October 28, 2021October 29, 2021 by thesaffrongael

South West rivals in JFC decider

GYMCO JFC Final

Ahoghill-Sunday 12-45pm

St. Mary’s Rasharkin v Naomh Comhghall Antrim

South west rivals Sr. Mary’s Rasharkin and Naomh Comhghall Antrim meet this Sunday in the final of the GYMCO JFC and it promises to be an interesting contest between two sides who have been to the fore in division 3 in recent times.

Former Intermediate championship winners, Rasharkin have been undergoing a rebuilding programme in recent years and following their relegation from division 2, a couple of years ago have rung the changes in management and personnel.

Stephen (Spanner) Hardy is the man in charge of the Dreen outfit this year and he has called on the services of Creggan man, Ciaran McCartney as trainer and it has proved a winning combination to date.

Rasharkin won division 3 of the ACFL this year, defeating a descent Na Piarsaigh side in the final and on Sunday past defeated the North Belfast side in a tight championship semi-final in Toome.

It’s been 11 years since St. Mary’s enjoyed championship success however but back in 2010 they defeated Dunloy in the Intermediate Championship final after a replay and they went on to reach the Ulster semi-final that year.

The Dreen side have failed to build on that success and in recent years they have battled to hold onto their division 2 status before suffering relegation a couple of years ago. A lot of the old guard have moved on but slowly but surely Stephen Hardy and his management team have introduced a number of new faces and this year the side has started to click.

Tiernan O’Boyle, Fearghal Kennedy and Ruairi O’Boyle are just some of the new faces making their mark with the Dreen side while former Donegal man Seamus Ellis has proved a useful addition to the side. The team retain quite a number of experienced players however with Andrew and Conor Hasson, Conor McFerran, Donagh Quigg and Gerard O’Hagan the men whom the team revolve around.

The side has been hampered by injuries to two of their top forwards in recent time with Ryan Lynch out for a lengthy period and Eamonn McNeill unable to start or indeed take any part in last week’s semi-final.

Rasharkin suffered a further injury blow just before throw-in last Sunday when their keeper, Ryan Doherty injured himself in the warm-up and had to be replaced by Tiernan O’Boyle in goals.

The best of enemies! Adrian Dougan the Naomh Comhghall manager and Ciaran McCartney the Rasharkin trainer will be in opposite corners this Sunday. The Creggan men are good friends but that friendship is likely to be put on **hold until after Sunday’s final**

Doherty is unlikely to make Sunday’s final and Lynch is a definite non-starter but whether McNeill will start or indeed be able to take any part remains to be seen. Pearse Kelly, the Quiggs, Ciaran, Liam and Donagh and Jack Quinn are all likely to join the previously mentioned in the starting line-up for Sunday’s final.

Their opponents on Sunday, Naomh Comhghall of Antrim have been knocking on the Junior Championship door for more years than they want to remember but will certainly provide Rasharkin with tough opposition in the Ahoghill showdown.

St. Comgall’s stalwart, Paddy Quinn was in the team who defeated St. John’s in the decider back in 1995 and managed the side who beat Ballycastle in the 1998 final at Casement Park. That was the last time the men from Antrim town lifted the trophy but they were beaten finalists against Ardoyne, Glenravel and St. Malachy’s in more recent times and they will be hoping to go one step further come Sunday.

Adrian Dougan is the man in charge at St. Comhghalls and he will renew acquaintances with his friend and Creggan Colleague, Ciaran McCartney, this Sunday though that friendship could be put on hold until after Sunday’s final.

Dougan has a strong panel to select from but instilling belief into his side will be key if they are to put the disappointment of recent championship defeats behind them.

Anto Watson in goals, Caolan O’Loan, Ryan McAuley, Dylan Murdock, Danaan O’Hara, James McCabe, Tom Patchett, Patrick O’Connor, Joseph Webb and Paddy Quinn are just some of the players that Dougan can call upon as Naomh Comhghall attempt to put a barren spell behind them.

Much will depend on whether the Antrim town side can learn the lessons from previous championship defeats but they certainly face a stiff test against a Rasharkin side who have potential match winners in Conor and Andrew Hasson, Seamus Ellis, Conor McFerran, Gerard O’Hagan and, if fit, Eamonn McNeill.

October 28, 2021October 29, 2021 by thesaffrongael

Oisins are All Ireland Feile Champions

Glenarife Oisins have just won the All Ireland Div 2 Feile title by beating Harps of Laois in the final in Semple Stadium, Thurles, the venue of the first ever Feile na nGael 50 years ago. Well done lads.

The boys started their day with a win over Tipperary side Clonmel, recording a 4-11 to 1-4 victory, two of goals coming from Niall Magee and one each from Orrin O’Connor and Oisin Mort.

They then took on fellow Ulster side Lavey of Derry who they beat by 2-6 to 0-4, the two goals coming from team capatin Phelim Ward. They clinched their group with a 2-10 to 0-1 victory over Raherny with Orrin O’Connor and Peadar McDonnell providing the goals in a comprehensive winbefore beating Harps of Laois in a thrilling final to seal a famous win and become the first winners of the new Under 15 Feile. Coming through the other half of the draw the Laois side were their toughest oppents of the day and it was nip and tuck through the first half, which ended with the young Oisins with their noses in front 0-5 to 0-4, the points coming from Orrin O’Connor and Phelim Ward, who got two apiece, and Calum McIlwaine who got one.

Harps hit back with a goal in the second half, but the Oisins responded with goals from Peadar McDonnell and Phelim Ward to seal the win by two points and send the travelling Oisins fans into raptures.

The Glenariffe Oisins squad was

Paddy Joe Harvey, Cahir McNaughton, John Scullion, James Kearney, Orin McClintock, Colla Ward, Daniel Douthart, Calum McIlwaine, Niall Magee, Phelim Ward, Orrin O’Connor, Oisin Mort, Joe Leech, Michael Furey, Peadar McDonnell, Eoghan Robbin, David Murray, Padraig McIlhatton, Gerard Burns, Daniel Mitchell, Canice McIntosh, Oisin Gillan

Management team – Padraig McIlwaine, Chris Ward, Kevin O’Connor, Paul McDonnell.

Oisins captain Phelim Ward receives the Feile trophy

October 28, 2021October 28, 2021 by thesaffrongael

Mark goes the extra mile for Saffron Gael

Those of you who are regular readers of Saffron Gael will be painfully aware of our regular appeals for financial sponsorship and donations and indeed we have received strong support from both sponsors and clubs in our efforts to keep the site going.

Because of your support in the past Saffron Gael is now in its fourth year and we have had over 6 million views on the site in that time but, like everything else in life, finance is vital if we are to continue with our work.

Imagine our delight then when we received a phone call from one of our regular readers and contributors, Mark Hasson of St. Mary’s Rasharkin offering to help with our fund raising.

Mark regularly sends reports and photographs from games and events involving his club to our website and we are delighted to receive them and publish them.

On this occasion Mark informed us that he was running in the London Marathon and would like to raise funds for us through his ‘Just Giving’ page on Facebook and we were delighted to accept his generous offer but had no idea at the time just how successful it would be.

Mark in his Saffron Gael top before setting out for the London Marathon

We followed his progress and featured his story on a number of occasions on the Saffron Gael and the response from Mark’s friends and our regular readers was phenomenal and we sincerely thank all those who contributed to the appeal.

Last night John and I travelled out to Dreen where Mark and his beautiful daughters, May and Anna presented us with a cheque for £2060, a truly remarkable sum.

For the record, Mark finished the London Marathon in a time of 3hours 56 minutes and he tells me it was his worst Marathon time and he was glad to see the finish. He has completed marathons in Belfast 2010, London 2016, Berlin 2017, Dublin 2018, London (Virtual Marathon) 2020 and this was his sixth marathon in all.

Once again we thank Mark for his very generous gesture and he has certainly went the extra mile for Saffron Gael and look forward to seeing him on Sunday at Ahoghill where he’s sure to be cheering on his brothers and the Rasharkin team in their quest to collect the Junior Championship title when they face Naomh Comhghall in the final.

October 28, 2021October 29, 2021 by thesaffrongael

Intermediate final looks a hard one to call

OB Construction IFC final

Tir na og v All Saints

Saturday 7-00pm Portglenone

Saturday evening’s OB Construction, Intermediate Football Championship final between Tir na nOg Randalstown and All Saints Ballymena looks a hard one to call. Saturday’s finalists can quite rightly be regarded as the top two side in division 2 this year and both hold similar records going into Saturday’s decider.

The sides met in the opening day of the league in Ballymena and it was to prove an important game for both sides for different reasons. Tir na nOg produced a superb second half comeback to beat All Saints at Quinn Park and the Whitehill side pushed on to collect the division 2 league title.

All Saints recovered from that opening day loss to go through the rest of the season unbeaten but the slipup that they needed the Randalstown side to have never materialised so Sean O’Brien’s side had to settle for second place and missed out on promotion.

Ironically both sides were drawn in Group 1 of the Intermediate football championship and as fate would have it, they were drawn against each other in the opening round of the group stages with All Saints again having home advantage.

There was little between the sides but All Saints gained some solace from their league defeat with victory over the Whitehill side to begin their championship campaign with a win. Both sides completed their championship group games unbeaten after that Slemish Park encounter with All Saints winning the group and Tir na nOg also qualifying for the semi-finals as runners up.

Barry McCormick who has been rock solid at the heart of the Tir na nOg defence

Both teams faced difficult opponents in their respective semi-finals and it was a mixture of apprehension and confidence that All Saints faced old adversaries Dunloy in last weekend’s semi-final in Glenravel.

Last year’s beaten finalists, Dunloy had proved a hurdle that the Ballymena side had failed to negotiate in recent years including a defeat to the Cuhullain’s in last year’s semi-final in Ahoghill but they produced a strong performance to beat Dunloy by 0-12 to 0-6 and earn a place in their first Intermediate decider for ten years.

At the same time the division 2 league winners were facing another potential banana skin when they took on Sarsfield’s at Davitt’s Partk. Tir na nOg proved too good for Sarsfield’s. The Whitehill side was solid at the back and much more fluid in attack as they led throughout this semi-final and were full value for their win in the end.

Perhaps it is destiny then that these two sides should meet in Saturday evening’s decider. Both sides have lost one game each this season and both have suffered that defeat to each other though All Saints loss to Tir na nOg in the league was the most costly.

A win on Saturday would give All Saints their fourth Intermediate championship title but it feels like a lifetime since that last success in 2011. Portglenone were their opponents that day and their previous wins came against Moneyglass at Casement Park back in 2008 and against St. Enda’s in 1986.

Tir na nOg 1st won the IFC in 1987 beating Davitt’s in the Final. They were captained by Anthony McClenaghan that day and managed by Terry Robb and Eamon McCoy.

The Randalstown side last won the Intermediate Football Championship in 2000 beating Gort na Mona in the final at Casement Park. The captain that day was Jim McAleese and the manager was Anthony Brady

Saturday night’s opponents last met in the semi-final in Casement Park in 2008. Present Cargin keeper Michael Magill was in the Tir na nOg side that day and scored 1-07 from play but still ended up on the losing side. All Saints went on to beat Moneyglass in the final that year.

The following year 2009 Ahoghill defeated Tir na nOg in the Final at Creggan. Present chairman, Dessie O’Neill was manager in both 2008 and 2009 and his son Ciaran is an important player on the present side and he will be hoping for a change of fortunes for his club this time.

Brendan McDonnell has been in fine scoring form for All Saints this year

The man in charge of the present Tir na nOg team is Glenullan native Mick O’Kane. Mick is in his second spell in charge of the Whitehill side having taken over from Dessie O’Neill in 2010. He was in charge for two years in his first spell and led them to promotion from division 3 to division 2. O’Kane has an experienced back up team in Seamus Heffron and Gerard Martin with Eamon Hart and Stephen Higgins also involved.

Sean O’Brien is the man in charge at All Saints and was team manager when some of the present squad collected an All Ireland Feile title back in 2014. He is assisted by former Tyrone player, Damian Hagan and former player, Paul McCann. Hagan is credited for a much improved defensive performance by All Saints this year and has some inside knowledge of the Tir na nOg side having managed them for a spell before coming to All Saints.

Whether that knowledge will be of any benefit remains to be seen. These side know each other very well already having been involved in some tigh games over recent years and it could be performance rather than tactics that will decide Saturday’s final though in a tight game tactics could play a part.

Against Dunloy Sean McVeigh, Michael McCarry, Peter McNicholl, Emmet Killough, Peter McReynolds and Paddy McAleer were the survivors from that 2011 championship winning side who went on to reach an Ulster semi-final where they were beaten in extra time by Culloville of Armagh and it seemed only a matter of time until they would climb the winning podium again.

That hasn’t been the case although the Ballymena side did gain promotion in 2014 but made a quick return to division 2 after just one season in the top grade. The emergence of a number of talented youngsters in recent years has brought about improvement and there is a quiet optimism within the All Saints camp that this could be their year.

County player, Conor Stewart, Matty Downey, James and Brendan McDonnell, Kavan Keenan, Conall Lemon, Ciaran McGarry and Shea O’Brien have all contributed handsomely to the All Saints effort this year and will be hoping to collect their first IFC medal.

Standing in their way however is a very talented Tir na nOg side who will start Saturday evening’s final as favourites by virtue of their strong league campaign and their ability to recover from that one championship defeat to Saturday’s opponents to qualify for the final.

Tir na nOg celebrated their centenary recently and collected their first Intermediate Hurling title last year when they defeated Cloney Gaels in the final at Dunsilly. They have followed that momentous achievement up with their best season on the football field since that famous victory over Davitt’s back in 1987.

Sean Paul McAtamney, Ciaran McGrellis, Ciaran O’Neill, Barry and Darren McCormick, Aaron McNeilly, Dara Fagan, Colum and Sean Duffin and Kevin and Christy Sheerin are some of the names who will be hoping to complete the season with a memorable league and championship double and on the excellent form they have shown this year they might just do it but it looks a hard one to call.

October 25, 2021October 26, 2021 by thesaffrongael

St Killian’s power to Fontenoys’ Cup success

Liatroim Fontenoys’ Cup final

St Killian’s Garron Tower 5-13 St Pius X Magherafelt 0-4

ST KILLIAN’S Garron Tower reclaimed the Liatroim Fontenoys’ Cup a decade after their first and only success with a powerful team display in Ballymena on Monday evening.

Thirteen of their starting team were from the Cushendall club and it was No 13, Orlaith McCurry, who inflicted most damage on St Pius X Magherafelt. McCurry struck for two goals inside the opening quarter and added two more during the final quarter.

St Killian’s kept St Pius X under constant pressure throughout with Abi McNeill marshalling a sound defence that didn’t concede a score from open play. Indeed all St Pius X points, bar one, came from long range frees that were beautifully struck by Paige Bell. Bell was the Magherafelt team’s only threat up front, but without support she was simply closed down by McNeill and the sliotar cleared to set up another attack.

Kady McNeill’s penetrating runs from midfield delivered some good points while the pace and close skills of all six forwards created scoring chances from the off.

Nnenna Okoronkwo in St Pius X goals and full-back Alishia McClenaghan were working overtime to stem the flow and there were periods during the game when they slowed up the Garron Tower scoring.

McCurry had the sliotar in the net after six minutes, taking a pass from Clodagh McPeake to open her account. It was the same combination for her second goal after 11 minutes and St Killian’s went in at the water break with a 2-3 to 0-1 lead.

That gap widened with Orlaith McAlister’s goal direct from a 45 early in the second quarter, although St Pius X forced errors from the Tower attack for the rest of the half and it was 3-6 to 0-3 at half time.

They added some fine points from Eimear Butler, Kady McNeill and Clodagh McPeake during the third quarter before McCurry nipped in for the final two goals near the end to complete a comprehensive victory that sees St Killian’s into the All-Ireland series after Christmas.

St Killian’s: L Mulholland, C Morgan, E McMullan, MC McAlister, L Black, A McNeill, C O’Hara, C O’Boyle, K McNeill 0-2, E Butler 0-1, O McAlister 1-5, 1-2 frees, EJ Butler 0-1, O McCurry 4-1, C McPeake 0-2, R Black

Subs : K Kerr 0-1, L Magill, C Reid, E McNaughton, E Delargy, K McDonnell, N McDonnell.

St Pius X : N Okoronkwo, J Devlin, A McClenaghan, B McClure, E Stewart, A McOscar capt., L Harris, C Campbell, E Loughran, P Bell 0-4 frees, C Crozier, A Donnelly, A Mulholland, E Harris, K O’Connor.

Subs : K McCormick, C McGuckin, K McCann.