St John’s Camogie Club and Carnlough Swifts FC are thrilled to officially announce the naming of our ground as Maltina Park, a heartfelt tribute to the parents of Brendan Rodgers, Malachy and Christina, and a name that will forever honour their legacy. This moment marks a significant milestone for our community, and we are deeply proud to share it with all of you.
The decision to name the ground Maltina Park reflects Brendan’s remarkable generosity, his unwavering support for our community, and his deep personal connection to the name Maltina. It represents the values of family, dedication, and resilience that his parents instilled in him—qualities that Brendan carries forward in his life and work.
For us, it is an immense honour to celebrate Brendan’s legacy in this way. His vision for Maltina Park is not simply about a name; it’s about creating a place that inspires young athletes, regardless of their sport, to dream big and strive for excellence. Brendan’s commitment to supporting sports stars of all disciplines serves as a powerful reminder that talent, dedication, and passion have no boundaries.
Through this incredible gesture, Brendan has given us a legacy of hope and opportunity. Maltina Park will now stand as a beacon for aspiring sports stars, a place where dreams begin, and a tribute to the enduring values of community and generosity.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Brendan Rodgers for this extraordinary gift and for his unwavering belief in the potential of our clubs and community. Together, we look forward to making Maltina Park a hub of inspiration, hard work, and celebration for generations to come.
St John’s Camogie Club and Carnlough Swifts FC would like to thank our respective Committees and also the Stoneyhill Committee for getting us to this point in the redevelopment. We want to also thank Ryan Dougan from Vision Design Architecture and the incredibly talented Enda McSorley who has worked tirelessly on the drawings. Many more people to thank who have been involved so far but we will do that later as different phases near completion, 2025 is going to be an amazing year, we hope you like the drawings.
Welcome to Maltina Park. A legacy, a landmark, and a home for all.
Leadon Timber Frame Ulster Minor Hurling Tournament
Cup Semi-Final
Glenariffe/Glenravel 2-15 Bredagh 1-16
Friday 27 December
Brendan McTaggart reports from Páirc an Déin Mhíc Loinsigh, Baile na Scrine
Glenariffe/Glenravel were pushed to the pin of their collar on Friday afternoon but held out Bredagh to reach the Ulster minor hurling final. They had two to spare over the Down champions by the end of a hugely entertaining hour of hurling that saw Callum McIlwaine put on a masterclass from midfield. The Glenariffe/Glenravel midfielder finished with seven points beside his name, all from play but he had plenty of support on the day. Orrin O’Connor shone throughout with exceptional work rate while Niall Magee and Colla Ward were superb in defence. McIlwaine’s impishly brilliant cousin Oisin Gillan and Phelim Ward grabbed the majors in either half that saw the Antrim champions have an element of control on the game throughout.
Bredagh had a greater variety of scoring with seven different names on the score sheet by the final whistle. Sean McCollum may be diminutive in stature but he was a giant throughout the hour while Luke Doran almost singlehandedly dragged his side to the brink of a stunning comeback. Eoin Browne and Sean Doyle were excellent in defence but Glenariffe/Glenravel and McIlwaine had enough, just to ensure they booked their place in the New Year’s Eve Final.
The opening goal came after eight minutes with the sides tied on three points apiece. It came through the genius of Gillan when he stole in behind Conor Dunne and raced through on the Bredagh goal. He made no mistake with his effort and when McIlwaine fired over a brace of points soon after, Glenariffe/Glenravel threatened to run away with this game.
Bredagh dug in however with McCollum and Kinney frees keeping them in touch. With the game ticking into the last minute of the first half, Bredagh were given a lifeline with their major. Luke Doran’s speculative effort over his shoulder came back off the uprights and with the sliotar bouncing loose, Shane O’Connell reacted quickest and pulled first time to the back of the net.
That goal came at the perfect time for Bredagh and while Orrin O’Connor’s fourth white flag of the half and third from placed ball put four between the sides on the stroke of half time, it was still all to play for in the second half.
With the aid of a slight breeze after the restart, Bredagh halved the Glenriffe/Glenravel deficit through Doran and McCollum. The Antrim champions looked to come out of their slumber however and opened a five point lead by the 41st minute with O’Connor and McIlwaine combining. Indeed, it took a quite brilliant piece of defending to deny Glenriffe/Glenravel a second major with John Scullion looking certain to find the back of the net but he was denied with a hungry Bredagh defence denying him space and swarmed him out.
A run of three points brought the Down men to within two once again before Glenriffe/Glenravel hit their second major and what proved to be the game defining score. It was Phelim Ward who applied the expert finish but it owed much to the work of O’Connor in the build up. Incredibly though, it would be their last score for almost ten minutes.
With seven minutes remaining and five points the difference, Bredagh refused to down tools. Scores from Doran, Finbar Blaney, Kinney (’65) and Odhran Morgan-Lyttle on the stroke of the hour had many thinking on extra time but McIlwaine had the final say when he raised his seventh white flag.
Glenariffe/Glenravel look forward to a final meeting with Erin’s Own Lavey (conquerers of Tyrone champions Eoghan Rua in the first semi-final) on New Years’ Eve with a 12pm throw in.
TEAMS:
Glenariffe/Glenravel:- Ben Duncan; Cahir McNaughton, Colla Ward, Harry Fyfe; James Kearney, Niall Magee, Oisin Mort; Callum McIlwaine (0-7), John Scullion; Eunan Harvey, Orrin O’Connor (0-6, 5 frees), Christy Leech; Michael Furey, Phelim Ward (1-1), Oisin Gillan (1-1). Subs: Joseph McKay for E Harvey (51), Oisin McKeown for J Scullion (59)
Bredagh:- Daniel Kinney (0-3, 2 frees, 1’65); Conn Quilton, Eoin Browne, Conor Dunne; Frankie Ferguson, Patrick McGarry, Sean Doyle; Pearse Loughrey, Daniel Cunningham; John Dougan (0-2), Luke Doran (0-3), Finbar Blaney (0-3); Sean McCollum (0-4, 3 frees), Shane O’Connell (1-00), Odhran Morgan-Lyttle (0-1). Subs: Tom Dougan for F Ferguson (38), Conor O’Neill for P Loughrey (43), Tomás O’Brien for D Cunningham (45), Caomhan McAnarney for C Quilton (48).
Referee: Alan Nash (Derry)
TO SEE MORE PICS FROM THE GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW
Leadon Timber Frames Ulster Minor club Hurling Cup semi-final
Friday 2pm in Ballinascreen
Bredagh (Down) v Glenariffe-Glenravel (Antrim)
Glenariffe-Glenravel, who been inactive since winning the Antrim Minor Championsip back in late September, face a tough challenge tomorrow in Ballinascreen when they take on Down champions Bredagh in the semi-final of the Leadon Timber Frames Ulster Minor Hurling Cup semi-final.
St Killian’s run to the final of the Mageean cup will of course be a benefit as a good number of the panel were members of the Glenariffe-Glenravel team that qualified for the Ballinascreen tournament by beating Dunloy in the Antrim final in Armoy back on September 29th in Armoy.
Orrin O’Connor who played a starring role when his team beat Dunloy in the Antrim final
Apparently the team have trained regularly since that Antrim win, but it has no doubt been disjointed because of the Mageean Cup involvement.
One consolation is of course their opponents will be in similar position. Bredagh secured the Down minor title, their third in a row, with a win over Ballygalget in mid-September at Páirc Esler in Newry. They have been a formidable force for the past couple of years and the fact that they ran the reigning Ulster champions Dunloy to a single point in last year’s decider is an indication of just how good they are.
Glenariffe-Glenravel will go into the game as slight favourites, but they will have to be at their best to overcome a very stiff hurdle.
We at the Saffron Gael were saddened to hear of the death this week of Tir na nOg stalwart, Vincent Kerr. A post on facebook from his nephew, Michael Kerr highlighted the life and career of Vincent whose career with the Randalstown club spanned 35 years.
Last night we said farewell to Uncle Vincent. Just short of his 89th birthday, he was in his last days as he was in life, strong, determined, dignified and fun.
A lifelong sports fan, an early boxer, Vincent became one of our club’s best players and most highly decorated hurlers. His Tir Na nOg playing career spanned 35 years in hurling and football winning the Antrim Junior Championship in 1960.
His skills were utilised first for Antrim at minor level in the early 50s, and then winning two Ulster finals and competing in two All Ireland finals for Antrim in 1958, and 1959, and representing Ulster in the railway cup in the early 60s.
In his mid-40’s he retired his GAA playing days and followed a new passion combining his love of birds with his competitive nature and became a member of the pigeon racing fraternity, winning regular trophies and titles.
Vincent was a master tradesman, no skill was beyond his capability and our extended family circle, the club and local friends and community all benefitted from his precision with his tools.
Earlier this year he said goodbye to his wife Mary of over 60 years, but accepted his loss and his illness with dignity and grace.
There will never be another like Vincent and we have all lost a champion, a great neighbour, a loving family man.
St Killian’s Garron Tower 0-13-1-16 Cross and Passion
Kevin Herron reports from the Dub
Cross & Passion celebrate their win over St Killian’s inTuesday night’s Danske Bank Mageean Cup final at the Dub Arena QUB. Pic by Dylan McIlwaine
Padraig Martin’s 51st minute strike took the wind out of St Killian’s second half fightback as Cross and Passion extracted revenge for defeat in the 2023 decider back in January and lifted the Danske Bank Mageean Cup for the 11th time in their history with a 1-16-0-13 win over holders St Killian’s in Tuesday evenings re-arranged decider at the Dub.
Playing with a strong breeze in the opening half Cross and Passion dominated the early scoring with Roan McGarry opening the evenings scoring from a 65’ and Conor Donnelly doubling the lead. McGarry doubled his account from a long range free and pointed from play before Oran McCambridge opened the scoring for the holders.
Cross and Passion restored their four-point advantage through a nice Oisin McCallin point- the first of four he would claim in the opening half hour, adding another angled point midway through the half.
18-minutes in and the lead extended to six after McGarry chalked up his third placed ball of the evening.
Points were traded between Callagh Mooney and McGarry (free) and by the 22nd minute Cross and Passion had opened up an eight-point advantage (0-10-0-02) following Oisin McCallin and Caedan Crawford adding further scores but Garron Tower ended the half stronger and clipped over three of the final four points.
Thomas McLaughlin slipped in Canice McIntosh to drop a shot over and McLaughlin then intercepted and opened up his account for the evening.
McCallin and Nicholas McLaughlin traded injury time points to close out the half as Cross and Passion held a 0-11-0-05 advantage at the interval.
An early side-line cut from Ronan Fitzgerald ensured that Cross and Passion struck first after the restart and things may have got better when Caedan Crawford bore down on goal and saw his goal-bound shot blocked by Ben Duncan and then scrambled clear in the nick of time.
Thomas McLaughlin replied from a free on the 37th minute and a long-range point followed from Oran McCambridge as the holders cut the deficit and clawed their way back into proceedings.
A superb Calum McIlwaine point from play lifted Garron Tower’s confidence and despite Padraig Martin pointing midway through the half for the leaders, momentum was with the Tower as Thomas McLaughlin reeled off three points on the bounce, the first from play and the other two from frees.
The defining score arrived on the 51st minute with the gap down to just two. Padraig Martin received a cut back from the by-line and rocketed a shot into the roof of the net past Ben Duncan to make it 1-13-0-11.
An instant response followed in the form of a Thomas McLaughlin point from play, but St Killian’s needed a goal in order to breathe new life into their challenge.
Their best chance came when substitute Michael Fury decided to make a break for the target and his attempt was diverted behind by Cross and Passion keeper Anthony Mullan.
Instead, the Ballycastle men finished strongly courtesy of points from goal scorer Martin, the lively Oisin McCallin and a converted Ronan McGarry free – with Oran McCambridge claiming a late consolation score.
Peter Owens final whistle was greeted by the obligatory pitch invasion from the Cross and Passion fans as they celebrated becoming Mageean Cup winners for the 11th time and they will hope to match the success of the dethroned holders when they compete in the Paddy Buggy Cup in 2025.
St Killian’s Garron Tower: B Duncan, C McNaughton, C Ward, C McCann, A McCambridge, C McAuley, J Scullion, A Campbell, C Mooney (0-1), C McIntosh (0-1), C McIlwaine (0-1), O McCambridge (0-3), N McLaughlin (0-1), T McLaughlin (0-6, 0-4f), C Leech. Subs: D McNaughton for N McLaughlin (45), M Fury (57), O Gillan for C Leech (60+1).
Cross and Passion: A Mullan, D Kinney, C Baudant, N McLean, R Cunning, L Glackin, A Kelly, D Donnelly, R Fitzgerald (0-1s), E Johnson, C Donnelly (0-1), P Martin(1-2), O McCallin (0-5), R McGarry (0-6, 0-5f), C Crawford (0-1). Subs: C Johnson for C Donnelly (46), A Richmond for C Crawford (57).
Referee: Peter Owens (Down)
Man of the Match Oisin McCallin lifts the James O’Kane Memorial Trophy for his star performance
Pic by Sean Trowlen
Cross & Passion captain Liam Glackin lifts the Mageean Cup after his team’s win over St Killian’s inTuesday night’s Danske Bank Mageean Cup final at the Dub Arena QUB. Pic by Dylan McIlwaine
TO SEE ALL THE PICS FROM THE MAGEEAN FINAL CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW
