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
There was to be no fairy tale ending for Carey Faughs in what has been a superb season when they lost to hot favourites, Watergrasshill of Cork in this All Ireland Intermediate Hurling club championship semi-final at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday
The Ballyvoy side have set the pace in Antrim and into Ulster this season and have collected a league and championship double in their own county before going on to claim the Ulster title with a good win over a strong Swatragh side.
The loss of James ‘Rocket’ Black to what looked like a serious shoulder injury before half-time certainly didn’t help the North Antrim men’s cause and the headed to the dressing room trailing 1-11 to 0-5 despite having the benefit of the breeze in the opening half.
They would add only three further points in the second half as their short game broke down too often with the superb Cork champions turning the screw in the second half.
In the end victory was as comprehensive as the scoreline suggests as Watergrasshill produced a top class display and had all but booked their final spot when leading 1-11 to 0-5 after playing into a stiff breeze in the opening half.
The Antrim champions started with two pointed frees from Conall McGlynn, but should have had a few more in that opening ten minutes. They were made to pay Cork champions hit back right away after the second point with a goal from full forward Sean Desmond which gave them a lead for the first time. Eddie Enright’s charges settled into the game and played some superb hurling to which the Faughs really had no answer.
Their superior physically was evident throughout the pitch and their ability to create and take scores left Carey Faughs on the back foot after a close opening quarter.
Watergrasshill hit three wides before full forward Sean Desmond set them on their way after grabbing possession, turning his marker and blasted to the net on 11 minutes to give the Leesiders a lead they never subsequently relinquished.
With power and pace in attack Watergrasshill stretched the Carey Faughs defence throughout the half with Desmond adding two points, Brendan Lehane accounting for three and Adam Murphy hitting four, including three from frees.
Eight successive points in a 10 minute spell in the second quarter helped open up a 1-10 to 0-4 lead.
Caolan McCaughan and Connor McBride both pointed from play while McGlynn added another point to his tally from a free for the Glensmen in that first half. However they never seriously troubled a Watergrasshill rearguard where Daire O’Leary, Dylan McCarthy and Kevin O’Neill were outstanding.
The Leesiders resumed where they left off in the opening half with a brace of points from Desmond and one each from Ian O’Callaghan and Adam Murphy before McGlynn converted another free for Carey Faughs on 40 minutes.
In total control of proceedings Watergrasshill could afford to empty their bench in the final quarter as they set up a final meeting with Galway champions Tynagh Abbey Duniry.
The outstanding Desmond took his tally to 1-5 before the finish while Murphy accounted for eight points. Carey Faughs only score from play for the second half came from Connor McBride close to the finish.
Defeat will be hard to take but when the dust settles the Faughs will look back favorably on what has been a great season. They won the Division 2 league title, the Antrim and Ulster titles with a series of top performances and the fans who made the journey to Navan on Sunday showed their appreciation as they rose to clap them off the field on Sunday. A year of great highs and great lows, but one which will never be forgotten. Lets hope the Rocket’s shoulder injury is not as serious as it looked at the time and we all wish him a speedy recovery.
Scorers for Watergrasshill: S Desmond (1-5), A Murphy (0-8, 7fs), B Lehane (0-3), P O’Leary, S O’Regan, A Cronin, D O’Leary, I O’Callaghan (0-1 each).
Scorers for Carey Faughs: C McGlynn (0-4, 4fs), C McBride (0-2), C Kane (f), C McCaughan (0-1 each).
WATERGRASSHILL: A Foley; S Field, D McCarthy, I O’Callaghan; D Roche, D O’Leary, K O’Neill; A Cronin, A Spriggs; S O’Regan, A Murphy, C O’Leary; B Lehane, S Desmond, P O’Leary. Subs: J Foley for A Foley (38), L Foley for C O’Leary (42), J Gowen for Spriggs (47), P Cronin for O’Callaghan (48), J McCarthy for Murphy (54).
CAREY FAUGHS: McGinn; Z McCaughan, S McBride, P Gillan; J McBride, J McCouaig, S Hunter; P Butler, M McVeigh; C McGlynn, C McCaughan, C McBride; J Black, C McKinley, C Cane. Subs – F McVeigh for Black (29), E Hill for Gillan (42), E McKinley for C McBride, C McKiernan for Hunter, S Mathers for C McKinley (all 59).
Referee: C Daly (Kildare)
TO SEE MORE PICS FROM THE GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW
Brendan McTaggart speaks with Carey’s manager, Eddie McCloskey ahead of the Faughs All-Ireland semi-final on Sunday.
It’s been 10 years since an Antrim team has won an All-Ireland semi final at the intermediate grade. That accolade belongs to Rossa who memorably won the competition in 2014. How the men from Ballyvoy would love to be the team that breaks that Saffron duck.
On Sunday, they make the journey to Páirc Tailteann, Navan on the crest of a wave after a scintillating championship run so far. They’ve produced the goods when it’s mattered, they’ve put their green army through the ringer but if you ask anyone with a connection to the Carey club, they wouldn’t change a thing about this 2024 championship.
Loughgiel All-Ireland winner, Eddie McCloskey is the man in charge of the Faughs this year. A shrewd appointment. McCloskey was one of the best hurlers with the county for a number of years, some seen his retirement from the club scene as a bit of a surprise but he’s been making his mark pitch side.
Eddie on the line in Carrickmore in quarter final
We found out a bit on how it all came about for him and Carey when we caught up with him: “I was in with Loughgiel senior Camogs with Benny Dillon last year” said McCloskey, “I wanted to get involved in hurling this year and had a few offers around this time last year but when Rocket (James Black) got in touch and told me Carey wanted me in, it felt like the right choice.
“I have connections in Carey – Stephen McGinn is a cousin of mine and I hurled along with Rocket and McCouaig at the County. I knew the likes of Sean McBride and Caolan McCaughan through the schools as well, I think it was 2016 that they won the Paddy Buggy Cup.
“To be fair, it’s all paid off. If every year was like this when it comes to coaching I’d be happy but I’d be realistic enough to know that it won’t always be the case.”
The Ulster championship has been somewhat of a rollercoaster for the Faughs. That may be the understatement of the season so far. Coming up against a Carrickmore side who defeated them well two years ago at the same stage, McCloskey said that he had a fair idea that they would meet if they came out of Antrim: “We’d always plan ahead but you’d never take your eye off the ball. When the fixtures came out, we had a look at who the Antrim champions would play in Ulster. We saw that, all being well, we’d play the Tyrone champions and that would more than likely be Carrickmore.
“We were prepared for every eventuality that day. We knew it was going to be a tough test and had an idea it would end up with extra time. We even had our penalty takers chose before the game although the boys never knew who would get the nod.
“Funny, when it came to the penalties, I felt very calm and relaxed. We had full faith in the lads that were stepping up.”
The final against Swatragh was an epic battle between two evenly matches sides. Carey showed enough in the final 10 to hold on as Swatragh laid siege on the Carey defence. It took moments of individual magic but it was a total team performance to ensure Carey got over the line. On that final, McCloskey added: “Over the last year, if you were to describe this side with one overriding attribute, it would be their character and how they refuse to give up.
“We knew with the weather that there was, it was going to be a battle. The ref let a fair bit go during the game, it resembled a game of rugby more than hurling at times but we kept our composure. We restricted them to shooting from range and to be fair, they struck a couple of worldies in there but I thought how the lads dug in during those closing stages, we deserved the win.
Carey midfielder Caolan McCaughan makes a brilliant block to deny Swatragh’s Dominic Bradley in injury time of Saturday’s Intermediate Hurling Championship final at Healy Park, Loughgiel. Pic by Dylan McIlwaine
“The block from Caolan at the end and the number of times Rocket came out with the ball in that final quarter, it gives you a lift at vital moments. At one stage I thought we were going to head to extra time but we were delighted to get over the line for this team and for the people of Carey.”
With some describing Carey’s style of play as being moulded from the Shamrocks in McCloskey’s time in the red and white, the Faughs manager said it’s not quite as simple as that: “We try to adapt and bring a bit of fluency to our game when we can. We do our homework on the opposition and try to counter against that. Against Swatragh, we did try and play with a deep lying half forward line but wanted Sean (McBride) to push up on (James) Friel, he’d be their lynchpin and we wanted to try and nullify his threat.
“We want the lads to be more efficient and clinical. It’s something that we’ve been working on. We want the lads to be more comfortable on the ball and making the right, smart choices.
“In the Antrim final against Glenariffe we looked to suffocate the space in our defence and counter the threat of their forwards.
“It was something that we identified at the start of the year. We saw the stats from last season and Carey had a tendency to conceded goals. If you look at our record, we’ve done a fair job in sorting that out. It’s about finding out the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition and profiling our players from there.”
It’s all systems go for Sunday and after confirming a clean bill of health from the Carey camp, McCloskey said that they’ve been doing the tried and tested as they prepare for the Watergrasshill challenge: “Our mindset hasn’t changed. Every game this year we’ve just been looking to the next one. The only difference with this one is there’s a bit more on the line but we’ve went about this game exactly how we have every other game this year.
We’ve done our homework, identified their strangths and weaknesses. They’re a good side, you don’t win Munster and reach an All-Ireland semi final as a bad side and it’s going to be a massive challenge but we’re looking forward to it.”
The Faughs fans have been behind them all the way and no doubt they will be in Navan on Sunday to cheer them on again.
There was late heartbreak for Rathmore Grammar as they let a 9 point lead slip to lose to St. Patrick’s Keady in this Danske Bank Casement Cup final on Thurday night.
WHEN Aodhán O’Hanlon pointed to make it 2-11 to 1-5 in the 50th minute, the South Belfast side looked on their way to victory with Ronan Taylor in control round midfield and Christopher Robb Rathmore Grammar looked home and Christopher Robb dominant in attack.
However Charlie Lennon brought the Armagh challenge to life by forcing home a goal in the next attack and suddenly the momentum changed with Jack Loughran and James Hamilton dropping back to crowd the middle third and pick off points.
Conor Lappin’s somewhat fortuitous goal from inside his own half in the 57th minute left only a point between the teams and the wind had been taken out of the Rathmore sails with Loughran converted three late frees to deliver the knock-out blow.
Rathmore Grammar got off to the perfect start with Donncha McGurk unchallenged driving a long ball from inside his own half to the goal area at the other end and Aodhán McLaughlin reacted fastest to find the net. Within a couple of minutes Christopher Robb had added a point.
However a few fouls around their half back line gave Jack Loughran the openings to fire over three frees and get Keady off the mark.
The middle part of the half belonged to the Belfast school with the darting runs of Fionn McCann and Ronan Taylor creating problems that Robb converted into points from frees.
However Keady got a break in the 17th minute when the ball fell handily for James Hamilton to fire to the net. Between then and the break there was just one further score, from a Robb free, that saw Rathmore change ends with a lead of 1-5 to 1-3.
Rathmore started the second half brightly as they had done in the first and they struck with a number of impressive scores. Points from Ronan Taylor, Robb (three) and Aodhán McLaughlin were followed by a superb goal from Robb in the 49th minute.
Keady looked well beaten after registering just two points over the 20 minutes after half time but the Armagh College suddenly sprung to life and they scored freely to reign in the Belfast lads as they dominated the final ten minutes.
St Patrick’s: C Lennon and J Hamilton 1-1 each, C Lappin 1-0, J Loughran 0-8 frees.
Rathmore: C Robb 1-6, 0-3 frees, A McLaughlin 1-2, A O’Hanlon 0-2, R Taylor 0-1
St Patrick’s: Aaron Keenan, Ethan McEneaney, Liam Rafferty, Johnny Loughran, Shea McNaughton, Conor Lappin, Ronan Gaffney, Sean Óg McNaughton, Darragh McKee, Caoimhin Mone, Jack Loughran capt, Cayden Feeney, James Hamilton, Charlie Lennon, Tom Fox
Subs: Conor McKeever for T Fox, Darragh Burke for E McEneaney, Aaron Monaghan for Shea McNaughton.
