Month / April 2026

by thesaffrongael

Holbrook Heroics Seal Thrilling Gallagher Cup Quarter-Final for St. Mary’s

Ulster School Danske Bank Hurling

St Mary’s CBGS 5-15 Gaelcholáiste Dhoire 3-17

Spectators at Dunsilly were treated to an absolute classic as St. Mary’s CBGS edged out Gaelcholáiste Dhoire in a remarkably high-scoring and fiercely contested Gallagher Cup quarter-final. Both teams displayed total commitment and first-class hurling from the first whistle to the last, but it was an unforgettable Man of the Match performance from St. Mary’s goalkeeper Aidan Holbrook that ultimately proved the difference, securing a thrilling 5-15 to 3-17 victory.

Despite playing into a strong breeze in the opening period, St. Mary’s remained highly competitive in a half characterized by intense, top-tier hurling and frequent scoring. St. Mary’s opened the scoring in the third minute with a point from play by Lorcan O’Rawe. Gaelcholáiste Dhoire responded swiftly, showcasing their sharp attacking threat with back-to-back points from Odwan Ó Giollain. The game’s first green flag was raised in the eighth minute when St. Mary’s Dylan Hand McCallin finished a brilliant individual effort. Gaelcholáiste Dhoire struck back three minutes later, with Odwan Ó Giollain finding the back of the net, followed quickly by another point from play to extend their tally.

At the other end, Aidan Holbrook signaled his intent for the afternoon with a fantastic save under pressure in the twelfth minute. Following points from St. Mary’s Dara Ward and Gaelcholáiste Dhoire’s Felix Mac Oscar, the game exploded with three goals in three minutes. Odwan Ó Giollain netted his second with a great individual finish for Gaelcholáiste Dhoire, but Dylan Hand McCallin answered immediately, scoring a brilliant individual goal under intense pressure for St. Mary’s. Following a long-range free from Gaelcholáiste Dhoire’s Charlie Ó Muirí, St. Mary’s Anton Corr sent a long-range shot toward the goal, which was fumbled into the net by Gaelcholáiste Dhoire goalkeeper Fionnan Ó Beart.

A flurry of points followed, with Seán Ó Ceallaigh and Damhnaic Ó Ceallaigh scoring for Gaelcholáiste Dhoire, while Ben Gamble, Frazer McGivern, Emmet Rainey, and Lorcan O’Rawe kept the scoreboard ticking for the Belfast side. A defensive error allowed Gaelcholáiste Dhoire’s Cathair Ó Ceallaigh to snatch a goal in the twenty-fifth minute, but St. Mary’s finished the half strong. After another brilliant save by Holbrook, Ben Gamble saw his initial goal attempt saved before finishing the rebound to the net, leaving the half-time score at St. Mary’s 4-7, Gaelcholáiste Dhoire 3-8.

The second half continued the breathless pace. Gaelcholáiste Dhoire came out firing, registering quick points from Brogan Ó Dughaill / Ó Cinneide and Damhnaic Ó Ceallaigh. St. Mary’s maintained their advantage through a Daire Burke free and a superb point under pressure from Anton Corr, while Felix Mac Oscar and Odwan Ó Giollain kept Gaelcholáiste Dhoire right on their heels. In the fortieth minute, Lorcan O’Rawe fired over a spectacular point from far out on the left wing for St. Mary’s.

However, the defining moments of the second half belonged to Aidan Holbrook. The St. Mary’s shot-stopper produced a brilliant save in the forty-first minute, and later, an unbelievable point-blank stop in the forty-sixth minute that kept his team’s momentum alive. Between those saves, Gaelcholáiste Dhoire secured points from Odwan Ó Giollain and an unidentified player, but St. Mary’s found their crucial fifth goal in the forty-fourth minute when Frazer McGivern provided a fantastic finish from play. Down the final stretch, points from Damhnaic Ó Ceallaigh and a free from Brogan Ó Dughaill / Ó Cinneide kept Gaelcholáiste Dhoire in the hunt. However, St. Mary’s demonstrated excellent composure to close out the game. Emmet Rainey, Lorcan O’Rawe, Dara Ward, and Dylan Hand McCallin all added points, before Anton Corr capped off the thrilling contest with a super long-range strike in the fifty-eighth minute.

TO SEE MORE OF BERT’S PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

https://myalbum.com/album/CfeMye2fH2G7hk/?invite=80f4537d-1c46-40e4-b54e-346b1a990506

St. Mary’s CBGS – 1 Aidan Holbrook, 2 Fionntan Burns, 3 Oliver Crossan, 4 Anthony Brennan, 5 Eoghan Herron, 6 Darragh Loughran, 7 Oran McCann, 8 Ben Gamble, 9 Anton Corr, 10 Frazer McGivern, 11 Dara Ward, 12 Daire Burke, 13 Emmet Rainey, 14 Dylan Hand McCallin, and 15 Lorcan O’Rawe.

Gaelcholáiste Dhoire – 1 Fionnan Ó Beart, 2 Gara Mac Bhoscaidh, 3 Eanan Kolbohm, 4 Cahir Buistir, 5 Oisín Ó Coinn, 6 Brogan Ó Dughaill / Ó Cinneide, 7 Micheal Mac Ghiolla Domhnaigh, 8 Ultan Ó Ceallaigh, 9 Charlie Ó Muirí, 10 Liam Ó Cleirigh, 11 Cathair Ó Ceallaigh, 12 Damhnaic Ó Ceallaigh, 13 Odwan Ó Giollain, 14 Seán Ó Ceallaigh, and 15 Felix Mac Oscar.

Referee – Brendan Totten

by thesaffrongael

Strong opening half sees Lámhs emerge victorious 

ACFL Division One 

Rossa 0-12-2-14 Lámh Dhearg 

Kevin Herron reports from Pairc Rossa 

First half goals from Pearse Fitzsimons and Ryan Murray helped Lámh Dhearg into a 10-point lead at the interval and the Hannahstown men were only outscored by two in the second period of their 2-14-0-12 win over Rossa on the Shaws Road on Wednesday evening. 

The hosts were off the mark inside of the opening 60-seconds through a well taken Diarmaid Rogan point, but Jody Quinn restored parity with a fine shot on the turn and he then turned provider, collecting a short kick from Mick Byrne and slipping the ball to Ryan Murray to fire the visitors ahead. 

A converted Colm Fleming free restored parity, though Murray doubled his account and Ben Rice steered a shot over. 

Rossa drew level for a second time when goalkeeper Mick Byrne kicked a two-pointed free and by the midway point in the half it was the hosts that held a 0-6-0-4 lead with Fiachra McDonald and Byrne (free) notching scores. 

The game’s opening goal arrived after 20-minutes and saw Lámh Dhearg edge again once more. 

John Finucane clipped  a free into the path of Ryan Murray and he in turn found Ben Rice to surge towards goal, Rice then dropped a ball into the square where Pearse Fitzsimons palmed the ball home to make it 1-4-0-6. 

From the resulting kick out a two pointed score arrived, Adam Murray broke the ball into the path of Niall McGarry and he laid the ball off to Mark Finnegan to drop a shot over from outside the arc. 

Finnegan would kick another two-pointer before the break after the Lámhs were awarded a free for a breach and Finnegan opted to bring it outside for a two-pointed attempt that he successfully nailed. 

Just before the half concluded Corey Walsh was adjudged to have overcarried as he was about to swing over a point, goalkeeper Mick Byrne was upfield contributing to the attack and was caught out by John Fincuane finding Ryan Murray- Murray was able to burst forward without pressure and wellies a shot past an out of position Byrne and into the net. 

There was still time for Mark Finnegan to drop a third two-pointed score from Terry McCrudden’s lay-off and ensure their side were 2-10-0-6 ahead at the break. 

Playing uphill and into the breeze in the second period, Rossa opened the scoring in the second period through a Conal McDonald point, though Mark Finnegan responded from the placed ball at the other end. 

In between a converted Adam Murray free, Mick Byrne came up and kicked two two-pointed frees to reduce arrears to seven (2-12-0-11) with a quarter of an hour remaining. 

Lámh Dhearg managed the last 15-minutes perfectly as Rossa only managed a sole score from Eoin Fleming in the remaining minutes, with Mark Finnegan and Declan Lynch scoring in-between times to ensure that their side had eight to spare at the conclusion and claimed their first victory since the opening game of the campaign. 

ROSSA: M Byrne (0-7f, 3×0-2ptf, 0-1f), M McKernan, P Moyes, J McGurk, S McDonald, N Crossan, F McDonald (0-1), P Byrne, E McMenamin, C Walsh, C McDonald (0-1), D Rogan (0-1), C Fleming (0-1f), E Fleming (0-1), R McDonagh. SUBS: O McVicker for F McDonald (43). 

LÁMH DHEARG: J Finucane, F Mervyn, D Lynch (0-1), D Smyth, B Rice (0-1), T McCrudden, N McGarry, P Fitzsimons (1-0), C Boyd, A Murray (0-1f), C Murray, R Murray (1-2), M Finnegan (0-8, 0-3f, 2×0-2pt, 1×0-2 ptf, 0-1f), J Quinn (0-1), J Davitt. SUBS: M Herron for J Quinn (57), A McCloskey for R Murray (59). 

REFEREE: Paul Burns (ST COMGALLS)

by thesaffrongael

Another leap forward for Casement’s girls

Coaching Team: Ciaran Doherty, Niamh Doherty, James Duffin, Paddy McLaughlin

 

Another Leap Forward

Last week, the girls put in a great performance against Wolfe Tones with a score of 8-13 to 1-1. The win moved them up to the middle of the league table and put wind in their sails.

Tonight’s match was played during a beautiful evening in Portglenone. And our girls made the most of the fine weather. Sunny, mild, and most importantly dry! Around a third of the panel had been playing camogie until 7:15pm. But everyone was changed, warmed up, and ready for throw-in shortly after 7:30.

Amanda Leahy from Moneyglass had the whistle.

Third League Game of 2026

Ard Eoin are a strong Belfast club with history behind them, and they came ready to play. But Roger Casements went straight for the jugular with two shots at the net inside the first few minutes. Both went wide. But the message was sent. After that, Niamh Smith, Maria O’Boyle, and Chloe Duffin kept the scores ticking. Aisling McGill and Evie Rose McErlean were a constant threat around goal. And Ciara McVeigh and Caiti Louise McGill held the shape at full forward, keeping their defense working hard.

Nessa McKenna and Tiarna McErlain put in a solid effort at the back. Tiarna blocked what looked like a certain goal and drew a well-earned roar of approval from the home crowd. When called upon Ílinn McLaughlin, Molly Watson, and Caoimhe Marron closed ranks on defense, plugging gaps and forming a sturdy wall against the opposition. Keeper, Emily Padgett maintained constant communication with her defense and fed the ball cleanly up to Rebecca Kennedy and Sarah Mary O’Boyle in midfield who in turn fought strong and played it to the attack. It was a well-oiled machine, requiring only minor adjustments here and there. Roger Casements hit half time with 3-3 to Ard Eoin’s 0-3.

 

Threat Incoming

A few changes, including Emily coming up to play the middle, and Áine McCormack coming on to harry their defense.

Ard Eoin came roaring back in the second half and planted several goals to make things interesting. But Roger Casements didn’t flinch. They tightened up and countered. Clodagh McDonnell got in on the scoring action. Aisling kept winning the ball. Maria applied pressure on their net from an angle. Our girls got good at opening a gap down the middle and Niamh took full advantage, moving up the pitch at speed for several more goals. Molly moved up and presented a constant threat, popping shots from their left. And Caoimhe closed the gap on their defense several times, making the sprint from mid-field look easy. Roger Casements rattled in 5 more goals and 2 more points to seal the win.

Final Score

Roger Casements Portglenone 8-5

Ciceam Ard Eoin 3-3

Two weeks ago, they sat at the bottom of the table. Tonight they sit third. If you aren’t watching this team, you should be.

It goes without saying that we coaches are proud of every single girl on the team, and we look forward to seeing where the next few games take them.

by thesaffrongael

Moneyglass have the upper hand against Sarsfields

Antrim Football League – Division 1

Sarsfields 1-12 Sarsfields 3-19

Moneyglass delivered a commanding performance to defeat Sarsfields in their Antrim Senior Football League Division 1 encounter at the Bear Pit. With both sides having been promoted from Division 2 last year and sharing a victory apiece in that league campaign, this fixture promised to be fiercely contested. Moneyglass also brought the psychological edge of having beaten their hosts in the Antrim Intermediate Championship, and they reinforced that dominance with a comprehensive 3-19 to 1-12 victory on Sarsfields’ home turf.

The home side could not have asked for a better start, shocking the visitors within the opening twenty seconds when midfielder Cormac Murray found the back of the net for an early goal. Moneyglass quickly settled their nerves, however, with Collum Duffin opening their account with a point in the second minute. Sarsfields maintained their early pressure, adding a point through Garry Lennon after ten minutes. The visitors soon found their rhythm, with Sean Boyd registering a double-score on the twelve-minute mark to close the gap. Daniel Smyth, operating in the number 10 role for Sarsfields, added a point on seventeen minutes, but Boyd immediately cancelled it out with a point of his own a minute later.

The turning point of the first half arrived in the twenty-second minute when Sean Boyd breached the Sarsfields defence to score a crucial goal for Moneyglass, shifting the momentum firmly in their favour. This sparked a strong finish to the half for the visitors. Caolan Boyd and Conor O’Kane added consecutive points to extend the lead. Although Garry Lennon managed to pull one back for Sarsfields with his final point of the half in the twenty-seventh minute, Collum Duffin finished the period strongly for Moneyglass, firing over two consecutive points just before the whistle to leave the halftime score at 1-8 to 1-3 in favour of the away side.

Sarsfields emerged for the second half determined to eat into the deficit, with Smyth pointing in the very first minute. Moneyglass responded swiftly, demonstrating their attacking depth as Caolan Boyd and Tyler Cassidy slotted over points in the third and fourth minutes respectively. While Fionn Jemfrey and Smyth kept the scoreboard ticking over for the hosts with points soon after, the Moneyglass attack began to click into a higher gear. Scores came from all angles, with defenders and forwards alike joining the fray; Callum Murray, Connlagh McCann, and Cassidy all raised white flags to keep Sarsfields at arm’s length midway through the half.

As the game entered the final quarter, the visitors’ dominance became undeniable. Despite further points from Smyth and Jemfrey for the home team, Moneyglass dictated the tempo. Tyler Cassidy, Collum Duffin, Dermot McErlaine, and Seanachan Duffin all added points in a blistering scoring spell. Any lingering hopes of a Sarsfields comeback were extinguished in the twenty-fifth minute when a Moneyglass substitute Conor O’Kane found the net for their second goal of the day. Cassidy added another point shortly after to pile on the misery. Smyth fought valiantly for Sarsfields until the bitter end, registering two late two-point scores, but Moneyglass had the final say. In the dying moments of the match, Dermot McErlaine crowned a stellar team performance with a third goal, cementing a highly impressive 3-19 to 1-12 win for Moneyglass.

TO SEE MORE OF ELAINE’S PICS FROM THIS GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

https://myalbum.com/album/88gowmEcEH3zXQ/?invite=9b32cc42-551e-48e3-b875-a78e98cb21d6

by thesaffrongael

Ahoghill Maintain Promotion Charge with High-Scoring Win in Crumlin

Featured Image: Colla McDonnell whoes hat-trick helped St. Mary’s Ahoghill to an important win over St. James’ Aldergrove in Crumlin

St. James’ Aldergrove 2-15 (21) — 4-15 (27) St. Mary’s Ahoghill

St. Mary’s Ahoghill kept their promotion hopes firmly on track with a high-octane away victory over fellow contenders St. James’ Aldergrove. In a remarkable ACFL Division 2 clash that produced six goals, the visitors’ blistering first-half performance and hat-trick heroics from Colla McDonnell proved to be the difference.

First-Half Blitz
Ahoghill signalled their intent from the off, racing into a commanding 2-11 to1-03 lead by the half-time whistle. Colla McDonnell was the tormentor-in-chief, netting both of Ahoghill’s first-half majors. Their point-taking was equally sharp, with James O’Connell (0-4) and Dan O’Neill (0-3) leading the way, supported by white flags from Noel Crossey, Patrick Graham, and CollaMcDonnell. Aldergrove stayed in touch during the opening period thanks to a Conor Browning goal and points from Ryan McCarthy (0-2) and CormacMcGarry.

The Grandstand Finish
The game transformed into a wide-open shootout after the break. Aldergrove emerged with renewed vigour, and when Ryan McCarthy found the net in the 9th minute of the half, a massive comeback looked on the cards. The home side hit a purple patch with points from Conor Browning, Fergal Burke, Brian McQuillan, and Ryan Owens, threatening to overhaul the heavy half-time deficit.

However, Ahoghill’s clinical edge returned just in time to quell the rebellion. James O’Connell calmed nerves by smashing home a penalty in the 23rd minute, followed by a clinical finish from Colla McDonnell in the 28th minute to complete a spectacular hat-trick. Late points from Patrick Dougan, Patrick Graham, and James O’Connell ensured the Clooney men stayed out of reach. The result keeps Ahoghill within touching distance of league leaders NaomhÉanna.