Eire Óg Carrickmore made it four Tyrone SHC titles in a row on Sunday thanks to a convincing six-point victory over great rivals Eoghan Ruadh, Dungannon.
The winners started strongly with Oisin Daly opening the scoring and then Justy Kelly following up with a goal, but Eoghan Ruadh fought back with a goal through Branan Molloy.
Éire Óg put their foot on the gas again to move 1-8 to 1-2 ahead, but Eoghan Ruadh gave themselves some hope with a goal from Kiefer Morgan late in the half that reduced the deficit to three points by the break.
It looked like the comeback was really on when Eoghan Ruadh hit the first two points of the second-half to leave the minimum between the teams, but that’s as close as the Dungannon club would get.
Éire Óg hit the next six points in a row to move seven clear by the 51st minute, and never looked like losing it from there.
As Halloween is an exciting time for all, it has even taken on a more exciting time for Lámh Dhearg’s G4MO’S as they have the opportunity of representing the club in a European tournament in Barcelona. An opportunity of a lifetime for the keen mothers.
Gaelic for Mothers and Others started in the club in September 2016, and they have enjoyed playing in fun, non-competitive blitzes, while experiencing weekly exercise in a fun way and meeting other mothers and building up camaraderie and friendships.
The highlight of their short history was playing at Croke Park in 2017 at half time of the LGFA All-Ireland final. The trip to Barcelona will surely be another memorable highlight. Naturally the mothers are buzzing about playing in Barcelona.
Their adventure began with a Facebook post inviting teams from Ireland to forward their interest in a blitz with the Barcelona Gaels. Joanne O’Reilly, decided to forward Lámh Dhearg G4MO’s team and not mention it to anyone as Joanne didn’t think the Lámhs would make the cut. However, to her amazement the Hannahstown Mothers secured a place out of 207 teams who submitted an expression of interest form.
The girls went back to the 80’s to raise funds for the trip
Totally excited by this Joanne had to speak to the committee who completely backed the team all the way and acknowledged the benefits to the team and club.
Excitement grew once Joanne spoke to the players who were blown away to be able to play at a once in a lifetime experience.
The team quickly came up with a variety of ways to fundraise for the big event, a grand national sweep, football scratch cards, sponsoring some girls in the 10k féile, an 80’s night fancy dress disco at the club and finally their first ever G4MO’s blitz.
The blitz is to take place on Saturday 2nd Nov 2024. The girls are so excited to play alongside other teams such as Middleton Magpies, Jude’s Jets, St Mary’s Convoy and of course their hosts Barcelona Gaels to name a few.
The girls would like to acknowledge Lockdown Security for their generous support who have kindly funded a new team rig and will be worn with pride in Barcelona.
The trip to Barcelona has really galvanised the mothers and they are really anticipating a brilliant time in Barcelona and believe it can only make them a stronger group and promises a bright future for G4MO’s in the club.
Joanne O’Reilly commented.
“The aim of this blitz was to increase participation for our GFMO’s team due to a dip in numbers over the past few years. I am so proud of our girls who support the club in everything that they do and always actively participate in the behind-the-scenes activities from our FUNdamentals to our senior teams. Not only have the girls increased in numbers since the blitz was advertised but we have got to know each other deeper and on a more personal level supporting each other physically, emotionally, mentally, and of course socially. Planning this trip was a journey and one that I will remember forever. I can’t wait to play alongside this amazing team of women and looking forward to making a lot more memories with a group that I call friends. This blitz and this group will be remembered in the club for years to come “
Mairead Stanley commented “What a momentous occasion for our team & the club to be heading to Barcelona to play football. From the news broke that we had been selected, the team has only grown in strength and numbers, with both old & new girls. It will be an honour to wear the jersey representing the club on the pitch, but more importantly, it will be an honour to play with such an amazing bunch of girls that I am now proud to call friends.”
Caoimhe Whinnery, commented“G4MO provides a vital platform for inclusion of women who never had the opportunity to try Gaelic football and those hanging up their competitive boots alike. We struggled to regain momentum after Covid, but we were determined not to let such an inclusive initiative dissipate. The upcoming Barcelona trip has given focus and renewed vigour. It has brought the team back together and we have attracted several new members this year. We are delighted to be back at full force.”
No doubt Barcelona 2024 will become an important and memorable event in the short history of the G4MO’s in Hannahstown and the girls will be worthy ambassadors for Lámh Dhearg , West Belfast and the county.
Lamhs organised their own inaugural tornament to raise funds for the trip
Carey Faughs and Tyrone champions Carrickmore have met before in the Ulster Club Hurling Championship. Just three years ago, the Tyrone men travelled to Ballycastle to take on the Faughs and the men from the Red Hand county, who were managed that year by former Ballycastle and Antrim defender Cormac ‘Hippy’ Donnelly, left victoriously after beating the Faughs by six points.
This was Brendan McTaggart’s report of the game that day
Carey undone by Tyrone champions
Nov 28th 2021
Carey’s Ulster campaign ended at the first hurdle in Ballycastle on Sunday when they were beaten by Tyrone champions Carrickmore in the quarter final of the Ulster Intermediate Championship. Coached by former Ballycastle and Antrim star Cormac Donnelly the Tyrone champions were sharper from the start and their ability to get goals at vital times gave them the edge. Carey trailed by eight at half time, but a goal in the first minute of the second half breathed new life into their challenge. They edged their way back into the game but with the gap pared back to a goal they had a player sent off which proved a real game changer. With an extra man Carrickmore used the ball very cleverly and soon regained the upper hand and edged clear again to record a six point win.
Speaking after the game joint manager Cormac Donnelly said he had watched Carey a few times during their Antrim Championship campaign. He felt their strength was their ability to start well in their games and said they were determined not to let them do it this time around. The Tyrone men did just that and the early goals gave them an edge they would not relinquish.
In a nip and tuck opening quarter, Carrickmore took control of the game with two goals in the space of barely two minutes with Ruairi Slane and Cormac Murray finding the back of the Faughs net. It came in the middle of a wonderful purple patch for Eire Og as they held Carey Faughs scoreless for 12 minutes while opening a seven point lead themselves.
Their third major came as the clock went into first half stoppage time with referee Tarlach Conway awarding the Carrickmore men a penalty for an infringement on Bryan McGurk. Dermot Begley stepped up and while Carey ‘keeper Doug McAuley got his hurl to Begley’s effort, the sliotar deflected into the back of the net.
Despite having opened an eight point lead by the half time whistle and full value for that lead, Eire Og were pushed onto the back foot right from the restart. The Antrim champions bagging a major with barely 10 seconds of the second half gone. Shea Hunter sending the ball to the edge of the square and James Black pouncing on the loose sliotar to reignite Carey’s Ulster challenge.
The Antrim men had the wind at their sails and began to turn the screw, upping their intensity and not giving the Carrickmore men the space they allowed them in the first half. They had the sliotar in the back of the net with just five points between the sides but Caolan McCaughan was judged to be inside the square with the Derry official calling a square ball.
A point from Slane was all Eire Og could manage before Begley took his tally to 1-2 for the game with his second free but things changed just before the second half water-break with the game in the balance. John McBride seeing red and Carrickmore controlled the contest in the time that remained.
Carey pushed and played with the same intensity and vigour but Eire Og’s better use of the sliotar and ability to find a man in space shone in the closing stages to seal a five point victory and their maiden win over the Antrim champions at provincial level. They now have a date with the winners of Lisbellaw and Newry Shamrock’s in the semi final.
The Scorers
Carey Faughs
Connor McBride 0-8 (5f’s); James Black 1-1; Conlith McKinley 0-2; James McCouaig (1f); Caolan McCaughan 0-1
Carrickmore
Dermot Begley 1-2 (1-00 pen, 2 f’s); Ruairi Slane 1-1; Sean Og Grogan 1-1; Justin Kelly 0-3; Cormac Murray 1-00; Anthony Crossan 0-1; Conor Grogan 0-1
The Teams
Carey Faughs
Cahal McAuley, Daniel Hill, Sean McBride, Eoin Hill; Michael McVeigh, Peadar McVeigh, James McCouaig, Daniel McBride, Patrick Butler, Shea Hunter, John McBride, Caolan McCaughan, Patrick Gillan, James Black, Connor McBride
Subs: Conlith McKinley for D McBride (HT) Daniel McKinley for E Hill (49), Patrick
Division 2 side Naomh Padraig, Uisce Chaoin have been promoted to the Donegal Intermediate championship for the first time in their history after securing the Junior title with a solid win over fellow Inishowen side Carndonagh in O’Donnell Park.
It was a superb team effort from Daniel McCauley’s side with two first-half goals from Kevin Lynch and Caolan McColgan leading the way for the men in blue and gold in what was their first Donegal JFC final since 2016.
It was a dream start for the Naomh Padraig men with Kevin Lynch rattling the net in the opening two minutes of the match when Cormac McColgan floated in a super ball on top of the towering Lynch, who fetched with ease in the air resulting in a green flag being raised.
The long ball game was so clearly the target for the Naomh Padraig men, with Caolan McColgan benefitting from a score off a long kick-in from Johnny Toye, after the centre-back fired over a point of his own moments earlier.
By the 12th minute, Carndonagh had yet to come into the game as Naomh Padraig rattled off another three points, two from Lynch, who slotted over from two frees, while Oisin McIntyre hit the other leaving the score at 1-5 to no score, despite the Naomh Padraig side suffering a major blow when they lost their midfielder Eunan Mullan through injury.
The game was only swinging one way by the end of the first quarter, and it was for the men in blue and gold, with Caolan McColgan increasing his side’s lead with perhaps the score of the game which he hit over off his right, 45-metres out and under serious pressure from corner-back Eoghan Kelly.
The Carn men eventually hit their first point on the 19th minute when Conor O’Donnell led by example and split the posts to raise his side’s first white flag, but Cormac McColgan would follow suit for Naomh Padraig and hit another long-range point on an afternoon that was an example of long-range shooting at its finest.
Despite Carn’s best efforts, Naomh Padraig manager Daniel McCauley can take great satisfaction in how well disciplined and organised his side was in defence forcing Carndonagh down blind alleys and forcing shots wide.
Cian Doherty would find his side’s second point of the half, but half-forward Kevin Doherty replied for the Naomh Padraig men to keep his side well in front.
And it only got harder for Carn when in injury time, Toye won a turnover, charged down the pitch and perfectly placed it to Caolan McColgan who gave the goalkeeper no chance as he blasted to the net for his side’s second goal, which was followed by a second long-range score from Cormac McColgan who brought the half to a close on a 2-9 to 0-3 point scoreline.
The opening 10 minutes of the second-half would take a lull, with the only score coming from Carndonagh’s corner-back Daniel McDaid when hitting a fine score over from distance, but four wides inside the opening 10 minutes of the half, and seven in total, showed how far off they were from Naomh Padraig.
It would take until the 43rd minute for Naomh Padraig to hit their first point of the match when Rory Hirrell joined the scoresheet with a fine point of his own and they wouldn’t get another until 13 minutes later when Dermot Keaveney and Hirrell fired over back-to-back points.
But within that time Carndonagh didn’t do enough, with the men in green and red only hitting four more points with Anthony Doherty, Padraig Doherty with two, and James Monagle raising white flags, as Naomh Padraig celebrated a deserved win on an overcast day in O’Donnell Park.
Naomh Padraig, Uisce Chaoin scorers: Caolan McColgan 1-2; Kevin Lynch 1-2, 2fs; Cormac McColgan and Rory Hirrell 0-2; Kevin Doherty, Oisin McIntyre, Dermot Keaveney, and Johnny Toye 0-1 each.
O’Callaghan (both 39); Richie Cunningham for Feargal Doherty (45); Cathal Doherty for Cian Doherty (52);
Naomh Padraig, Uisce Chaoin: Oran McCauley; Cormac Kelly, Caolan Harkin, Darragh McIntyre; Michael McCarron, Jonathan Toye, Jason McCallion; Eunan Mullan, Cormac McColgan; Oisin McIntyre, Kevin Doherty, Rory Hirrell; Joe McCauley, Kevin Lynch, Caolan McColgan. Subs: Drew McKinney for Mullan (13); Ronan Hoy for McCauley (41); Dermot Keaveney for Kevin Doherty (55); Andrew McCarron for Caolan McColgan (60).
Naomh Padraig Uisce Chaoin v Naomh Comhghall Antrim
O’Donnell Park Letterkenny- Saturday 2-30pm
Antrim champions, Naomh Comhghall face a difficult opener when they travel to O’Donnell Park, Letterkeny on Saturday to face Donegal champions Naomh Padraig, Uisce Chaoin in the quarter-final of the Ulster Junior Football club championship.
The Inishowen men were mighty impressive in their win over Inishowen neighbours, Carndonagh in the Donegal final at Saturday’s venue, running out 2-12 to 0-8 winners to claim their first Junior title since 2016.
The Antrim town side will travel to Letterkenny with confidence however having enjoyed their best season for some time where they recorded a division 3 league and Junior Championship double.
Naomh Comhghall appointed Barry Burns as manager at the start of the 2024 campaign and under the guidance of the St. Paul’s man they have went through their league campaign with maximum points and carried that 100% record through their championship winning campaign.
Naomh Comhghall finished 8 points clear of Laochra Loch Lao in division 3 of the ACFL and carried that fine form into the championship where they recorded resounding wins over Eire Og, St. Malachy’s and Wolfe Tones before going on to defeat Pearses by 8 points in the semi-final.
St. Agnes had been setting the pace in Group 2 of the qualifiers and had 8 points to spare in their semi-final win over St. Malachy’s and were expected to provide St. Comgall’s with a stiff challenge in the final.
Antrim champions, Naomh Comhghall will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run when they travel to Letterkenny to face Donegal Champions, Naomh Padraig
A prolonged hail shower created pools of water on the surface prior to throw-in at St. Enda’s and both sides were forced to try their upmost to adapt.
St Comgall’s dealt with the elements better and survived a late scare to lift the Antrim Junior Football Championship, defeating St Agnes 0-09-1-03 on a wintry Saturday afternoon in Hightown.
Pre-game favourites St Comgall’s hit the front after Tom Patchett’s free dropped short, Miles Devine gathered and laid the ball to Patrick O’Connor to drop his shot over the bar.
St Agnes had one sole attempt on target in the opening half, though Ronan Carroll kicked his free wide.
It took Comgall’s until the 18th minute to double their advantage in the form of a Miles Devine point and he would double his individual tally moments later after exchanging passes with Ryan Clarke and bending his shot inside the posts.
Devine added a converted free before the break as his side were 0-04-0-00 ahead at the interval.
St Comgall’s extended their lead with three converted frees inside of the first six minutes of the second half.
Tom Patchett’s trusty left foot guided the first two over with Ryan Clarke kicking the other from close-range.
It took St. Agnes 47 minutes to register their first score but the Antrim Town men seemed to lose their way at this stage and had a man dismissed following a second yellow card
St Agnes’ took advantage of their numerical advantage from the resulting free that Colin Clarke floated into the rectangle and substitute Patrick Mulgrew’s fisted attempt saw the ball tail through a crowded goalmouth and into the net.
Naomh Comhghall held on to claim their first title in three years and will hope for a better surface on Saturday as they aim to get back to the form that has made them a formidable opponent this season.
Naomh Comhghall manager, Barry Burns
Barry Burns Interview
In the lead up to Saturday’s Ulster Junior Club championship meeting between St. Patrick’s of Donegal and Naomh Comhghall, Paddy McIlwaine of the Saffron Gael speaks to Naomh Comhghall manager, Barry Burns.
The St. Paul’s club man has transformed the Antrim town club since his appointment at the start of this year and Naomh Comhghall are unbeaten in League and championship as they recorded a famous League-Championship double this term.
Saffron Gael: Barry you have brought about a remarkable improvement in Naomh Comhghall this season culminating in a Division 3-JFC double. What do you put that improvement down to.
Barry Burns: The buy in from everyone, the players and people around the club too, the effort and commitment to train and develop was incredible from the start.
Saffron Gael: The last time Naomh Comhghall won the Junior Championship, they defeated Rasharkin in the final. I travelled to Clones on a Saturday night for the game against the Cavan Champions and was disappointed with the performance with Naomh Comhghall suffering a bad defeat. How confident are you that they can win Saturday’s game?
Barry: Hopefully they have learned a lot from that game but this is a different team from then with a different mind-set. We will give it everything and we hope that we can go and give a good performance, and if we play to our best you never know what can happen.
Saffron Gael: Who are the players within the Naomh Comhghall ranks who have been responsible for you success this season and can be leaders in Letterkenny on Saturday?
Barry: All of them, they have been pushing each other in every session. Some lads have come back after a few years away, and have performed like they have never been away.
Saffron Gael: What do you know about Saturday’s opponents and who are the players that you will have to keep an eye on if you are to overcome the challenge of the Donegal champions?
Barry: We have watched the county final and they are a serious team with a lot of talented players. We have good players too and we know what we need to do come Saturday, The boys just need to enjoy the game and play with no pressure and have fun doing it and see where that takes us.
Saffron Gael: Barry, tell me how the preparations have gone since the county final. Have you a clean bill of health.
Barry: Training is going well, the club have been very supportive in getting us the facilities to be ready. There is a good buzz about the club and town, and hopefully we’ll get a good support up with us in Letterkenny. Everyone is looking forward to the game and hopefully it goes our way.
