Month / October 2017

by thesaffrongael

McGarry magic sinks St Paul’s as Shamrocks bridge 11 year gap

Under 16 A Hurling Championship final

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Loughgiel celebrate their win over St Paul’s in the Under 16 A Hurling final in Ballymena. Pic by Dylan McIlwaine

Loughgiel 5-13 St Paul’s 3-8

by John McIlwaine

Loughgiel won their first Under 16 Hurling title in eleven years when they beat St Paul’s in Wednesday night’s final at Quinn Park, Ballymena. A highly talented Shamrocks side were in control for most of the game and after leading 4-7 to 1-5 at the break they pushed on to win with relative ease in the end. The St Paul’s side contained a lot of very good hurlers as well and to their credit they battled to end, but they just hadn’t enough to match their north Antrim opponents who had strong players throughout the field.

Loughgiel went ahead within seconds of the throw-in when centre forward Michael McGarry soloed through to score an excellent point on the run. Rian McMullan added another soon afterwards and when Conor McCormick’s shot from out on the wing deceived the St Paul’s goalkeeper and dropped into the net the gap was out to five. Dylan Devlin had the gap out to six by the time St Paul’s got their first score, a goal from full-forward Caolan McKernan, and when the full forward added a point the gap was back to just two. The Shaw’s Road boys kept in touch as Caolan Duffin and Caolan Crossan matched scorers by Loughgiel’s Dylan Devlin and Michael McGarry but all was to change when Loughgiel hit two goals within a minute, the first from Odhran McGrath and the second fifty seconds later from Rian McMullan. Those proved two body blows from which St Paul’s could not recover and Loughgiel went on to lead by 4-7 to 1-5 at the break.

Four unanswered points at the start of the second half from man of the match Michael McGarry (2), Rian McMullan and substitute Christy McGarry all but sealed the result. There was a bit of a shoot-out between the two number 11s as Loughgiel’s Michael McGarry and St Paul’s Caolan Crossan hit some great scores from both frees and open play, some of McGarry’s scores coming from well inside his own half. Crossan grabbed a goal for St Paul’s in the 48th minute to give his team a boost but less than a minute later substitute Conor O’Mullan grabbed one at the other end as found the net despite being on his knees.

McGarry and Crossan continued their personal scoring battle with two points each before Crossan grabbed his team third goal to bring his personal tally to 2-5. However it was about Loughgiel as the young Shamrocks finished strong to seal the first Under 16 county title since 2006.

Loughgiel scorers – Ryan McGarry 0-9; Rian McMullan 2-1; Christy McGarry 1-1; Dylan Devlin 0-3; Conor McCormcik 1-0; Odhran McGarath 1-0; Cathal Hargan 0-1

St Paul’s scorers Caolan Crossan 2-5; Caolan McKernan; Ruairi Hamill 0-2.

Loughgiel

Kevin McAuley, Conor Henry, Ruairi McCloskey, Christie Dickson, Ryan Dallas, Declan McCloskey, Tiernan McAlonan, Cathal Hargan, Shane O’Boyle, Dylan Devlin, Michael McGarry, Rian McMullan, Conor McCormick, Ohdran McGrath, Damian Quinn.

Subs – Christie McGarry, Enda Og McGarry, Tiernan McCaughan, Conor O’Mullan

St Paul’s

Michael Duffy, Aaron Carey, Dara Stevenson, Chaiolfhionn O’Neill, Dylan Flynn, Alan Hyndman, Mark Munce, Niall Martin, Gary McGroarty, Caolan Duffin, Caolan Crossan, Michael Murphy, Caolan McKernan, Cillian McGarry.

Referee – Kevin Parke

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Declan McCloskey, Shane O’Boyle and Ruairi McCloksey who were members of the Con Magees team beaten by St Bridid’s in the Under 16A football final the previous night were members of the Shamrocks side who clinched the hurling title on Wednesday night. Pic by Dylan McIlwaine

 

by thesaffrongael

Underdogs role will suit St. Brigid’s but St. Bronagh’s pose a serious threat

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Ulster Intermediate Football Club Championship (Corrigan park Sunday)

St. Brigid’s Antrim v St. Bronagh’s Rostrevor

St. Brigid’s head into this weekend’s Ulster Intermediate club championship against St. Bronagh’s Rostrevor cast in the role of underdogs but with the game scheduled for Corrigan Park, a familiar venue for the Belfast men I don’t think there will be much between the sides at the final whistle.

St. Brigid’s defeated All Saints in the semi-final of the Antrim championship at the same venue and were quite impressive, scoring four goals against the Ballymena side on the way to a convincing victory. In their first outing this year, a preliminary round, they found it much more difficult and only got through by a rather fortunate late goal against Tir na nOg, Randalstown.

Perhaps their biggest test came in the quarter-final where they were drawn against St. Enda’s and the Glengormley side went into that game as strong favourites having gained promotion to Division 1 but St. Brigid’s turned in a sterling performance to edge home 1-11 to 1-9.

James Smith top scored for St. Brigid’s with 1-1 and John Blayney (0-3), Ronan O’Grady (0-3), Jack Dowling (0-2) and Ben Leonard and Peter Webb were the scorers for the Musgrave Park side.

In the semi-final against All Saints the ‘Biddies’ really found their shooting boots, aided by an All Saints defence who went AWOL and the Musgrave Park side scored an impressive 4-9 to 0-11 win. John Blayney led the way with 2-0 and Jack Dowling and Ruairi O’Neill were the other goal scorers while Ronan McGrady weighed in with an impressive 0-5 and Cathal Conway, Peter Webb, Ruairi Finnegan and Ben Leonard were all on target.

In the Antrim final St. Brigid’s met a Cuchullain’s Dunloy side smarting from defeat in the previous two Antrim finals and there were many who felt that this would be Dunloy’s year due to the emergence of a number of young players who had been in sparkling form throughout the league and championship.

St. Brigid’s, on the other hand were searching for only their second Intermediate championship success and their first since 2005 and they were determined that this would be their year. The North Antrim men led by 0-6 to 0-5 at half time although their goal had survived a few scares late in the half.

The introduction of Ruaridh O’Neill in the second half proved a master stroke and the bearded red headstarted to pull the strings as St. Brigid’s began to get on top. There was little in it however at the end of the third quarter and indeed their keeper Stephen Morrissey pulled off his second splendid save of the game to deny Conor McKinley what looked a certain goal.

Morrisey’ breath taking save, coupled with the guile of O’Neill saw the Musgrave Park side push on and a splendid goal by substitute Ben Leonard with three minutes remaining killed off the Dunloy challenge and brought about scenes of wild celebration.

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WHAT OF ROSTREVOR

On Sunday at Corrigan Park, St. Brigid’s take on St. Bronagh’s Rostrevor in the Ulster club championship and they are sure to face stiff opposition from the Down men. St. Bronagh’s gained promotion to division 1 this season following a very successful league campaign.

On the way to the league title they recorded wins over Newry Shamrocks, Liatrom, Saval, Annaclone, Darragh Cross and Bredagh with their only defeat coming to Carryduff at the beginning of this month. On their way to Intermediate championship success they defeated Drumaness in round one before going on to complete a successful season when they defeated Annaclone in the championship final.

Their best known player is Caolan Mooney who has been a member of the Down county side for a couple of years now and has recently been nominated for a place of the 2017 PwC All Star side. Jonathan Parr in goals and Darran McElhinney and Niall Farrell are likely to anchor their defence and Mooney at midfield should be partnered by Joe Morgan.

In attack Brian Keenan (1-0), Conor Fegan (0-3), Piaras Kane (0-2), Damian Magee (0-1) and substitute Peter Magee with Caolan Mooney (0-2) were their scorers against Annaclone in the county final and they do appear to have a potent threat in attack.

Their captain Jarlath Farrell insists there is more to come from his side. “Our goal at the start of the year was to win the Intermediate Club Championship and win promotion out of Division Two,” said Farrell, “That’s one objective achieved and we have another one to go and we are not going to forget about it.” In the final Played in Pairc Esler, it was a contest that won’t go down as a classic, but that matters little to Rostrevor who did enough to keep Annaclone at bay.

St. Brigid’s will have run the rule over the Down side but are likely to concentrate on their own strengths and game plan as they attempt to get over the first hurdle in Ulster. They are a strong side with a good balance of youth and experience.

They have an excellent keeper in Stephen Morrisey who pulled off an exceptional save in both the semi-final and final while Conor King is a young full-back who gives little away. Ben Synott at centre half is an excellent defender who likes to push forward when the opportunity presents itself and captained the side to Division 2 honours in 2015.

Enda Clarke and Cathal Conway have been the mid-field pairing in recent games though Jack Dowling could line out there if fully fit. The Antrim county player has been carrying a niggling injury of late and has lined out in the full-forward line.

In attack Ruairi Finnegan, son of former Antrim and St. Paul’s player Greg, James Smith and Ronan McGready, all pose an attacking threat while Ruairidh O’Neill is likely to be challenging for a starting place following the impact he made when introduced in the Antrim final. James Smith and John Blayney are others challenging for a place.

Ben Leonard is another who will give the selectors a selection headache following his spectacular goal against Dunloy but for manager Eunan Conway it is a nice headache to have as he plots the downfall of St. Bronagh’s Rostrevor.

The Down champions will start this game as favourites but St. Brigid’s have run into a fine vein of form at just the right stage of the season and if they can produce their best form on Sunday then they can advance to a place in the next round.

 

by thesaffrongael

St Brigid’s beat Glenravel to take U16 Football title

Under 16 A Football final

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St Brigid’s celebrate their win over Con Magees in the Under 16 A final at Aghagallon. Pic by John Ilwaine

St Brigid’s 2-12 Con Magees 1-6

St Brigid’s captured the Under 16 county football title when they beat Con Magees, Glenravel in Tuesday evening’s final which was played in terrible conditions at Aghagallon. The Belfast boys were ahead from the opening minute and though Glenravel kept in touch during the first half, an early barrage of scores in the opening minutes of the second period closed the door on the South West champions. The Con Magees were thrown a lifeline when Sean McKay grabbed a goal twelve minutes in the second half, but when St Brigids hit back right away to grab their side’s second goal they were home and dry.

Playing down the Aghagallon slope Calum Webb pointed for St Brigid’s in the opening minute, but Sean McKay came back with two fins scores from play (despite playing with a bad injury) to give the Con Magees the lead for the only time in the game. However the pressure was building for St Brigid’s and when Eoin Brown sent a high dropping ball in on the Glenravel square Marcus Lynch took full advantage of a defensive slip to knock the ball over the line.

Hugo Leeson and Paul Bradley grabbed a point apiece to put St Brigid’s four ahead, and though Eoin Hynds and Darragh Donaghy brought the gap back to two St Brigid’s finished the half strongly  with Lynch and Campbell again hitting the target to put their side four up at the short whistle.

The Glenravel boys must have felt they were still well in the game when they turned around at the break to play ‘down the hill’, but it was St Brigid’s who prospered and they hit the first four points of the new half through Paul Bradley to stretch their advantage to eight. Glenravel fans finally got something to cheer about when good work by Callum Higgins set Sean McKay up for a much needed goal in the forty second minute. However the cheers for McKay’s goal had barely died down when the ball was in the net at the other end as St Brigid’s put together a fine flowing move which ended with Ben Doherty palming the ball home.

To their credit the Glenravel boys kept battling away and McKay and Hynds pulled a couple of scores back, but St Brigid’s were always on top and well taken scores from Eoin Brown, Paul Bradley and Ben Doherty saw them run out winners by double scores, 2-12 to 1-6

St Brigid’s

James McKenna, Shay Campbell, Daniel Foster, Donal Harrison, Thomas McCarney, Calum Webb, Ronan Boyle, Conor Slevin, Thomas O’Doherty, Eoin Brown, Hugo Leeson, Marcus Lynch, Paul Bradley, Ben Doherty, Toirealach Brolly.

Con Magees

Declan McCloskey, Shea McDonnell, Sean McCusker, Sean Higgins, Cathal Hynds, Declan McAuley, Declan McCloskey, Christopher Laverty, Eoin Hynds, Gabriel Leech, Rian Lennon, Darragh Donaghy, Callum Higgins, Shane O’Boyle, Sean McKay.

Referee – Charlie Hemsworth

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Pics by John McIlwaine

by thesaffrongael

CPC book final spot against St Catherine’s with impressive semi-final win

Ulster Colleges Camogie – Junior Championship

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CPC’s Nuala Devlin in action against St Pat’s Laura Scullion during today’s Corn Eimear semi-final victory in Ballymena. Pic by John McIlwaine

Cross & Passion College 8-15 St Pat’s Maghera 2-4

By John McIlwaine

It took them a little while to get going as St Pat’s Maghara showed great resistance in the opening quarter, but once they hit their stride there was no stopping Cross & Passion College, Ballycastle as they powered their way to a final meeting with St Catherine’s Armagh in today’s Ulster Colleges Corn Eimear semi-final at Quinn Park, Ballymena.

CPC had lots of possession in the opening ten minutes but all they could muster were two points from Riana McBride and Nuala Devlin and when St Pat’s hit back with a Grace Mellon point and a Sinead Gallagher goal things began to look different. However those scores appeared to nudge CPC into action they hit back strongly with goals from corner-forward Orlaith Laverty and full-forward Riana McBride plus points from McBride and one superb score on the run from Annie Lynn, following a pass from the impressive Aine Magill, to grab control of the match.

St Pat’s came back with a point from full forward Gallagher on seventeen minutes but it was to be her team’s last score of the half and six points on the trot, plus a second Orlaith Laverty goal, had CPC 4-11 to 1-2 to the good by half time.

If there was any doubts about the outcome of the game they were dispelled in the opening minutes of the second half as CPC rammed home their advantage with three goals in the opening ten minutes, two from Riana McBride and one from Orlaith Laverty, which completed hat-tricks for both girls. St Pat’s centre forward Evanne Martin temporarily halted the slide with a well taken point and substitute Orla Walsh grabbed a goal, but CPC finished strong and the introduction of a few subs helped lift the momentum again. One of the subs, Clodagh O’Kane, made an immediate impact when she grabbed a late goal and a point to put her team 29 clear by the final whistle.

CPC : Becky Ellis, Cassie McArthur, Megan McGarry, Erin Kyle, Fionnuala Toner, Ciara Laverty, Caitlin Hegarty, Katie Laverty, Enya McShane, Nuala Devlin, Annie Lynn, Aine Magill, Alishia Butler, Rhiana McBride, Orlagh Laverty

ST PAT’S: Mairead Comer, Mary Ní Lochlainn, Heather O’Hagan , Éadaoin Donnelly, Niamh McCusker, Aisling Porter, Laura Scullion, Bronagh McCullagh, Leah Lennon, Lia Kelly, Evanne Martin, Clare Gunning, Céat McEldowney, Sinead Gallagher, Grace Mullan

Subs – Orla Walsh, Aimee Lennon, Clodagh McAleese, Ciara O’Kane

RIANA ON THE RUN – An animated giff of CPC’s Riana McBride during yesterday’s Corn Eimear win over St Pat’s