Report by Tony McCollum – Photos by John Curly McIlwaine
In a game where both teams were short a few regulars because of holidays and injuries a strong second half saw Kickhams finish their league campaign with a convincing win over Aldergrove in Creggan.
Shea McCann scored a second half hat-trick to sink the Aldergrove challenge
Ruairi McCann started the scoring with his first point in the second minute followed by a Conor Small two pointer. Aldergrove came back strongly with three points of their own from Eoin Gough, Seamus McGarry and Declan Gough, but further points from Shea McCann, Mathew Rodger’s and Dominic McAteer again gave Kickhams the lead. However Aldergrove came back with well taken points by Conor Browning and full forward Ronan Hanna to stay very much in touch.
With both teams happy to play open attacking football Kickhams scored three more points from Mathew McCann, Conor Small and Jamie McCann and only one point reply from Seamus McGarry.
On the 24th minute the very influential Conor McCann burst through the middle to score Creggan’s first goal, while Aldergrove’s last score of the half came in the 29th minute, but Kickhams hit a late scoring burst which saw a well taken Anton Martin point and another Mathew Rodgers score to finish the half off with his third point to leave the score at halftime Kickhams 1-12 to Aldergrove 0-08.
The game as a contest was over inside the first 10 minutes of the second half as Jamie McCann hit a two pointer in the second minute and his younger brother Shea scoring two well taken goals in the 34th & 35th minutes. Conor Small got in on the act with his fourth point in the five minutes later but Shea McCann continued his scoring tally with two more points and Rodgers adding another one. Ronan Hanna of Aldergrove scored his team’s first point of the second half on 44 minutes but Shea McCann wasn’t finished yet and he completed his hat-trick with another top class finish, while Mathew Rodgers, who led the full forward line well throughout the game, kicked his fourth point on the 21st minute. In fairness to Aldergrove they kept battling away and got two more points from Oisin Graham and Declan Gough, but again it was Kickhams who finished the scoring with points apiece from Ruairi and Dominic McAteer to leave the final score.
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Brendan McTaggart reports from Fr McGinn Park, Glenravel
Dunloy finished off their league campaign with an eight point win over the Con Magees on Wednesday evening. Under the late evening sunshine and the midges, the Cuchullains laid the foundations for this victory in the opening quarter of the first half where they scored two goals in the space of five minutes. The visitors dominated and went into an eight point lead that Glenravel rarely looked like overcoming.
The statistics make for tidy reading for Dunloy by the end of the hour with 11 different scorers and just three points of their final tally coming from placed ball. They did reach double figures in wides but this was a contest that they controlled for long periods.
Sean McKay top scored for the home side with three frees in his tally of five points while Conleth O’Loan was always a threat on the inside forward line. He would finish with 1-2, his goal coming towards the end of the first half while Colla Ward and Niall Swann also caught the eye. While they attacked with precision, they couldn’t curtail the Dunloy attacking unit who could have added to their overall tally.
It was the Con Magees who opened the scoring with Eamon Ward pointing in the second minute. Dunloy were dictating the early proceedings but were being held out with some disciplined and well organised Glenravel defending.
Dunloy’s first score came in the eighth minute through Ryan McGarry. Seaan Elliott had the ball 40 yards from goal and waited on the run from McGarry coming through the middle. The Dunloy defender would burst through and finish superbly to give Shaun O’Boyle little chance of stopping his effort.
Points followed from the impressive Keelan Molloy and Eoin McFerran in quick succession. It could have been their second major before McFerran’s point but McGarry’s punched effort came back off the post.
The second Dunloy goal came in the 13th minute with Conor Kinsella showing the Glenravel defence a clean pair of heals before an expert finish put his side into an eight point lead.
The home side would hit back to back points through O’Loan and Conrad McIlhatton and began to warm to the task posed to them. Dunloy added scores from Molloy (2) and Seaan Elliott with a solitary free from McKay the response for the home side but the Con Magees would finish the half strongly.
Points from the marauding Colla Ward and McKay (free) brought Glenravel to within six points before they would find the back of the Dunloy net in the 26th minute. A long ball was sent in to the Dunloy defence and O’Loan judged the flight perfectly with the bounce wrong footing the Cuchullains defenders, the Glenravel man stole in behind and beat Peter McQuillan with a low finish with his right foot.
Dunloy and Karl Fitzpatrick rounded off the scoring with a free in the last minute of the half to leave the half time score 2-7 to 1-6 in the Cuchullains favour.
Half time probably came at the wrong time for the home side as they looked to have Dunloy on the back foot and the visitors made the most of the break. They outscored Glenravel three points to two in the opening five minutes of the second half with points coming from substitute Charlie Cunning, Kinsella and Molloy with McKay and O’Loan the Glenravel response.
The Cuchullains third goal came in the 38th minute and came at the end of a brilliant counter attack. Padraig McGilligan claimed a high ball in the middle of the park and recycled superbly despite under pressure. Elliott surged through the middle and had options either side, passing to McQuillan on his left. The Dunloy forward elected to pass to McGarry at the back post and he palmed the ball to the back of the net for his second major of the evening and put daylight between the sides once again.
Eamon Ward and Jack Martin swapped points as the sides went toe to toe. They shared four points equally, O’Neill and McKay (free) for the home side with Kevin McQuillan and Molloy for Dunloy before Glenravel scored three points in barely two minutes to cut the Dunloy lead to five with less than 10 minutes remaining. Scores coming from McKay and substute Daragh Donaghy and while O’Neill added his second of the night, he had half a chance for goal before blazing over the bar.
Substitute Callum Scullion and Molloy fired over either side of a Joe Martin point for Glenravel before the home side were reduced to 14 men. Ronan McCormick getting a black card for dragging Eoin McFerran as Dunloy looked to cut through the Glenravel defence once more.
The Cuchullains rounded off the scoring with points from Fitzpatrick (free) and Elliott in the time that remained to run out comfortable winners.
Both sides were missing plenty of regulars from the starting 15 and with both their status virtually secured before the ball was throw in, there wasn’t much to play for in this other than game time. Both sides now have a four week break before the championship starts in the first weekend of August.
TEAMS
DUNLOY: Peter McQuillan; Michael Trainor, Aaron Crawford, Cathair McCloskey; Conor Kinsella, James Scally, Ryan McGarry; Eoin McFerran, Padraig McGilligan; Jack Martin, Seaan Elliott, Chrissy McMahon; Keelan Molloy, Kevin McQuillan, Karl Fitzpatrick
Subs: Charlie Cunning for C McMahon (HT); Callum Scullion for J Martin (44); Sean Og Blaney for A Crawford (44)
Scorers: K Molloy 0-7 (1f); R McGarry (2-00); C Kinsella 1-1; S Elliott 0-2; K Fitzpatrick 0-2 (2fs); E McFerran 0-1; J Martin 0-1; K McQuillan 0-1; C Cunning 0-1; C Scullion 0-1
GLENRAVEL: Shaun O’Boyle; Conor Carey, Eoin McCusker, Conrad McIlhatton; Colla Ward, Niall Swann, Ronan McCormick; David Higgins, Rian Lennon; Joe Martin, Sean McKay, Eamon Ward; Conleth O’Loan, Aiden O’Donnell, Sean Og O’Neill
Subs: Daragh Donaghy for E McCusker (49); Joe Leech for C McIlhatton (59)
Scorers: S McKay 0-5 (3fs); C O’Loan 1-2; S Og O’Neill 0-2; E Ward 0-2; J Martin 0-1; C McIlhatton 0-1; C Ward 0-1; D Donaghy 0-1
Referee: Kevin Parke (Naomh Éanna)
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A late point from an Eva McNeill free maintained Cushendall’s unbeaten record in Division 1 of the Antrim Camogie League Division 1 at Fr Healy Park on Tuesday evening. The Ruairis had won all their games to date, and when they went six clear at a stage early in the second half of this one they looked like they would keep that record intact, but Loughgiel never gave up the fight and boosted by a Ceala Dobbin goal they battled back to take the lead late in the game, with another pointed free by Orlagh Laverty. However when the visitors were awarded a free late in the game midfielder Eva McNeill held her nerve and slotted over the equaliser.
Cushendall goal scorer Orlagh Burke in action
Orlagh Laverty was the Loughgiel star throughout the game and hit five of her team’s six first half points, the fourth one getting the Shamrocks back on terms after Cushendall had gone ahead with an Orlagh Burke goal. However Cushendall got on top again in the second quarter and points from Amy McAlister (2), Evan McNeill and Orlagh Burke they went on to lead by 1-07 to 0-6 at half time.
Early second half points by Orlagh Burke and Eva McNeill increased the Cushendall lead to six but two more by Laverty got Loughgiel back within four. It was out to six again when Burke and McNeill came back with scores, but Loughgiel dug in and two more Orlath Lavery points from frees , one from her sister Christine and a goal from Caela Dobbin brought them level. Eva McNeill brought Cushendall back level with a pointed free from fifty metres but once again player of the match Orlagh Laverty found a reply. It looked like the understrength Shamrocks had done enough to seal the win but McNeill kept her cool when the chance was presented to her with a late free and she split the posts to earn her team a share of the spoils.
Loughgiel’s Zoe Cassley in action during her team’s leage game with Cushendall
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Over 135 children took part in a fantastic week of Gaelic games and skills at All Saints GAC Summer Cúl Camp!
Meticulously organised once again by Eamon McKillop, the camp’s main coordinator, this year’s camp was another huge success. Eamon and the team have created a fun, safe, and skill-packed environment where kids learned, played, and made new friends – all while proudly wearing their full Cúl Camp gear!
Camp coordinator, Eamon McKillop with Dominic McKinnley from Gaelfast who coached at the Cul CampTwo young Cul Camp participants develop their Gaelic skills
A massive thank you to all the coaches and helpers who gave their time, energy, and enthusiasm to make it all happen. Without their support, this camp simply wouldn’t be possible.
Here’s to another great summer at All Saints GAC – and to inspiring the next generation of Gaelic stars!
Coaches at the All Saints Cul Camp with camp coordinator, Eamon McKillop
Click on the link below to view photographs from All Saints GAC Cul Camp
IF YOU HAVE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM YOUR CLUBS CUL CAMP AND WOULD LIKE THEM FEATURED IN THE SAFFRON GAEL SEND THEM WIKTH A WEE WRITE UP TO john.mcilwaine@yahoo.co.uk or ptrckmclwn@yahoo.co.uk
Kevin Herron reports from Páirc Mhic Ionnrachtaigh
Gort na Mona ended their league campaign on a winning note with a comfortable 1-20-0-09 victory over West Belfast neighbours Davitt’s on home soil on Tuesday evening.
Despite the hosts making most of the early runnings it didn’t reflect on the scoreboard with a point a piece a quarter of an hour into proceedings.
Michael Savage’s 5th minute point was cancelled out by Aaron Slane five minutes later, but Gort began to pull clear after Tarlach Enright was tripped outside the arc and he kicked the resulting two-pointed free.
Enright then clipped over a two-pointer from play after Ciaran Donnelly found Ciaran MacGiolla Cheera to lay-off into Enright’s path.
Davitt’s replied in the form a two-pointed free from Slane, but in the last ten minutes the hosts had racked up a nine-point lead.
Tarlach Enright kicked successive two-pointed frees from outside the arc and then landed a 45’.
Gort’s talisman kicked a further point in the aftermath of Michael Savage doubling his tally as their side were 0-12-0-03 ahead at the interval.
The hosts picked up where they left off and extended their lead after the break, Ciaran Donnelly shot over and after Matthew McConnell was fouled, Tarlach Enright kicked his fourth two-pointed free of the evening.
He followed that up with a fantastic angled score before Davitt’s opened their account for the half through a second Aaron Slane free.
Just before the midway point in the half, Slane kicked his second two-pointed free – but in reply Gort na Mona pulled clear with the games only goal.
Caoimhin Beck saw his shot blocked down, it was only a temporary reprieve for Davitts though as McConnell picked up the loose ball and floated it across for a Jack Thompson close range palmed finish to make it 1-16-0-06.
Successive Ciaran Donnelly efforts dropped over the bar in the aftermath with Davitt’s hitting three unanswered scores in their most productive period.
Slane increased his personal tally with a 45’, Anthony Rowntree then shot over after a one-two with Conor Maguire and Gerard Slane then shot over his sides final score of the evening.
It was Gort na Mona who finished stronger though with Donnelly turning provider for substitute Conal Keenan to join the the scoring ranks and there was still time to Tarlach Enright to bend a shot over the bar to seal a comfortable 1-20-0-09 victory for his side as the attention now turns to the Intermediate Championship for both sides at the end of the month.
GORT NA MONA: J Ireland, J McIlroy, C McCabe, S Campbell, B Burns, C Donnelly (0-3), P Cournane, M Savage (0-2), J Thompson (1-0), C MacGiolla Cheara, C Carson, P Mulvenna, C Beck, M McConnell. T Enright (0-14, 0-1 45’, 1x2pt, 4×0-2 ptf). SUBS: C Keenan (0-1) for P Cournane (HT), K Walsh for C MacGiolla Cheara (HT), C Clarke for P Mulvenna (46), D McKeown for M McConnell (50), J Reilly for J McIlroy (55).
DAVITTS: R McAuley, C Rainey, N Maginn, B Maguire, N McParland, A Hargan, J Lindsey, A Rowntree (0-1), C Slane, D Mooney, G Slane (0-1), CJ Sullivan, M Toner, R Park, A Slane (0-6, 0-1 45’, 1 x 0-1f, 2 x 0-2 ptf). SUBS: P Keeveny for M Toner (39), C Toner for N McParland (39), C Maguire (0-1) for R Park (45), M Toner for D Mooney (46).
