Author / thesaffrongael

Posts by thesaffrongael

Photographer and GAA writer who has been covering hurling, football and camogie for almost forty years
by thesaffrongael

Aggies advance to semis as O’Ds bow out

Junior Football Championship Group 1 – Round 3

Friday 30th August

Report by Niall Kelly 

Naomh Úna 0-16                 Cardinal O’Donnells 1-09   

St Agnes’ overcame the rigorous challenge of local rivals O’Donnells in an end to end, ding-dong encounter at a sun soaked Pairc Naomh Úna on Friday evening. Unconquered throughout their Championship campaign, not many Gaels across Antrim would’ve earmarked St Agnes’ as group winners. However, their swashbuckling style of play and newly instilled belief reaped rewards and they deservedly take passage straight to the final four.  Nevertheless, after Charlie Hemsworth’s final whistle, it was a case of contrasting fortunes as news began to filter through that Laochra had upset the odds and gained the verdict against Pearses in Group One’s corresponding fixture. This result condemned an injury ravaged ODs to exile and an early exit from this year’s Junior Championship. There can be little doubt that they will rue their collection of spurned chances from this one.

The game burst into life right from the off as the sizable contingent of spectators were treated to a real spectacle. The Aggies raced into an early two-point lead with as many minutes on the clock thanks to scores from Colin Clarke and Ronan Carroll. It was looking ominous for the Os as their hosts were capitalising on the huge spaces that they were afforded and were attacking with real purpose and gusto as talisman Conall Turley added another from the placed ball.  It could’ve been much worse for the visitors though as James Campbell’s effort looked destined for the net but was thwarted with a heroic block from Sean Lavery.

The travelling support were relieved when Marc McKenna gained them a foothold in proceedings, splitting the posts from range. The ODs number twelve then doubled his tally with a perfectly curled effort from the flank and suddenly it was the men in maroon and yellow who were purring. Their midfield engine room was proving to be the fulcrum of their attacks as John Rafferty and Conall Carville were having a real influence in proceedings. Quick hands and some delightful interchange of passing carved a host of scoring chances for O’Donnells but they were unable to apply the finishing touches with their wide count growing.

Aggies’ corner back Patrick Carroll then made ODs pay for their lack of composure in front of the posts as he managed to covertly advance up the field before fisting over to finish a well-orchestrated move. By this stage, it was end to end and anybody’s game as the visitors responded positively thanks to two superb points from the industrious John ‘Beef’ Rafferty who closed the gap to the minimum.

It was indeed the visitors now who were asking all the questions and they were desperately unlucky not to have the green flag raised. James Walsh’s drilled effort was so close to finding the net but ricocheted off the post before Jonny McKenna latched on to the rebound only to see his shot agonisingly kiss the other upright before going wide. Perhaps the perfect illustration and epitome of the luck they’ve had this season.

This near miss spurned Naomh Úna back to life as Colin Clarke doubled his tally before the ever-dangerous Cormac McBride split the posts after latching on to a cleverly disguised pass from Ronan Gilligan. With five minutes left of the half, James Campbell added another to increase the gap to four.

O’Donnells though were determined to dismantle the deficit as McKenna stroked over yet another delicately curled effort. Padraig McKissock then found his bearings moments later as he tapped over a close range free. Conall Turley responded with his second of the evening but it would be the visitors who would have the last laugh of the half as they grabbed the game’s only goal.

Jonny McKenna, determined to banish the demons of his earlier near miss, was ‘Jonny on the spot’ and latched on to Conall Carville’s saved effort before drilling to the net from close range to bring proceedings to a deadlock just in time for the interval with the scoreline 0-09 to 1-06.

The second period followed a similar script as the first as both teams went on the offensive. However, a strong final quarter proved the difference as the Aggies were much more potent and composed in front of the posts than their counterparts as they limited the Whiterock side to just three points.

The talismanic Conall Turley opened the second half scoring after commandeering possession straight from the throw in before gliding up the field and nonchalantly tapping over. Moments later, Cormac McBride doubled his tally as he put the gloss on a flowing move from the hosts. Padraig McKissock responded from the deck but Naomh Úna were on a mission and points from Ronan Carroll and McBride again further bolstered their lead with fifteen left to play.

To their credit, O’Donnells continued to search for penetrative avenues of attack but again they continued to spurn an array of scoring chances. McKissock managed to covert another effort from the deck with McKenna pitching in with another curler, but it would prove to be too little given the chances they had.

With the game approaching its climax, it was the hosts who finished the strongest as David McGarahan floated over an expertly executed 45 before Ronan Carroll doubled his tally. The impressive McBride, who was a constant thorn in the O’Donnell’s rearguard, slotted over his fourth for the evening to all but seal a fine evening’s work.

A disappointed end to the season for O’Donnells. However, with so many injuries and key men sidelined throughout their Championship campaign, manager Joe Herald can take many positives going forward particularly with the fact that he had the opportunity to blood a host of his younger options. No doubt this will stand well to them going forward. Congratulations to St Agnes’ who have really been the Championship’s surprise package. There is a real verve and swagger to their play and with safe passage secured straight to the semis, they will certainly dare to dream. Could this be their year?

Teams:

Naomh Úna:

C Carroll; R Reilly, K McCormick, P Carroll (0-01;) D McGaharan (0-01,) C Turley (0-04,) D Turley; R Carroll (0-03,) R Gilligan; C Flannery, C Clarke (0-02,) J Campbell 0-01;) B McLarnon, C McBride (0-04,) D Quigley

O’Donnells:

C Murphy; S Lavery, S Smylie, J Walsh;  J Wilson, C Walsh, G McKernan; C Carville, J Rafferty (0-02;) C McKissock, P Rice, M McKenna (0-04;) P McKissock (0-03,) J O’Donnell, J McKenna (1-00)

TO SEE MORE PICS FROM THIS GREAT GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

https://myalbum.com/album/eq9osB4xMrMBHb

by thesaffrongael

Can your support Ardoyne with kits for South Africa

Ardoyne Kickhams are supporting young people from the Ardoyne and Shankill area who are travelling to the townships of Cape Town, S Africa to carry out service projects in the local community. A group of 20 young people will travel out in mid-October 2024 with a further group travelling in February 2025.
Young people from the Ardoyne and Shankill communities travel together to S Africa every year to make a difference in the lives of local people. On every trip they like to bring football gear that is in good condition, and this is used in social action projects in the townships, both for adults and children.
I would kindly ask clubs to check if they have any football or hurling strips that are no longer needed that could be used for activities in the townships of South Africa.

Your support would be much appreciated!

Brian McKee,

Cathaoirleach, Ciceam Ard Eoin

by thesaffrongael

Fitzy names his backroom team…

So the burning question on everyone’s lips since his ratification has been answered.  Davy Fitzgerald has announced his backroom team and there’s a couple of eye-catching names who have taken up the mantle.

Dunloy clubman Paudie Shivers makes the natural progression from U20s main man into the coaching team under Fitzy.  Shivers had an indifferent 2024 season but his working relationship with Darren Gleeson for a number of years showed he has that something different that Davy is looking for.  When I spoke with Fitzgerald last Sunday, he iterated that he was looking for someone who was constantly looking outside of the box and looking to evolve.  He spoke in glowing terms about Shivers and while both are strong characters, you can see how this would be a good appointment.

Arron Graffin in is playing days with Antrim back in 2011

Two further appointments come from north Antrim also with Arron Graffin and Neil McManus stepping into the breach.  On the face of it, this is a brilliant move.  Two men who have been superb servants for the Saffrons and in Arron Graffin, they have a highly motivated individual.  A look at his CV and he’s been involved with the GPA as a Player Development Manager.  Since January, Graffin has worked in the Ulster University (Magee) as a part-time lecturer and teaching assistant, specializing in Coaching Practice.  The Cushendall man was also part of the u20s setup with Shivers for the 2022 season.

McManus needs no introduction to anyone who knows anything about Antrim hurling.  He may be seen as an appointment from left field, but again, it shows the outside of the box thinking that Davy was alluding to.  When I mauled over who could be on the list of potential candidates since his ratification, I had an inkling that Davy would give Neil a call.  A man who clearly loves hurling and there’s only so much you can get from the RTE studios.  Nothing beats being part of the game and coaching is the next best thing to playing.  McManus takes up the mantle of Sports Performance Coach.  It will be interesting to see how the Ruairi Og man manages the role with his own club commitments.  While he hasn’t played a part in either of Cushendall’s first two championship matched, you would expect him to be there for the latter stages.

Neil McManus

The last name announced and one that maybe few would be familiar with, is Pat Bennett.  Described as passionate and purposeful, Bennet is a Waterford native and former Deise selector.  He was part of Stephen Molumphy’s backroom team last year in Kerry and has a long standing relationship with Davy – most notably during his first spell with Waterford and Wexford.

Bennet managed Wexford club side Ferns to their first county championship win in 2022 and is the father of Stephen, Kieran and Shane Bennett.  He was a selector for his club side Ballysaggart who were defeated to Creggan in the 2014 junior All-Ireland final that went to a replay.

He did say that he won’t please everyone with the appointments but he has in place the men who he trusts to help him take Antrim to the next level.  It’s hard to look past the quality and caliber of the backroom team assembled.

Paudie Shivers
by thesaffrongael

Power packed Ruairi’s advance to final

Reserve Hurling Cup

St. John’s 2-16 Cushendall 5-31

Ruairi Ogs, Cushendall produced a power packed second half performance to overcome the challenge of St. John’s in a high scoring and entertaining Reserve Hurling Cup semi-final at Corrigan Park on Wednesday night.

The Johnnies kept in touch during the opening exchanges thanks to a goal from Daire King in the second minute when he got on the end of a long delivery to finish from close range.

Slowly the visitors began to find their range however with Joseph McNaughton leading the way and his goal in the 10th minute edged the Ruairi Ogs ahead for the second time in the contest.

Earlier Conor Flannery in the St. John’s goals pulled off a smart save to deny the visitors what looked a certain goal but slowly the North Antrim men began to find their range with Austin Birt, Paddy Magill, Patrick Sharpe and Charlie McAuley hitting some excellent points.

Points from Donal Carson and Ruairi Galbraith kept the St. John’s scoreboard ticking and when they got in for a scrambled goal after a mix-up in the ‘Dall’ defence in the 20th minute they looked to be back in contention.

The visitors would finish the half on the front foot however as Paddy Magill 0-3, Patrick Sharpe 0-2 and Joseph McNaugton added points with Donal Carson 0-2, Daire King and Peter McCallin leaving the home side trailing by six at the short whistle.

The Corrigan men needed a good start to the second half if they were to get back into contention but it was Cushendall who got off to a blistering start as Paddy Magill pointed after 10 seconds and three more from the excellent McNaughton saw them 11 ahead with 5 minutes of the second half gone.

St. John’s did respond with a couple of well struck points from Donal Carson and another from Collie McFall but the Ruairi Og’s responded with their third goal of the evening when Conor Carson punished a mistake in defence to finish to the net in the 8th minute.

The visitors were now very much in the ascendancy as Joseph McNaughton followed with goal number four, a minute later to effectively end the game as a contest though St. John’s continued to battle.

Conor Carson and Paddy Magill continued to find the target with some excellent points as the gap increased and Carson got in for their fifth goal with five minutes remaining to put the visitors out of site.

Donal Carson, Ruairi Galbraith, Luke Loughlin, Fearghal McManus and Odhran Carson added points to the St. John’s total but it is Ruairi Og’s who go forward to the decider where they will meet Loughgiel Shamrocks in what should be an excellent final.

St. John’s: 1 Conor Flannery, 2 Odhran Carleton, 3 Joe Hand, 4 Michael Darragh, 5 Michael Napier, 6 Colly McFall, 7 Jim Peoples, 8 David Robinson, 9 Ruairi Galbraith, 10 Donall Carson, 11 Peter McCallin, 12 Danaan McKeogh, 13 Daire King, 14 Lorcan Heenan, 15 Conan McKinney.

Subs: 18 Luke Loughlin, 19 Darragh McGuinness, 20 Matthew Mallon, 21 Michael Dudley, 30 Fearghal MacManus

Ruairi Og: 1 Eoin Gillan, 2 Senan Black, 3 Daire Mort, 4 Michael Quinn, 5 Padraig McKillop, 6 Stephen Walsh, 7 Charlie McAuley, 8 Alex Delargey, 9 Austin Birt, 10 Joseph McNaughton, 11 Paddy McGill, 12 Oisin Woodhouse, 13 Patrick Sharpe, 14 Conor Carson, 15 Christy McLaughlin.

Subs: 16 Ruairi Sharpe, 17 Andrew DFelargy, 19 Ruairi McCollum, 20 Matthew McCann, 21 Conan Brown, 22 Ciaran Neeson, 23 Mark Emerson, 24 Dominic Delargy

Referee: John Dornan

TO SEE MORE OF BERTS PICS FROM THIS GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

https://myalbum.com/album/dW5Ap6gXGGQZXN

by thesaffrongael

Shamrocks book place in Reserve Cup final

Antrim GAA Reserve Cup Loughgiel v Dunloy 28th August 2024

Loughgiel 1-22 Dunloy 2-14

Match report and photo album from Michael Corcoran at Fr. Healy Park, Loughgiel

An electrically charged first half in Wednesday’s Reserve Cup would complement the distant rumblings of thunder, threatening to deliver a deluge in the already soft turf. But thankfully, for most of the sixty minutes, play would remain dry overhead…but heavy underfoot.

With three goals and twenty points between the sides before the break, supporters were entertained to a blistering game of hurling, refereed by Seamus Shannon. Shannon would get to work twenty seconds after the throw in as Loughgiel’s Eoin McGarry picked up a foul as he worked his way towards the goals at the clubhouse. Ryan McKee would send that wide but Maol Connolly would keep the pressure applied with the first point in the game at under the two minutes.

Dunloy would send their puck out deep into Loughgiel’s half for a goal mouth scramble that was well diffused by Loughgiel’s full back line but Dunloy’s Nicky McKeague would receive the outbound sliotar for a turnover that put Dunloy on the scoreboard with their first point.

A worrying threat around the edge of the square, Dunloy’s Decky Smith would cast a long shadow into Mark Christie’s goals and with just two and half minutes in, Smith struck a well angled sliotar to beat Christie and register his first goal of the evening.

Unphased by the early goal, Loughgiel waited patiently and Darragh Patterson would point from a Finn Henry pass and then at six minutes in, Patterson would assist Eoin McGarry with Loughgiel’s goal.

Dunloy would reply with a useful point from Tom McFerran, as he took possession in his own half around the forty-five metre mark and running into Loughgiel’s half, floated a high ball to bring scores level at 1-02 apiece on the Fridge Raiders scoreboard.

Loughgiel would now drift two points into the lead as Nicholas McNaughton delivered from a Conal McCloskey pass and a determined Finn Henry going to ground, kept possession and successfully pointed on recovery.

But Dunloy’s Smith would be a handful at almost exactly ten minutes in, when a high dropping ball originally meant to point, fell going wide but Smith got an angle on the sliotar and dropped it in past Christie for his second goal.

With just a point between the sides, Loughgiel inched ahead again with points from McNaughton and McGarry, both from the low side of the pitch but Dunloy would apply the pressure at the other end and it would be keeper Christie that would bear the brunt with a fine save but the turned over sliotar would earn Dunloy a penalty as they pressed again into the thirteen metre box. Dunloy’s McKeague stroked the sliotar down the line towards a waiting Christie and a solid save denied Dunloy another goal.

Loughgiel would now start to move ahead over the next four minutes with four points, three from McNaughton and one from Eoin McGarry as Damien Quinn scooped up the rewards from a brave block, offloading to Finn Henry and onto McGarry.

With just over eighteen minutes on the clock, Dunloy’s Aodhan McGarry would make good of a free for a throw ball, bringing scores on the scoreboard to Loughgiel 1-10 Dunloy 2-03 and with four minutes elapsing, Loughgiel’s Darragh Patterson would take his point from a McNaughton offload before Dunloy picked up another throw ball free. Aodhan McGarry was on shooting form and delivered another score over the bar.

Loughgiel’s Quinn was right back in the front line action as he turned over a Dunloy ball towards Eoin McGarry who inched the Shamrock’s up another point but Dunloy would reply when referee Shannon spotted a foul on Aodhan McGarry. McGarry took his point to bring the gap back to just four points before Loughgiel’s Patterson and McNaughton pointed and with four on the clock, it looked like Loughgiel would carry that into the break but a dropping ball into Loughgiel’s square was directed into the back of Christie’s net by Decky Smith. Shannon consulted the umpires at the road end and a decision of a square ball resulted in a disallowed goal. Smith though would take Dunloy into the break just five points adrift behind Loughgiel as he pointed from twenty metres out from an assist by Nicky McKeague.

In the second half, Dunloy’s Smith would pick up where he left off, with his point stemming from a delivery onto his stick from a diagonal ball coming in from Conor McKinley.

The pace of the game had by now eased up and settled into almost twenty-five minutes of trading points, Dunloy picking up half of their scores from frees. Almost from the whistle, Dunloy started to roll on substitutions well ahead of Loughgiel and it would eventually be Dunloy’s number 18, Ryan Mort that would point two in quick succession to offer the Cuchullains hope of closing the gap but there was a sense of urgency about that as the clock had no more than two minutes of extra time added. A final free for Dunloy was dropped in and fired to the net by Chrissy McMahon but saved by keeper Christie who was partially blocked by a body and swept away by an industrious Daniel McPeake as Shannon blew for full time in this round two match, leaving the scoreboard to register Loughgiel 1-22 Dunloy 2-14.

Loughgiel Starting Panel and Scorers

Mark Christie, Ciaran McKay, Daniel McPeake, Connor Dickson, Damien Quinn, Ben McGarry 0-01, Conall McCloskey, Finn Henry 0-01, Ryan McKee, Nicholas McNaughton 0-08 (4f), Darragh Patterson 0-04, Odhran McFadden, Eoin McGarry 1-03, Maol Connolly 0-04, Donal McKinley, Tiago McGarry 0-01

Dunloy Starting Panel and Scorers

Gabriel McTaggart, Cathair McCloskey, Karl O’Kane, Reece Cunning, Kevin McKeague, Conor McKinley, Daire McMullan, Ciaran Elliott, Ciaran McQuillan, Tom McFerran 0-01, Aodhan McGarry 0-07f, Barry Scott, Nicky McKeague 0-01, Decky Smith 2-02, Anton McGrath 0-01, Ryan Mort 0-02

Photos from Wednesday’s game can be found in the photo album by clicking on the link here:

https://myalbum.com/album/vgBVJSu2qJY68h/?invite=61bfaf92-9b75-4431-9d54-57ae8144ddf2

Follow Michael G Corcoran @keep_clickin on X (formerly Twitter) for match Gifs when available.

Follow The Saffron Gael @TheSaffronGael on X for links to match reports.