BRIDE ROVERS NOTES

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WINS FOR SENIORS, JUNIOR A AND JUNIOR C TEAMS.

 

I think it was Van Morrisson who had a hit song ‘They’ll Be Days Like This’- well now and then there are weekends like the one past with some great results. Ah yes we’ve had plenty games we should have won and could have won but didn’t. Little surprise then that we are all thrilled with the three games last Friday night, Sunday at noon and Monday night. Three Championship games with three wins on the following scorelines;

Senior Hurling Bride Rovers 4 22 Courcey Rovers 2 18,

Junior A Hurling Bride Rovers1 15 Killeagh 0 16

Junior C Hurling Bride Rovers 1 18 Midleton 1 17.  There’s a saying in Irish ‘An rud is annamh isiontach’ (what is seldom is wonderful) so this was a memorable few days for the club and all the 53 players involved.  It was one of those crazy busy periods for the Rovers with the Minors also in action, the Commemoration Night for the 1975 Junior B team, a car Boot Sale and the hosting of a County PIHC game -hardly time to catch one’s breath -never mind milk a cow! The Lotto jackpot reached €15,400 on last Tuesday. On Monday week September 1st we have our next Club Executive meeting.

 

SENIOR HURLING.  Teddy McCarthy Park, Riverstown, home of Sarsfields , All Ireland Club Finalists, was our destination on Friday last August 15th. Courcey Rovers who beat us by 5 8 to 2 6 in the County JAHC in 1968 were our opponents.  Contrasting fortunes in Round 1 saw us defeat Blarney while the Ballinaspittle/ Ballinadee side lose out to debutants Watergrasshill.  We knew what to expect -hurling fury from Courceys, as a second defeat would almost certainly eliminate them from the championship. Courceys had the first point and the early exchanges were fast and furious. Points from Adam Walsh,  Brian Roche, Kieran Kearney , Conleith, Louie got us ticking over nicely. After fifteen minutes we were 0 8 to 0 4 ahead but any thoughts of us building a big lead were soon dispelled. Courceys matched us point for point as Cormac O Sullivan,  Cillian Tobin and Shane O Connor also raised white flags.  Our backs were solid but from frees Richie Sweetman kept the South East side in contention. We led by the slimmest margin at the break 0 12 to 0 11. Tice in the first half we had a four point lead but we just couldn’t really get away from our opponents on the scoreboard. Sweetman missed an early second half free which would have levelled matters.  Three minutes later we got a vital score when Conleith Ryan got through for a great goal. Ten minutes later Conleith scored his second major as we got on top.  Cormac and Davy Barry were winning great possession and our forwards started to take control. In the space of a few minutes Brian Roche raised two more green flags – the Courceys keeper was dismissed for a tackle on Brian.  We were dominant all over the pitch then for a period as we had a huge lead and heading to an easy win. Then for some reason we slackened off and Courceys got two late goals. We still won well on a scoreline of 4 22 to 2 18 despite the late lapse. Well done lads and well done to all the backroom team who have done huge work with the team.  Two wins from two games is mighty but we are not still 100% sure of getting to the knockout stages.  Team; C Hogan; J Peters, E Roche, D Cashman; C Hazlewood, C Tobin, S O’Connor; C O’Sullivan, D Barry; C Ryan, C Barry, A Walsh; K Kearney, B Roche, L Roche .Subs; P O’ Flynn for K Kearney (31), C Barry for L Roche (41), J Mannix for R O’Connell (52).  Our scorers were A Walsh (0-8, 0-6 frees), B Roche and C Ryan (2-1 each), C O’Sullivan (0-4), S O’Connor (0-3), C Tobin, C Barry, K Kearney, L Roche and J Mannix (0-1 each).  Our final Group game is on Saturday September the 6th. On that evening at half 6 we meet Watergrasshill in Ballynoe.

EAST CORK JUNIOR A GRADE HC.

Our Junior A hurlers continued their championship campaign on Sunday morning in Ballynoe against Killeagh. This was the same venue where the green and whites  had beaten us in 2023 and 2024 so everyone was eager to get a different result this year.

There was a strong wind going mainly across the pitch but slightly aiding the team playing up towards the road end of Ballynoe. Killeagh won the toss and chose to play with the wind in the first half. Killeagh opened the scoring but Adam Hayes got his first from the day from a free to restore parity. Shaunie Knox then put a sideline over the bar before Killeagh got their second point of the game. We had a good period and a point each from Adam and Daniel Dooley had us 4-2 up after 15 minutes.

Killeagh started to use the conditions to their favour and got the next 6 points on the trot as the breeze seemed to strengthen. Cillian Barry and Daniel got one each before the break, either side of a ninth Killeagh point to leave us trailing by three, 6 points to 9 at half time.

The team came out with great determination in the second half  and we had the margin back to the minimum after a point each from Shuan and Adam before the decisive score of the game. Josh  Ahern won a great ball sent up from our defence. He galloped through the heart of the Killeagh defence to finish to the back of the net to give us a two point lead, 1-8 to 9 points in the 35th minute.

Killeagh responded with a point but points from Josh and Shuan kept the score board ticking over. The next eight points were shared equally with our lads responding ever time Killeagh got a point, Cillian, Daniel, Adam and Shuan sharing the white flags between them. Our backs were superb as  Killeagh the reigning East Cork Junior champions piled on the pressure.

When Shaun pointed his second sideline of the day it put us 1-15 to 14 points up and looking good with ten minutes to go but our scores dried up from there on. Killeagh mounted attack after attack, but our defence was as solid as ever lead by Liam and Oisin with Ryan and Cormac constantly on the ball at midfield. Killeagh reduced the margin back to three in the 55th minute but both teams accuracy started leaving them down after a tough 60 minutes of action. Ronan made a great save to put the ball out for a 65 which Killeagh duly put over and the margin was down to a dangerous two points  entering added time. Killeagh continued to attack and were awarded a 21yard free just to the left of the goals deep into injury time. Their full forward Dan Landers went for goal but the shot was stopped on the line by Tadgh in what was the last play of the game to see us out winners on a score line of 1-15 to 0-16 points. Whew, what a game and what a win, well done lads on a great display. We’ve defeated Carrigtwohill and Killeagh and so have 4 Points on the Table. Our final group game is against Cobh in Watergrasshill on Sunday the 7th of September.

Team and Scorers: R O’Riordan, E O’Connor, O Roche, T O’Sullivan, K Cotter, L Collins, A Hynes, Cormac Barry, R O’Callaghan, Cillian Barry (0-2), J Ahern (1-1), D Dooley (0-3), A Hayes (0-4, (2f)), W Finnegan, S Knox (0-5(1f, 2sl)) Subs, C O’Sullivan, C O’Riordan.

 

EAST CORK JUNIOR C HURLING.

Our Junior C Hurlers played their second game of their championship campaign at home to Midleton on Monday evening. We had beaten Fr O’Neills in our opening round while Midleton had lost narrowly to Lisgoold. A win here for us would see us guaranteed a place in the knockout stage and it would be elimination for Midleton.

It was a great weekend for the club with wins for the seniors and junior As and the Cs ,our third XV, or The Holy Terrors as Fr Edmond Barry used call them in the 18880’s, continued the success with a nail-biting win against Midleton.

Midleton had started this game the better and after 10 minutes had run up a 5 point to nil lead. Frank got our opening score from a free, but Midleton restored their lead before 3 points on the trot finally got us going with the scores from Jacob and two from frank.

The game was more of a contest now, Midleton got a 7th point before one from Darragh and Frank had the gap back to minimum in the 22nd minute. Midleton got the opening goal of the game and followed this up with a point and things weren’t looking great again. Credit to the lads they got the last two points of the 1st half from Jordan Mannix and Liam Forde to leave just 3 points between the teams at the break 1-8 to 8 points.

The second half was a pulsating contest played in the fashion of knockout hurling. Early points for Michael, Liam and Frank and one in response from Midleton had the margin back the minimum in the 35th minute. Our half back line began to take control of the game with Jordan, John and a first start for Ryan since his return from Canada.

Midleton hit a purple patch and had 3 points in a row and the gap was widening in the 40th minute when Frank went for goal from a free from just outside the 21. The resulting shot went through a swarm of Midleton bodies, and the margin was back to a point.

Midleton responded again with 3 points in a row and led by 1-15 to 1-11 at the 45th minute mark. The lads never gave up and we responded with three points in a row ourselves - coming from Frank (2) and Jack.

Midleton were reduced to 14 men and space began to open up around the middle for us. Midleton twice restored their 2-point advantage as we approached the end of normal time but John O Sullivan came up from wing back to pop over a point to bring the margin back to one. Jack Mannix was finding lots of space now and using his speed to full effect and when a ball was delivered down the wing to him, he cut inside and beat three Midleton defenders to score a great point to level the game.

The 4 minutes of added time was nearly up when Luke found Nicky in the middle of the pitch by himself, Nicky launched a ball high into the air that seemed to take an eternity to come down but when it did it landed on top of the goal net, a point for us to take the lead for the 1st time in the match and enough to see us out winners on a score line of 1-18 to 1-17. A great game and a mighty finish -well done lads.

Team & Scorers: S O’Flynn, C O’Dowd ©, A Buckley, J Tobin, J O’Sullivan (0-1), Jordan Mannix (0-1), R Prendergast, L Harrington, N Kelleher (0-1), F O’Flynn (1-8), D O’Sullivan (0-1), B Knox, J Powell (0-1), L Forde (0-2), M Collins(0-1) Subs: J Kearney, Jack Mannix (0-2), B Collins, S Boyce, D Kelleher, A Cronin, R Barry, J Buckley, M Manley

Our final group game is against Lisgoold on Sunday the 31st of August in Rathcormac at 3pm

BRIDE ROVERS JUVENILE GAA NOTES

 

 

Rebel OG MHC. Minor Hurling Round 3 Championship v Killeagh

For our third round on the Minor A Hurling Championship we were fixed away to Killeagh  in Pairc Ui Chinneide on the Wednesday 13th.
Both sides had 2 good wins in the earlier rounds so this was as close to a top 2 in the group clashing. Killeagh got the better start and had 3 scores before we got ours, Killeagh had us under pressure from the start mostly because they were more clinical and moved the ball fast, our backs were under immense pressure from the first whistle but stood up strong and had a great discipline, after a few attempts went wide we got our first score from play. It was physical and fast a very tight low scoring first half where both defences were on top.
Both sides started the second half with the same line up and Cathal was our sweeper. Our lads were dissatisfied with their first half and we needed to get more scores. We were working that bit harder and picked of another few scores as did Killeagh holding a steady lead on us, our backs of Jamie, Ronan, Adam
Gearoid, Oliver & Cormac real stood up and turned over good ball in to the forwards where Rudi fielded some great possession of loading good ball creating scores and taking a well deserved score for himself, it was Finn & Matty winning more dirty ball in midfield was the little wins that was making us better and scored 2 good goals from Conor and had a 21 yard free saved. We had it back to 1 point with a few minutes to go even though we weren’t playing well finishing with a late pint as Killeagh finished with their second Goal winning on a score line of Killeagh 2-11 to 2-7
We now need to get a better balanced performance and results from our next 2 Hurling  championship game to qualify for a play off.

Team & Panel Jack Hynes Oliver Harris Ronan Barry Jamie Walsh Gearoid O Connell Cormac Barry Adam Cronin Matty Kenny Finn O Driscoll Conor O Riordan Sean Dowling Shane O Dowd Gary Quirke Rudi Garab Cathal Barry
Subs. Mark Hynes in for Gary Jack Lynch Adam Kelleher Darragh Farrell Eanna Lyons
Con Mc Cormack James Larkin Shane Prendergast
Our next Minor Match is Football Championship Round 3 away to Mayfield 20th at 7.30

 STARS OF THE FUTURE. What a treat it was for the spectators to see the under 8 hurlers of the Rovers, Brid and Courceys in action last Friday night. On the green sward of Teddy McCarthy Park in Riverstown the youngster gave a great exhibition at half time in the Senior Game between the same Clubs. The lads were so excited to be playing before a huge crowd but they showed no nerves at all and both teams displayed great skill on the night. Well done to all the players, parents and mentors.

 

 

 

PLAYING WITH CORK Congrats to Finn O'Driscoll and Micheál Walsh, who were part of the Cork Under 16 football squad that beat Kerry in the Mangan cup in Ballyvourney on last Saturday.
Congrats to Oliver Harris, who represented another Cork Under16 football team in their game against Meath in Fethard also on Saturday.
This draws their intercounty seasons to a close, so well done to our lads on your commitment representing our club by training and playing with Cork. Thanks to you parents for supporting you to do so.
Finally, Vincent Cronin plays an important role on the management of these teams. Well done to Vince on his work and commitment. So many people like Vincent work away quietly behind the scenes but their contribution is massive.

BACK TO SCHOOL.  Where has the summer gone? So for many of our players the next week will be back to school time. For some it’s the transition from one class to another and for others a new venture into Secondary Education, best wishes to all

GREAT DAY OUT.  Next Sunday is Sunflower Day in Corrin Nature Reserve between Rathcormac and Fermoy. from 11am to 4pm. Always a superb day out for all the family the Sunflowers are in full bloom and the proceeds of the day help with the ongoing fundraising of Marymount Hospice and also the Corrin Nature Reserve. Please come along and enjoy the day - complimentary refreshments and entertainment. For any further information contact Billy Finnegan 086 855 2537

 

RATHCORMAC 4 MILE RACE. On tonight Thursday August the 21st Bridevale AC will host their annual Road Race in Rathcormac so please support the event.

1975 REUNION. Last Thursday night, August 14th, was a night of nostalgia and memory as we gathered to recall events of fifty years ago.  Back in 1975 we won our second ever Junior B Grade Championship when the Pat O Connor captained team defeated St Itas in the East Cork Final. Most of the team gathered in the Rathcormac Inn on Thursday night to recall that great year. Chairman Pa O Driscoll welcomed all and said the death of our then Club Chairman David John Barry in June 1975 was a sad event. However the winning of the B Grade title was a huge boost. 1975 Captain Pat O Connor -now Club President, recalled the hurling campaign and said that year began our road to Club Development including the purchase of our Club pitch. Fr Seanie Barry recalled he hadn’t played Club Hurling in 1974 and was asked to ‘fall in’ with the B team in 1975. He said it was so enjoyable with no pressure on the players. Selectors Tom Cotter and Willie Cotter have passed away as have players John Byrnes, Johnny Barry, Jerry Martin and Niall Long -they were all remembered on the night. It was a wonderful night filled with memories and friendships renewed.

FOOTBALL ACTION. Attention this weekend turns to the East Cork Junior B Grade Football. On Saturday(August 23rd) we face St catherines in Castlelyons at 3pm in a vital tie. We defeated Fr O Nells in Round 1 but this will be a tougher task. Good luck lads.

WEEKLY CLUB LOTTO; Lotto Results 5th of August -
Numbers this week 7, 8, 16 & 25 -No Winner. Congrats to our lucky dip €30 cash winners; Louie Roche, Ballynanelagh,  Lawerance Crowley, c/o Pitch Sales, Shane O’Connor, The Rock, Bartlemy, Evelyn O’Donovan, Carrigtwohill
 and Patsy O’Flynn, Fermoy
The Jackpot for Tuesday August 12th was an incredible €15,200.

 

Lotto Result: 12th of August - Numbers drawn were 22, 23, 30 & 32 - No Winner. Congrats to our lucky dip €30 cash winners,Harriett Cotter, Coolnakilla, James O’Neill, Castlelyons, Mary Leddy, c/o Online lotto, Josie Geary, Mitchelstown, Adam Fitzgerald, Mitchelstown

SUNFLOWER SUNDAY. Next Sunday August 24th is the big day for the Corrin Nature Reserve. The Reserve is at present a blaze of vibrant yellow colour in readiness for the big fundraiser coming up on Sunday. It promises to be a day of fun, music, dancing and enjoyment in the pen air with heaps of Sunflowers. The proceeds will be divided between Marymount and the Corrin Nature Reserve.

THANKS. Thanks to all Club members who helped out with the Kilworth v Ballincollig PIHC game on Saturday night and with the car Boot Sale on Sunday -many hands make light work.

 

BON VOYAGE. Last weekend we bade Bon Voyage to Fr Fachtna O Driscoll as he returned to work on the Missions Fields in Africa. Fachtna was  one of the 1975 Junior B team and met up with his colleagues on Thursday night. We wish him all the best after his summer break.

SPONSORS. The Bride Rovers GAA Club sponsors are Fermoy  Print & Design, Rathcormac Tyres, Gerard Gubbins Construction and Veoila -please support our sponsors whenever you can.