoming back our minor players into the fold in the coming weeks. Well done to them on their hurling league final win on Sunday evening.

As we head into the championship on July 12th, we will work on being more consistent in converting chances in front of goal and keeping shape in attack and defence.

Pic: Back row (l-r) Jamie Buckley, Ben Hogan, Frank O'Flynn, Tom Murray, Ryan O'Callaghan, Eldon O'Connor, Eoghan O'Sullivan, Darragh O'Sullivan. Front row (l-r) Fionn Bermingham, Michael Carey, Jordan Mannix, Nicky Kelleher, Cillian O'Sullivan, Seamus Aherne, Jacob Powell, Jake Tobin.

WEEKLY CLUB LOTTO.

ROVERS IN BLUE.  We know that Con Murphy from Main St Rathcormac played with Cork in two All Irelan Hurling Finals and played for Dublin against Cork in the 1952 Final.  In the 1930’s two Bride Rovers players -both born in Bartlemy also lined out for Dublin -more about this next week.

CAR BOOT SALE. Thanks to all who helped out with last Sunday’s successful car Boot Sale.  The next car Boot Sale Sunday is July 20th -the same day as the All Ireland Hurling Final!

BUSY HURLING WEEKEND.

After the thrills and spills of Croke Park and Limerick last weekend it’s back to basics -the real important Hurling games at Club level.  On Saturday evening the Blues of Ballinhassig are visitors to Pairc na Bride at 7pm for Round 9 of the 2025 RED FM County Senior Hurling League Division 3. It’s tight at the top of this Division.  Newcestown are on 13 points -they play Castlelyons on Sunday. Courceys  are on 11 points with the relegated Blackrock (2nd team) to play on Saturday afternoon while Ballinhassig are on ten points. So it’s all to play for on Saturday evening. Injuries have plagued us over the last few weeks -hopefully these will be clearing up sooner than later. Go for it lads.

JUNIORS FACE MILLSTREET. Our Junior A team made the trip to Millstreet a few weeks back for a challenge game. On Sunday morning the Duhallow men play a ‘return’ fixture’ at 11.30 in Rathcormac.

IT’S CORK v DUBLIN. No one saw it coming but on Saturday evening last the Dublin Hurlers -mainly 14 of them, out fought and out hurled the Limerick team that has dominated hurling in recent times. No fluke here, no last gasp winner or anything like that just a brave gutsy performance from a Dublin side that’s brim-full of skill and determination. So it’s the Capitol against the ‘Real Capitol’ as we like to call Cork!  We beat them back in 2013 but only narrowly and after Ryan O Dwyer got a second yellow card followed by a red. How good are Dublin? Well on Saturday they looked like world-beaters but Limerick really were not at the races like they used to be.  The former champions looked leggy and tired as the Dubs drove at them but credit where credit is due this Dublin side lack nothing  in hurling skills and steely determination. It should be some game on Saturday week. Dublin are in fact now the only county that could win the Liam/Sam Double in 2025. Fair play to the Cork footballers who put up a great performance against the Dubs at HQ on Saturday night. Truly they have restored faith and pride in Cork Football.  

FLY THE FLAGS.  Get behind the Cork Hurlers as they try and bridge a  20 year gap by putting up the colours and flying the Red and White Flags.

REMEMBER- WILL WE EVER FORGET!

The date was Sunday August the 6th 2017, Croke Park, Dublin and the occasion; the first ever All Ireland under 17 Hurling Final. The Competition,  a ‘once off,’ was brought in because in 2018 inter county Minor Grade went from under 18 to under 17. It was historic day for us when Brian and Eoin Roche lifted the All Ireland Trophy after a  1 19 to 1 17 win over Dublin. From that side, as well as Brian and Eoin, Cormac O Brien, Tommy O Connell, Shane Barrett and the injured Sean Twomey are now with the Cork Senior team.  Just two of the Dublin side are involved with their 2025 Senior team, sub-goalie Eddie Gibbons and wing back Andy Dunphy. A two point win on Saturday week would be grand!

CASTLELYONS IN FINAL. Congrats to neighbours Castlelyons on reaching the Cork Junior C Football Championship Final. A win over Lough Rovers sees them through to the decider against Rochestown, best of luck in that County Final.

SYMPATHY. Bride Rovers extends sincere sympathy to the family of Kathleen Sweeney of Knockaunduff, Rathcormac who died at the weekend. Over the years when we played games in Kildorrery there were two GAA stalwarts we always met - Tommy Dunne and his brother in law Davy |Dwane. Tommy played with the Bartlemy GAA Club in the 1950’s and he died last July. Now Davy Dwane has passed to his eternal reward -his daughter Kathleen Johnson is a former Bride Rovers Club Chairperson and  Davy’s grandson Barry Johnson is one of our all-time greats. We extend deepest sympathy to the Dwane family at this sad time.

FIXTURES ; SATURDAY JUNE 28th SHL v Ballinhassig, home at 7pm

SUNDAY JUNE 29th Junior H challenge v Millstreet at 11.30, home.

BRIDE ROVERS CLUB SPONSORS are; Rathcormac Tyres Fermoy Print & Design Gerard Gubbins Construction and Veolia.

PICTURES;

1 JF v Grange, 2, 3 and 4 MHL Final v Watergrasshill 5 and 6 U 14  Aghada, 7 under 10's in Clonmel, 11 under 9's v Castlelyons

BRIDE ROVERS JUVENILE NOTES.

  UNDER 13 HURLING; Phase 2 of the hurling league got underway last Saturday with our Team 2 taking on Éire Óg 2 at Páirc na Bríde. Rovers started well and went a goal up through Eoghan Croke after 5 mins. Éire Óg responded with a point after 8 mins. It was a stalemate for a long time after that with Éire Óg getting on top but due to some heroic defending from Rovers, particularly our full back line, they couldn't make any inroads. They added a point on 20 mins but Theo Byrd responded with a pointed free on 22 mins. Just on half time, Éire Óg got a scrappy goal and added another point to leave Rovers behind by 2 points at halftime: 1-1 to 1-3. The second half saw Èire Óg play with the breeze and they started to get on top immediately. They added 6 points during the first 20 mins and then a goal on 21 mins. Rovers replied with a Theo Byrd point but Éire Óg would have time for one more goal before the end to finish the game at 3-7 to 1-2. Plenty of heart and heroic defending at time but unfortunately Rovers could only field 15 players on the day so changes weren't possible in the heat. Team 2 now play away to Douglas 3 on Fri July 11. All players now take a two week break to recharge the batteries.

 

UNDER 14 HURLING.

Bride Rovers top Championship Group Table after Hard-Fought Win Over Aghada

Final Score:

Bride Rovers 2-13 

Aghada 0-8

Venue: Páirc na Bríde. The final group game of the Under14 hurling championship saw Bride Rovers welcome Aghada to Páirc na Bríde for what proved to be a tough and gritty encounter — exactly what you’d expect with top-of-the-table pride on the line.

Aghada brought serious intensity from the throw-in. Hard-working, dogged and determined, they made life very difficult for us in the opening half, winning rucks, getting hooks in, and challenging every ball. At half time, the scoreboard reflected the tight nature of the game: Bride Rovers 1-7, Aghada 0-5. The second half, however, saw a shift in gears.

Matching Aghada's work rate, the Rovers lads upped their intensity all over the pitch. Tackles were sharper, support play improved, and the scores started to flow. The final whistle saw us pull away to a strong 2-13 to 0-8 win – a result that keeps us unbeaten in the group stage and sitting top of the table. The foundation for the win? Once again, our defence. Rock-solid all year, they were immense tonight – calm under pressure, disciplined in the tackle, and ruthless on the clearances. Denis, Cathal and Killian and Ruarí, Ollie and Seán worked tirelessly with Ollie and Sean from the half-back line thundering forward to slot over a couple of great points. Midfield were relentless, covering every blade of Páirc na Bríde, linking defence and attack and turning pressure into scores. Their engine room effort was key in swinging momentum our way after the break.

Up front, the forwards were slick, sharp, and selfless – particularly in the second half. The interplay and movement was a joy to watch, with Liam again showing his class – proving a constant threat inside before moving out to midfield and continuing to dominate. Every forward played their part, and when the subs came on, the energy and skill level never dropped – a true sign of the strength and unity in this panel.

Special mention goes to Ciarán in goal – our captain on the night – who led by example from the back. The entire defence kept Aghada to just 2 points from play, a brilliant achievement against such quality opposition.

A huge credit goes to Aghada, who made it a real battle and pushed us to raise our standards. It was a championship game in every sense – physical, fast, and fiercely contested.

With this win, Bride Rovers Under14s finish the group unbeaten and now look forward to the next phase of the championship with confidence, momentum, and a squad full of belief. Well done to all involved – players, coaches, and supporters – for a superb night’s work.

 UNDER 9's IN ACTION. Our under 9 hurlers had a series of games against Castlelyons on Monday night last. all the lads showed great skill and determination and really enjoyed the experience.

TRIP TO TIPP. Our Under 10 hurlers travelled to Clonmel last Saturday morning to play St Mary’s in a hurling Blitz. Played in very warm conditions our boys battled hard and played some fine hurling throughout. Thanks to the St Mary’s Club for inviting us up. What changing GAA times we live in and for the better too! This writer can recall as Club Juvenile Secretary in the early 1970’s, if we wanted to play a practise or a friendly game (blitzes hadn’t yet been invented!) we might go to the Hill or maybe as far as Fermoy and in 2025 we’ve already been to Waterford, Kildare and Tipperary for under age games. I remember taking 10 players packed into our Hillman Hunter to an under 12 game in Fermoy. After going over the bridge I went to change down gears before  taking on Barrack Hill and the car stalled.  I had no option but to leave out all the players and they walked up the hill to the Fermoy pitch as I got the car going again!

MINORS WIN REBEL OG LEAGUE. “ A Fantastic Minor A Hurling League Final Win Over against the Hill”
On a blustery but dry last Sunday evening in Caherlag our Minor Boys delivered a great performance to gain a convincing Minor A Hurling Final Win versus  Watergrasshill.
In our opening league game against the same opposition earlier in the season we didn’t get the performance and lost by a small margin, Rovers Minor panel have won the rest of our league matches, trained hard and  used the gym well since then and have improved as individuals and most importantly as a team.
Going into this Final there was a bit of hurt there and the management and team used that as a great motivation.
In a Final at any age you want your players to deliver a performance and Rovers did it in spades on Sunday evening.
We won the toss and Captain Cormac De Barra decided to play with the wind, both sides started evenly enough but we got a good run of points while some debatable frees kept our opponents in the game, we were the better and stronger team with Denis back at Full Back and the addition of Finn as a third midfielder, that gave our forwards good ball.  Nice points came from Conor, Cormac, Jack and Shane. We wanted to use the advantage of the breeze and that we did with 2 great goals from Conor and a few more from play from Micheal, Finn and Ronan leaving the Score-line 2-12 to 0-4 in our favour  at the short whistle.
Our backs were solid over all the field with some hard tackles and great turnovers giving us ample ball to the forwards. The second half was indeed a physical battle as the Hill tried long and short ball in but credit to Jack in Goals, Jamie, Denis, Adam, Gearoid Cathal and Ronan for how well they played through the hour. Matty in midfield and Sean at centre forward were also winning a lot of the battles and Conor scored his third goal. We hit more points from Shane, Micheal, Cormac. We were the better balanced team showing great Skill, Courage, Quality and Work-rate for each other and won the game on a score line of 3-15 to 1-7. Well done to all. Team & Panel Jack Lynch Adam Cronin Denis Fitzgerald Jamie Walsh Gearoid O Connell Cathal Barry Ronan Barry Matty Kenny Cormac Barry Conor O Riordan Sean Dowling Shane O Dowd Jack Mannix Micheal Walsh Finn O Driscoll
Subs Darragh Farrell Darragh Delaney Gary Quirke Rudi Garab Eanna Lyons
Con Mc Cormac James Larkin Jack Hynes Adam Kelleher
Management Pat, Joe, Denis, Alan & Mark
Scorers; Conor ó Riordan 3-2 (0-1 free),Cormac Barry 0-6 ( 4 frees),Mícheál Walsh 0-2, Shane ó Dowd  0-2, Jack Mannix 0-1, Finn ó Driscoll  0-1 Ronan Barry 0-1. 3 15 in total v 1 -7 ( 0-4 frees). After the final whistle the Rebel Og representative Mick Lordan  presented the League Cup to Cormac Barry our captain who suitably replied.

FIXTURES June 30th u16 HL v Kilworth/ Araglen Og (home) at 6.30pm , July 4th u 14 HL v Killeagh, home at 6.30pm. July 4th u 12 HL v Aghada in Pynes at 7pm. July 9th under 18 FL v Castlelyons in Castlelyons at 6.30pm.