Intermediate Hurling Championship – Round 5
Glenariffe Oisin 1-16 St Brigid’s Cloughmills 2-19
Pics courtesy of Christian Ghio Photograhy
Cloughmills wrapped up their 2025 championship campaign in style, securing a well-earned victory over a much-changed Oisins side in Glenariffe on Sunday afternoon. With Glenariffe already assured of top spot in the group, their management opted to rotate the squad, but Cloughmills were determined from the outset and battled for every ball.
Despite playing into a strong breeze in the first half, Cloughmills edged ahead at the break, leading 1-7 to 0-9. Glenariffe missed a few early frees before Phelim Ward took over the duties, finishing with an impressive 8 points. The first half saw a fascinating duel between the free-takers, with Cloughmills’ Liam Kearns notching up 9 points by the final whistle. Glenariffe’s Niall Murray was the standout in the opening period, scoring 4 points from play in the first 20 minutes. The teams were evenly matched, but a goal from Seamus Dobbin—one of three sons of Glenariffe manager Hugh Dobbin on the Cloughmills team—gave the Biddies the edge at halftime.
The second half was a point-for-point contest until Dobbin struck again, netting his second goal to open up a four-point lead for Cloughmills. Further points from Eoin Dobbin, Ryan Watson, and the evergreen Kearns put Cloughmills in a strong position. Glenariffe responded with a goal from Conor Kerr, narrowing the gap, but they struggled to build momentum. As Glenariffe pushed forward in search of another goal, Cloughmills capitalized on the counterattack, picking off points to finish the game strongly.
This result gives Cloughmills plenty of positives to take into next season. For Glenariffe, the match provided valuable championship experience for fringe players as they now look ahead to a semifinal clash with Ahoghill in two weeks’ time.
Glenariffe Team:
S McToal, S McMullan, M Haughey, J Leech, C Graham, N Magee, J Kearney, P Ward (0-8, 7 frees), R Leech, A Cosgrove, C Kerr (1-0), N Murray (0-4), B O’Connor (0-2), D Kearney (0-2), B O’Boyle.
Subs: D McKillop for J Kearney, M McAllister for B O’Boyle.
Cloughmills Team:
M Morrison, J McDowell, C Blair, R Dobbin, J Duffin, R Laverty (0-2), G Laverty, K O’Boyle, E Dobbin (0-3), C Mullan (0-1), M Devlin (0-2), C Laverty (0-1), L Kearns (0-9, 6 frees), S Dobbin (2-0), R Watson (0-1).
Subs Used: S McKendry, S Smith, A McGuckian.
