Killeagh Notes (18th Oct)

  • Oct 18,2026

Killeagh GAA Club Notes October 19th 2026

CLCG Cilliath, Nuacht an Chlub, Deireadh Fómhair 19, 2026

 

 

CONGRATULATIONS, BEST WISHES AND COMISERATIONS!

Congratulations to our Junior B footballers who claimed victory in dramatic fashion in the East Cork final on Saturday 10th October. We’ve achieved of target of getting back to where we think we should always have been. Anything extra from here on is a bonus!

Congratulations to our former rúnaí Tracey Kennedy on her marriage to Colman Cronin. All in Killeagh GAA wish you both many years of health and happiness together.

Best wishes to our Junior A hurlers in the East Cork Final on Sunday 25th October, to the Inch Rovers ladies footballers in the Munster Intermediate Semi-Final against Templemore next weekend, and to all our neighbours involved in finals in the coming weeks, including St. Catherine’s on Friday 23rd, Youghal on Saturday 24th, and Aghada on Saturday 31st. Go n-éirí libh!

Comiserations to our minors on a great campaign which didn’t quite seal the deal, but came damn close, and also to our neighbours in Dungourney, with our club members Bryan and Thomas centrally involved, for reaching the same destination but also just missing out on the ultimate prize. No shame at all for either team being second best of 12. 

 

SILVERWARE SEASON!

O’CONNOR MOTOR FACTORS EAST CORK JUNIOR B FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL     Saturday October 10th in Dungourney   Glenbower Rovers 0-12, Castlelyons 2-05

To those of a certain age, nightmares about finals against Castlelyons will haunt some of us until our final breath. We suffered initially when our 1993 Junior A hurlers came a cropper against an unfancied Castlelyons team in Watergrasshill as they claimed their first Jamesy Kelleher title. Just five years later, the green and gold burst our bubble again, as they defeated us in Páirc Ui Chaoimh in the Intermediate final, in their first year playing in that grade, leaving us to toil for three further years before we eventually made the jump to join them in the senior ranks. Thus, no blame to those on the sideline in Dungourney on Saturday last who must surely have thought, as we trailed by three points i gcoinne na gaoithe with just eight minutes left, that the men from the north of the barony would once again catch us on the hop! How did we get to here? Having beaten Castlelyons in our third group game in Ballynoe four weeks previously, the opening half here saw us dominate possession with the wind in our favour, but our shooting accuracy once again left us down. Castlelyons opened the scoring on three minutes with Evan Lane replying immediately. A ’45 from Fionn Brennan was followed by a long scoreless hiatus with some missed chances before Richie Long put us ahead by 0-03 to 0-01 on the quarter hour. Castlelyons reduced the gap before another long score-free window. Paudie Mackey got us back on track on 23 minutes, Dara Motherway extended the lead further, and Paudie put us four ahead just before Johnny O’Connell’s half-time whistle – 0-06 to 0-02. The half-time question from our nervous supporters was: would four points be enough of a lead given the strength of the wind? Seven wides (Castlelyons had one) also told a story. Our opponents came out in top gear for the second half and within five minutes had reduced the margin to one – 0-07 to 1-03 – after a quick point and a goal, responded to by a Keane Budds point. The cavalry had been summoned by this point – Barry Walsh and Seamie Harnedy sent into the fray, with Sean Long and Rob Sinclair following. Barry pushed us to 0-08 before Castlelyons replied again and then equalised on 50 minutes. Given that we had failed to score for 12 minutes, and that Castlelyons were playing with both wind and confidence, many hearts were in mouths heading down the home stretch. Matters took a troubling turn on 53 minutes when Castlelyons were awarded a penalty which was duly dispatched for their second green flag, pushing them three ahead – 2-05 to 0-08. What kind of a response could we muster? Six days earlier, our Junior A hurlers stood up tall when faced with the probability of exiting at semi-final stage, trailing Cobh by three points with just two minutes left. On that occasion, four unanswered points – three from play and one from a free – saw us put our noses in front when it mattered most. Perhaps the muscle memory of that escape helped here – with Richie Long, hero of the Shanagarry Salvage, getting our scoring back on track with a point straight after the penalty. With 58 minutes gone, we were awarded our own penalty, but Paudie Mackey’s shot was pushed over the bar by ‘keeper Shane Hickey for a white, rather than a green flag. Still one down, time almost up! Another Paudie point brought us to parity, before the laoch mór Seamie Harnedy twisted and turned and pointed with the clock gone into the red – one ahead, 0-12 to 2-05! Castlelyons had one more opportunity to push the game into extra time but were unable to finish, and thus we held on for a win which had seemed most unlikely just ten minutes earlier. Congratulations to our hard-working panel; this victory made amends for the manner of our frustrating Junior A slán leat final extra-time loss to Lisgoold on the same pitch twelve months earlier when we were relegated having been ahead by three in injury time. This time, thankfully, we were on the right side of that oft-flipped coin of despair or delight. Well done to our management team of Colin Brennan, ably assisted by Donie Treacy and Brian Barry, giving football some status again in our club after two relegations and one promotion in three topsy-turvy seasons. It’s time to take heed of a local hostelry owner with some skin in the game in relation to big ball activities – having been involved in winning this competition in 1985 and having subsequently been part of the management who brought four Junior A titles in a row from 2011 to 2014, he was happy to welcome the cup into his establishment for some sugar-free lemonade on Saturday evening only on condition that we would not be celebrating at this grade ever again (unless for a second team perhaps)!

Team: Fionn Brennan, Jamie Fogarty, Ciaran Leahy, Keane Budds, Evan Lane, Ben Walsh, Cathal Fitzgibbon, Dara Motherway, Robbie Treacy, Eoin Brenner, Brendan Delaney, Sean Walsh, Paudie Mackey, Richie Long, Matthew Murphy, Sean Long, Barry Walsh, Seamus Harnedy, Rob Sinclair.

A word on the match winner. Given that within 24 hours of winning this title for us, Seamie Harnedy had announced his retirement from inter-county hurling, it’s time for some reflection. How fitting that his latest triumph came on a pitch where he had his greatest hour with his beloved St. Ita’s – winning their first and only Jamesy Kelleher on a day of biblical deluge in 2021, and that Seamie kept to his word that he would return to play football with Glenbower Rovers whenever the opportunity would arise. So the sporting fates have worked in our favour in the last few weeks, enabling Seamie to return to our team with whom he won an Under 21 county and four East Cork titles, leading to him scoring the match-winning point on Saturday last. And in between that U21 and initial East Cork (2011) and this year, Seamie has become a Locked-In Leeside Legend – ranked alongside JBM, Deano and all the greats of the past, firstly with the Under 21 Cork team and then through fourteen stellar seasons with a Cork team that came within inches and seconds of winning All-Irelands in 2013 and 2024, but were downed by The Banner on both occasions. Seamie’s search for a Celtic Cross may have eluded him, but greatness has not. Go raibh míle maith agat, Seamie, all in Killeagh GAA wish you the very best on and off the pitch for the next phase of your journey. 

 

REBEL ÓG PREMIER 2 MINOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL REPLAY

Wednesday October 7th in Carrigtwohill     St. Finbarr’s 0-18, Killeagh 0-14

Tháinig an slua mór ar ais go Carraig Tuathail don ath-imirt idir an dá fhoireann míonúir Dé Céadaoin seo caite. The drawn game had finished in dramatic circumstances with the Barrs scoring 1-01 in injury time to force a replay, and they began this replay in similar whirlwind fashion, with four unanswered points in the opening eight minutes, while our radar was slightly off, with a number of wides, mishit efforts, and good defending from the Barrs defence and goalkeeper David Clarke O’Mahony keeping us scoreless until Ben Geary got us off the mark on 9 minutes. From there until just before half-time we were the better team, with two further points from Ben (one from a free), one each from Ruben O’Riordan and John Farquhar, and two from our best player in the opening half, Andrew Brenner. On the quarter hour, we trailed by 0-05 to 0-03, and by 25 minutes the lead was down to one – 0-07 to 0-06 after John’s excellent point. However, Barrs closed out the half with four quick points in the closing five minutes to lead by 0-11 to 0-07 at Patrick O’Mahony’s half time whistle. The lead became six by the 35th minute, before we reduced the gap with two frees from Ben,  and a great score from Jay Geary on 43 minutes, at which point the gap was four – 0-14 to 0-10. Despite the best efforts of the excellent Cormac Deane, including a point on 53 minutes, and Ben’s frees keeping us in touch, we were unable to get the gap to less than two at any stage, with Barrs scoring the final point to secure the victory. A long and tough season ends without the ultimate prize, but like Seamie’s quest for All-Ireland glory, this team have given their supporters great enjoyment along the way, and should hold their heads up and be proud of their efforts and achievements. 

Team: Eolann Deane, Patrick Dineen, Rian O’Connor, Alex Howey, Dillon McCarthy, Alex Fogarty, Cathal Brennan, Andrew Brenner, Ruben O’Riordan, John Farquhar, Cormac Deane, Jack Farquhar, Cormac Delaney, Ben Geary, Jay Geary, Billy Guerin, Charlie Lawton, Adam Barry, Sean O’Leary, Cathal Murphy, Eoghan Murphy, Seanan McDonnell, Liam Lynch, Oscar Power, Oisin Conlon, Tom Power, Ronan O’Riordan.

 

REBEL ÓG EAST U16 DIVISION 1 FOOTBALL SHIELD FINAL

Friday, October 9th in Glanmire                   Killeagh 5-13, Glanmire 2-07

Congratulations to Killeagh U16 footballers on winning the East Championship Shield in Glanmire on Friday October 9th, defeating Glanmire by 5-13 to 2-07. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Alex Kirby who got injured whilst scoring a great goal for us.

 

REBEL ÓG EAST U12 FOOTBALL GROUP 3 CUP FINAL

Saturday, October 10th in Glenville              Bride Rovers 6-02, Killeagh 2-07

Commiserations to our U12 footballers who lost out to a very strong Bride Rovers in a hard-fought League Cup final in Glenville on Saturday morning, October 10th. In a game of end-to-end football, Rovers got a couple of scores at vital times to see them over the line at the final whistle. This Killeagh team have had a fantastic year, with victories in hurling in the Willie Ryan tournament in Aghada, our own Killeagh tournament and the Shield final, along with reaching the League Cup final in football. They're a group with lots of potential and plenty to build on in the coming years. Well done to both players and coaches.

 

MULCAHY STEEL UNDER 21 A HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER FINAL

Tuesday, October 13th in Ahavine                Killeagh 2-20, Bride Rovers 2-17

Our Under 21 boys delivered a strong performance on Tuesday evening, navigating the first of three potential fences in this ultra-competitive competition. Bride Rovers had been finalists in 2025 in this grade, losing to Midelton in the final, having overcome an Erins Own team in the semi-final who had comprehensively beaten our team in Round 1. So we’re already a step further than last year, with Sarsfields awaiting in the semi-final on Wednesday October 28th. Ben Geary was the star of the show, scoring 1-11, including 1-04 from play. He was assisted by an outstanding second half display from Cormac Deane, while Cathal Brennan, Sean Meade, Ben Walah and Cian O’Riordan impressed. We led by 0-04 to 0-0 after 6 minutes, with two placed balls from Ben, one from play, and an excellent point from Cian O’Riordan from downtown. Rovers got the nest three scores – a goal followed by two points, to nudge ahead, and by the quarter hour it was all square – 0-07 to 1-04. Ben Walsh put us ahead but Rovers put two together, before Sean Meade’s second point levelled matters again. We scored 1-03 in the final ten, limiting Rovers to just one point. Ben Geary’s goal on 29 minutes came at just the right time, leaving us five ahead at Brian Sweeney’s half-time whistle. Ben Geary pointed two frees in the opening minutes of the second half before Cormac Deane’s first of three pushed us eight ahead – 1-15 to 1-07. Rovers, as ever, refused to yield, and by the third quarter had scored six points (four from frees), while we just managed one score between the 34th and 46th minute. Crucially, however, that score was under the bar, and the green flag kept the Rovers somewhat at bay – leaving us ahead by 2-15 to 1-13. This time Ben Geary was provider, and Sean Meade was the finisher. From there to the finish, it was end-to-end, but Ben’s three points and Cormac’s two clutch scores had us ahead by 2-20 to 2-16 with the clock ticking into the red. Rovers kept going, added a point to reduce the gap to just one score, and had a final attempt at goal repelled by some frantic defending, leaving our boys delighted and relieved. This was a real East Cork Classico – well done to both sides on providing the large attendance with an outstanding hour’s entertainment. And well done also to the Fr. O’Neill’s officials and volunteers – the new pitch in Ahavine has quickly become one of the best surfaces in the division, while the level of stewarding and parking management was on a par with anything we’ve seen recently. What a pleasure it was to see high quality hurling on a high quality surface on a beautiful October Tuesday evening.

Team: Fionn Murphy, Riain O’Connor, Harry Connon, Cathal Brennan, Cian O’Riordan, Ben Walsh, Alex Fogarty, Cormac Deane, Andrew Brenner, John Ogbebor, Barry Walsh, Fionn Brennan, Sean Meade, Colm Leahy, Ben Geary, Jack Coleman, Michael Doherty, John Farquhar. 

 

JAMES HEGARTY and VINCENT FITZGIBBON, RIP

We bid farewell to two supporters of our club, and of hurling in general in recent times, with the passing of James Hegarty and Vincent Fitzgibbon. James, who lived within three pucks of a sliotar from Páirc Uí Chinnéide is brother-in-law of our club stalwart Liam Foley, and his children and grandchildren have strong connections with our clubs. Vincent, who was 93, is the final member of the famed Fitzgibbon clan of Castletown to leave this earth, and he had a lifelong passion for hurling, following closely the exploits of his home club Killeagh, his adopted club Glen Rovers, and the Cork team, with his son John being one of the finest forwards to play for Cork in the past half century. He was also uncle of our club secretary Mary and her siblings and many Fitzgibbon cousins. The Glen victory on Sunday in the Park will be of some consolation to the Fitzgibbon family, as I’m sure will the excellent County Final programme article on Vincie by Glen PRO Mary Newman. Ar dheis Dé go raibh an bheirt acu.  

 

GOLF SOCIETY NEWS

The results from the final Golfer of the Year outing to Faithlegg on Saturday 17th October are as follows: 

1st John P Murphy 37-1=36pts

2nd Billy Forrest 35pts

3rd Colin Fogarty 34pts B9

Best Gross Ger Fitzgibbon 25GP

2nd Gross John Walsh 24GP

6th Aidan Coughlan 34pts

7th Denis Hickey 33pts 

Best Guest Brendan Barry 39pts

Our overall Golfer of the Year winner is John P Murphy 

2nd John Walsh 

3rd Aidan Coughlan 

The Matchplay winner is Eddie Hayes, Runner Up is John Keniry and the semi-finalists were John Walsh and Sean Treacy. Many thanks to Eamonn of Hickey Commercial Parts for the kind sponsorship of the outing to Faithlegg GC.

AND NOW, THE BIG ONE!

We are back in the East Cork Junior A Hurling Championship Final, which will be held in Cloyne on Sunday October 25th. It’s a return to the final that we have won on six occasions – 1967, 1970, 1971, 1988, 1995 and 2024. We’ve also been beaten in six finals – 1951, 1957, 1986, 1993, 1994 and 2008. Will the win percentage go above or drop below the 50% rate in 2026? Our opponents Bride Rovers have five titles – 1930, 1932, 1968, 1969 and 1998. This is their second consecutive year in the final with their second team, so it’s all to play for. Over to you boys! Let’s see a huge Killeagh following in Cloyne on Sunday – be there early, (throw in is at 1430 hrs and remember that the clocks go back) and be vocal. Let’s hope that we’ll be looking for another verse to be added to Killeagh la la la la on Sunday evening!

 

LOTTO

The Lotto Jackpot has now reached €14,000! We’re ready to give it away; all you have to do is pick the correct 4 numbers between 1 and 36! You know what to do! Play now, online or in shops. Draw every Tuesday at 8.00 p.m.