March 12, 2025March 12, 2025 by thesaffrongael

Oranmore college were impressive in their semi-final win over Enniscorty

Paddy Buggy Cup semi-final

Calasanctius College Oranmore 1-22 Enniscorthy CBS 2-15

at Rathdowney, Co Laois

CPC’s rivals in Saturday’s Paddy Buggy Cup final, Calasanctius College Oranmore, are formidable opponents who are backboned by the Oranmore-Maree club in Galway and in fact there were thirteen players from the club on the side that beat St Mary’s Enniscorthy in the semi-final two weeks ago.
The Wexord school pushed their Galway rivals hard for much of that semi-final in Rathdowney, but Oranmore showed great composure down the home straight to squeeze through a hard fought contest
Enniscorthy CBS were caught on a couple of occasions trying to play possession out of defence and were punished by the superb free-taking of Colm Burke, and the speed and accuracy of Gus Lohan (nephew of Clare manager, Brian).
At the other end of the field, Enniscorthy CBS weren’t making the same inroads with their inside line, thanks chiefly to the brilliant performance of Thomas Blake who gave a dominant display in his starting position of corner back, and later at centreback when he moved out to pivot the defence.
Enniscorthy CBS couldn’t get the ball to ‘stick’ in the final line, and while Páuric Doyle, Bobby Codd and Peter Wickham all delivered big moments at various stages in the half-forward line, they needed a back-up reserve to freshen things in the last quarter when Oranmore’s overall dominance began to tell
The Connacht side found the patches of space they needed in the home straight; and their efficiency was impressive when they did.
Enniscorthy CBS couldn’t have given any more, but they will be disappointed with a couple of their eight wides. The Wexford boys also dropped five shots short, where goalkeeper Harry Keady, son of the late Galway legend Tony Keady, was a dominant figure.
In terms of physicality, Oranmore held an advantage, and while the Enniscorthy CBS short game out of defence paid dividends on occasions, they tried it once too often, and the hits and tackles from their well-conditioned opponents led to turnovers that were converted into scores.

The pitch was in excellent condition for hurling, and from the opening whistle it became apparent that it was going to be a classic.
Enniscorthy were quick out of the traps and were 2-0 up after three minutes thanks to a Bobby Codd free and a Larry Cloke effort from play.
Oranmore then hit back with seven of the next nine points. Jake Keady was particularly effective during the first-half, with Colm Burke also a growing influence. The Enniscorthy CBS half-backs were under pressure, but were doing enough.
There was confusion when Peter Wickham’s goal was disallowed for an earlier infringement after nine minutes, and on 19 minutes, when Gus Lohan stroked home the sliotar, following a powerful run by Michael Leahy, Enniscorthy CBS had reason to be concerned that they were now five points down.
But a minute later, Peter Wickham’s defiance paved the way for Shane Reddy to net for the Leinster champions Jake Keady and Páuric Doyle exchanged a couple of fine points during this spell, with Doyle winning his battle on the ’40.
Trailing by three at the interval, Enniscorthy CBS hit 1-3 in the first ten minutes of the second-half to go 2-11 to 1-11 ahead.

***Oranmore’s team line out for their semi-final win over Enniscorthy***

There followed a couple of crucial plays, where a combination of Oranmore’s calmness and opportunism, and Enniscorthy CBS getting caught in possession in their own half, saw the Galway side regain the momentum.
Colm Burke pointed two frees from the forced errors, with Lohan and Leahy added terrific points from play.
It was already at a high level, but the match tempo went up another notch for the final quarter. Eoin Cloke and Shane Reddy were as busy as ever at midfield, and more excellent scores followed.
Among them was an exchange of points between Lohan and Hyland, the latter following great play in the last line of defence by Ivers.
When Codd made a driving run and pointed, with Hyland following up after a quick one-look and strike on 52 minutes, Enniscorthy CBS were back on top, leading by two with eight minutes to play and looked to be in a strong position.
But despite battling ferociously to the final whistle, that was to be Enniscorthy’s last score of the game as Oranmore hit the final six points, including three Burke frees, one from play from the centre-forward, with the skilful Lohan adding another two to his tally.
Overall Enniscorthy’s attitude and application on the day was tremendous, but Calasanctius College Oranmore just had a few more aces in their deck and deservedly got over the line to set up a final meeting with Ulster Champions Cross & Passion College, Ballycastle

Calasanctius College (Oranmore):

Harry Keady; Seán Martyn, Thomas Blake, Alan Connaughton; Tiernan Grealish, Fionn Fahy, Shay Rabbitt; Charlie Healy, Éanna Costello; Jake Keady (0-3), Colm Burke (0-12, 10 frees), Matthew Furey; Darragh King, Michael Leahy (0-2), Gus Lohan (1-5). Subs. – Stephen Ruane for King (HT), Liam Burke for Costello (59), Niall De Paor for Furey (63).

St. Mary’s CBS (Enniscorthy):

Eamon Asple (Ballyhogue); Brian Ivers (Marshalstown-Castledockrell), Kyle Curran (Oylegate-Glenbrien), Oisín Cloke-Rochford (Ballyhogue); Jamie Downey (Oylegate-Glenbrien), Jack Nolan (Oylegate-Glenbrien), Tadhg Doyle (Ballyhogue); Eoin Cloke (Davidstown-Courtnacuddy), Shane Reddy (Rathnure, 1-0); Bobby Codd (Monageer-Boolavogue, 0-8, 5 frees), Páuric Doyle (Davidstown-Courtnacuddy, 0-3), Peter Wickham (Oulart-The Ballagh, 0-1); Larry Cloke (Davidstown-Courtnacuddy, 0-1), Rhys Wickham (Oulart-The Ballagh, 1-0), Seán Hyland (Rapparees, 0-2).

Referee: Anthony Stapleton (Laois).

March 10, 2025March 10, 2025 by thesaffrongael

Ballycastle McQuillan’s Awards dinner

Eight time All Ireland winning hurler Richie Power was the guest of honour at the Ballycastle McQuillans awards dinner in the Marine Hotel on Friday night and the Kilkenny legend proved a very popular guest. The two time All Star spoke about his career with Kilkenny and with his club and admitted that one regret he had was not winning a Kilkenny senior title with Carrickshock. He went on to say he would gladly swop his eight All Ireland medals with the Cats for just one senior club medal with Carrickshock.

Antrim county chairman Seamus McMullan was also in attendance as was the new County Camogie chairperson Una Kelly who is of course also a prominent member of the Ballycastle club.

Most Improved Minor Hurler Conor Mooney receives his award from Kilkenny legend Richie Power at the Ballycastle McQuillan’s GAC dinner in the Marine Hotel.

Junior Hurler of the Year Ardan Kelly receives his award from Richie Power at the Ballycastle McQuillan’s Awards dinner in the Marine Hotel.

Connal Magee receives the Senior Reserve Hurler of the Year award from Richie Power.

Caoimhe McKendry and club President John Harkin present a bouquet of flowers to Guest of Honour Maria

Richie Power with Ballycastle club secretary Dessie Donnelly at the club dinner. Dessie played on and All Star team with Richie’s father, Richie snr, back in the late 1980s.

TO SEE MORE PICS FROM THE BALLYCASTE DINNER CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

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March 9, 2025March 10, 2025 by thesaffrongael

Antrim brush aside the Laois challenge but survival is still not certain

Main pic – Man of the match James McNaughton celebrates after scoring the first of Antrim’s four goals

Allianz Hurling League Division 1B

Antrim 4-22 Laois 0-21

***Corner forward Conor Johnston flashes the ball to the Laois net for Antrim’s second goal***

Antrim hurlers are almost sure of maintaining their Division 1B status for next season after beating Laois convincingly in their last league game of the season on Sunday at Corrigan Park. Leading by 2-15 to 0-08 at half time it was clear that if the Saffrons could keep out the goals in the second half they were would be pretty sure of victory, and while the Leinster men did show a marked improvement in the second half, they could make no inroads into Antrim’s lead and the thirteen points that separated the sides at the interval, was still there when match referee Michael Kennedy sounded the full time whistle. It has to be said that much of credit for that goes to the Saffrons goalkeeper Ryan Elliott who made a series of excellent saves throughout the game, with a couple of them during the final quarter right out of the top drawer.

Elliott’s performance had him in contention for the man of the match award, but that honour has to go to full forward James McNaughton who scored 2-11 over the seventy minutes, both goals taken expertly from play in a great all round display.

The win does not guarantee Division 1 safety as both Laois and Carlow have two games left to play. The O’Moore county have a home fixture against Carlow next week and if they were to win that they would still be in contention if they also beat Dublin the following week, a game that is also in O’Moore Park.

However a defeat in Sunday’s game would have left Antrim with no chance of survival and so it was vital that they came through. There were two very nerve-wracking moments for the Saffron fans in the opening minutes when Laois corner forward Tomás Keyes twice came within inches of an early goal, the first one hitting the side netting and the other fizzing past the far post, both of them from a narrow angle.

***Ryan Elliott who had another excellent game in the Antrim goal***

Gerard Walsh had given Antrim and early lead and when James McNaughton added two more and Conor Johnston one, daylight began to appear. The first goal came on 12 minutes when James McNaughton cut through the middle and just when it appeared he was about to lay off a pass, he produced a burst of speed that took him clear of is marker before firing the ball past Cathal Dunne in the Laois goals.

The home side kept the scoreboard ticking over and the gap widened before goal number two arrived, centre back Eoghan Campbell breaking forward before finding Conor Johnston in front of goal and the Johnnies sharp-shooter flicked the ball home one handed to the net, and when Ryan McCambridge and debutant Cormac McKeown added points the gap was out to 2-25 to 0-08 at the interval.

Keeping the goals out in the second half was undoubtedly the Saffrons aim and though they were not as dominant as they had been in the first 35 minutes they were still in control. Of course they did have Ryan Elliott to thank for that on more than one occasion and as the game entered the final quarter the play became a little scrappy.

Antrim had a good few chances to add to their own goal tally but good moves just kept breaking down at the last minute. However their persistence paid off eventually and James McNaughton grabbed his second with a finish as stylish as the first and Keelan Molloy put the icing on the cake with a sweet finish to wrap it all up.

That is league season wrapped up for Saffrons but they will have an anxious wait over the next two weeks to see if they have done enough to survive in 1B for next season.

***Debutant Cormac McKeown sends over a point late in the first half***

Antrim scorers: J McNaughton 2-11 (0-9f), C Johnston 1-2, G Walsh 0-3, K Molloy 1-1, R McCambridge 0-2, C McKeown 0-1, J Maskey 0-1, E Campbell 0-1

Laois scores: A Dunphy 0-9 (0-5f, 0-2 65s), P Purcell 0-2, P Delaney 0-2 (2f), C Dwyer 0-1, F C Fennell 0-1, M Keyes 0-1, D Dooley 0-1, M Keyes 0-1, M Dowling 0-1, C Byrne 0-1, J Lennon 0-1

ANTRIM: Ryan Elliott; Eoin McFerran, Paddy Burke, Stephen Rooney; Joe Maskey (0-01), Eoghan Campbell (0-01), Conor Boyd; Conall Bohill, Gerard Walsh (0-03); Ryan McCambridge (0-02), Keelan Molloy (1-01), Nigel Elliott; Cormac McKeown (0-01), James McNaughtonn (2-11, 0-09 frees), Conor Johnston (1-02).

Subs: Scott Walsh for R McCambridge (50), Seaan Elliott for G Walsh (55), Eoin O’Neill for C McKeown (55), Fred McCurry for N Elliott (70), Aodhán McGarry for C Johnston (70).

LAOIS: Cathal Dunne; Padraic Dunne, Lee Cleere, Padraig Delaney (0-02, 2f); Fiachra C Fennell (0-01), Donnchadh Hartnett, Jordan Walshe; Aidan Corby, David Dooley (0-01); Aaron Dunphy 90-09, 5f, 2 65s), Cha Dwyer (0-01), Willie Dunphy; Jer Quinlan (0-01), Paddy Purcell (0-02) Tomás Keyes (0-01).

Subs: John Lennon (0-01) for A Corby (29), Cormac Byrne (0-01) for C Dwyer (33), Mark Dowling (0-01) for P Purcell (50), James Duggan for W Dunphy (57), Cody Comerford for J Walshe (69).

REFEREE: Michael Kennedy (Tipperary)

***Nigel Elliott gets past the challenge of Laois midfielder Aidan Corby***

TO SEE MORE PICS FROM TODAY’S GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

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March 8, 2025April 1, 2025 by thesaffrongael

Bradley guides Saffrons to Ulster U20 crown

Ulster U20 Hurling Cup Final

Antrim 1-25 Down 1-13

Saturday 8 March

Brendan McTaggart reports from Ballycastle

Antrim’s Fiontan Bradley who top scored for the Saffrons in Saturday’s Ulster Under 20 Hurling final win over Down at Paírc MacUíln, Ballycastle. Pic by John MIlwaine

A strong second half performance from Antrim was enough to ensure they claimed the u20 Ulster Cup in Ballycastle on Saturday afternoon. 12 points was the difference at the end of the hour but after an indifferent first half where they held a four point lead, it was a much more controlled performance from the Saffrons as they restricted Down to just two points from open play in that second half.

It was the trio of Ruairi Og’s in the full forward line did the majority of the damage on the scoreboard, Joseph McLaughlin, Callagh Mooney and Fiontan Bradley sharing 15 points between them while Bradley who got my nod for Man of The Match.

Assuming the free taking responsibilities, Bradley was flawless and struck five points from open play. He gave the Down full back line a torrid time for the full hour while Mooney was also a major thorn in the Mourne Men’s side.

Out of the 1-25 registered, to hit 1-19 from open play is an impressive return and when you factor in the ten different scorers, it all makes for good reading for the Saffrons. When they analyse this one, they will have concerns about the second quarter of the first half where they allowed Down to eek their way back into the game after Antrim had built a seven point lead but they still had enough about them to lay a solid foundation for their second half.

Defensively, Liam Glackin and Ben O’Kane were excellent at the heart of the defence while Niall Magee and Charlie McAuley also shone. The middle third was largely dominated by those in Saffron, Sean McKay and Calum McIlwaine working well together while the work rate of those in half forward line was a massive factor in the Saffrons pulling clear in the second half.

With the wind swirling on the north coast, it was difficult to read whether it favoured anyone in the first half. Antrim did settle much quicker that Down with two points from McIlwaine and Joseph McLaughlin inside the opening three minutes. Luke McCabe opened Down’s account in the sixth minute before Antrim had the first sight of a major. Bradley it was who stole in behind the Down defence but his shot was well saved by Cian Clarke. He did manage convert the resulting ’65 to open Antrim’s two point lead once again but Down replied with a major at the other end of the pitch.

Sean McCarthy leaving his midfield berth and playing a return pass with Sean O’Neill before finding the back of Eoghan Richmond’s net.

Antrim’s response to going behind was perfect. Points followed from Bradley and Oran Donnelly (two) to restore Antrim’s lead before Aodhan McGarry scored Antrim’s goal in the 15^th minute. With Callagh Mooney creating the chance from nothing, McGarry timed his run to take the sliotar and fire home to open a five point lead.

***Antrim goalkeeper Eoin Richmond makes a sharp save during Saturday Ulster Under 20 Hurling final against Down and Ballycastle.***

Further scores followed from Bradley and McKay to make it 1-5 without reply in a little over six minutes as the Saffrons took control.

The Mourne Men began to find their way back into the game however with Cathal Coleman, Liam Blaney and Sean O’Neill prominent. In the ten minutes after McKay’s point, Antrim registered just one more white flag, that a free from Bradley in 20^th minute while the visitors began to eat into the Antrim lead. Points from Coleman (two frees), O’Neill, Blaney and Rogers reduced the deficit to three while it took some last gasp defending from Ben O’Kane to deny McCabe what looked like a certain goal in that same period.

A brace of frees from McGarry and Bradley restored a sense of control before Coleman’s third of the half and first from play left it 1-11 to 1-7 at half time.

Down started the second half in the ascendancy and had another glimpse of the Antrim goal with Coleman going close but the Antrim deficit was halved just four minutes into that second half. Coleman’s third from placed ball was quickly followed by the impressive Blaney’s second of the game.

Antrim responded with points from Jospeph McLaughlin and Mooney (two) and while Coleman added to his tally from another ’65, Antrim were beginning to take a stranglehold of the game.

Another four unanswered points came from Joseph McLaughlin, a brace from Bradley (one free) and a tidy score from Niall Magee put Antrim eight clear with a little over 10 minutes of the match remaining.

Down rarely looked like they would eat into that Antrim lead as the Saffrons defence remained strong, conceding just one point from open play in the last 10 minutes – that coming from Blaney and while Coleman added a brace of frees, Antrim were much more fluent in attack.

Scores came from Cormac McKeown, McKay a brace from substitute Orrin O’Connor while Bradley scored three in the closing stages – one from placed ball while the other two were contenders for score of the match. Wide on either flank and under pressure, he had no right to score them from that angle but still managed to raise the white flag.

Antrim progress to the Leinster Championship Tier 2 round robin where they will face Meath and Westmeath with the first match on 29 March.

***Antrim midfielder Sean McKay in action during the Saffron’s win over Down in Ballycastle***

TEAMS

Antrim: Eoghan Richmond; Ciarán McAllister, Liam Glackin, Malachi McGibbon; Charlie McAuley, Ben O’Kane, Niall Magee; Sean McKay, Calum McIlwaine; Aodhan McGarry, Oran Donnelly, Thomas McLaughlin; Callagh Mooney, Joseph McLaughlin, Fiontan Bradley

Subs: Sean Óg Blaney for C McAllister (28); Cormac McKeown for O Donnelly (38); Orrin O’Connor for J McLaughlin (58); Austin Birt for L Glackin (58)

Scorers: F Bradley 0-10 (5fs); A McGarry 1-1 (1f); J McLaughlin 0-3; S McKay 0-2; O Donnelly 0-2; C Mooney 0-2; O O’Connor 0-2; N Magee 0-1; C McIlwaine 0-1; C McKeown 0-1

Down: Cian Clarke; Dominic McGrath, Ben Taggart, Eoin Browne; Manus Gilmore, Patrick McGarry, Daniel Cunningham; Sean McCarthy, Sean McCollum; Luke McCabe, Cathal Coleman, Noah Rogers; Liam Blaney, Sean O’Neill, John Duggan

Subs: David Morrissey for L McCabe (16); Conor O’Neill for M Gilmore (HT); Shea Pucci for D McGrath (47); Rossa Byres for D Cunningham (56); Calum O’Neill for N Rogers (58)

Scorers: C Coleman 0-7 (4fs 2’65s); S McCarthy 1-00; L Blaney 0-3; L McCabe 0-1; N Rogers 0-1; S O’Neill 0-1

Referee: Ruan McKinstry (Armagh)

**Down centre forward Catahal Coleman who scored seven points in his team’s Ulster final against Down. Included is Antrim full back Liam Glackin**

TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

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March 7, 2025March 7, 2025 by thesaffrongael

McShane calls for big support as Antrim face Down in Ulster U20 Final

Ulster Under 20 Hurling Final – Antrim v Down at Pairc MacUilin

Brendan McTaggart speaks with Mickey McShane ahead of the U20s Ulster Final against Down

The U20’s take to the field on Saturday afternoon after a four week break and have their eyes on silverware. They will face Down in the Ulster Cup Final and having already faced the Mourne Men this season, Antrim have an idea of the task ahead of them.

Antrim’s Aodhan McGarry in action against Derry’s Ronan McNamee (left) and Ben Kealey during their opening game in the round robin series in Ballycastle four weeks ago when the Dunloy str gave a man of the match display.

Four weeks ago in Ballycran, Antrim edged past tomorrow’s opposition with two to spare. It was an awakening of sorts for the Saffrons who were mightily impressive against Derry in their opening game. When we spoke with team manager, Michael McShane, he gave us his thoughts on that game: “We went to Ballycran, won by two points but after winning so well against Derry, there was maybe an air of complacency there.

“Any chance of complacency for tomorrow’s game went out the window after that display in Ballycran. There’s no point in me saying I was happy with that, I wasn’t. We didn’t play with the intensity I know we can and we didn’t move the ball like we can but we got the result and now we’re looking forward.”

Although it might be seen as far from ideal in normal circumstances, McShane told us that he welcomed the four week break between matches. With players involved with schools and the senior set up, they still managed to get challenge matches arranged as he told us: “We played Offaly last weekend without the CPC players. They played in the Paddy Buggy Cup the day before our match. They travelled with us but didn’t play. Both sides were missing a few and I think we won by a goal in the end.

“We had a good game against Wexford as well. I think it’s important to play against strong teams, it’s a way of seeing our progress and seeing what we need to do against opposition who have serious speed and the pace of the game is much quicker. We lost that by four points, but the result wasn’t important. I told the lads that before we went out, it was about a performance and getting game time into some of the lads who needed it into their legs.

**Cormac McKeown in action gainst Down in the round robin meeting in Ballycran**

With the senior team being hit with a bug, the u20s have been doing all they can to ensure they steer clear of such headaches, “I actually cancelled training last night (Thursday) in an attempt to restrict contact with this bug” said the Antrim manager “I think we seemed to have avoided it but we’ll keep in close contact with the lads over the next 24 hours or so.”

One player who has certainly caught the eye in recent games is Cormac McKeown. He has been a strong performer for McShane and put in an excellent display against Carlow coming off the bench. McShane said to us that having players involved with both set ups has been eased with his relationship with senior manager Davy Fitzgerald: “Cormac has come on leaps and bounds. He was very good in Ballycran and one of the main reasons we won that game.

“We have four players involved with the seniors but the communication with Davy has been very good. He’s been very helpful in terms of those lads being made available when we have games and hopefully that’s the same for Saturday but with how things have been with this bug, everything is kind of up in the air at the minute.

“I had an agreement with Davy at the start of the week but we both have massive games this weekend. We’ll get our heads together and come up with what’s best for both sides.”

***Joseph McLaughlin who was closely marked last time out against Down***

Antrim come into this game as favourites and McShane said that he is wary of the Mourne Men as they look to throw a spanner into the works of his sides season: “Down will come into this game almost like it’s a free hit. We’ll be seen as favourites in many peoples eyes and everyone will be expecting us to win. They’ll come to Ballycastle and give it a fair old rattle but our preparations been good.

“It’s an Ulster final and neither ourselves or Down are Ulster champions. Derry beat us last year and that hurts those that were involved in that game, we’re looking forward to going out there and hopefully coming away with the win.

“We know how tough this is going to be and we know the battle that faces us. We watched them against Derry and while they maybe didn’t play as well as they did against us, they did enough to get the job done and reach the final.”

A 12pm throw-in on a Saturday is a peculiar time for such a game. But, McShane is hoping for a big support to get behind his side in Ballycastle: “It’s a massive game and to have it in Ballycastle is a massive bonus. These lads have been training hard since the start of the year and we’re starting to see the rewards of that now. Hopefully we get a big crowd out for these lads and give them the support their efforts deserve.”

**Fiontan Bradley whose goal in the second half proved vital in the round robin game against Down**

There is great potential in this U20 team, with a wealth of talent available. Everyone is hoping they can go on and make some sort of impression in Leinster later in the season, but if they don’t beat Down tomorrow that will not happen and their season is over. So please give these young lads your support and get along to Pairc MacUilin for noon tomorrow and cheer them on.

The Saffron Gael

A look at all things GAA in the Saffron county

Category / Hurling

Oranmore college were impressive in their semi-final win over Enniscorty

Ballycastle McQuillan’s Awards dinner

Antrim brush aside the Laois challenge but survival is still not certain

Bradley guides Saffrons to Ulster U20 crown

McShane calls for big support as Antrim face Down in Ulster U20 Final