by thesaffrongael

Late O’ Neill point earns Ahoghill a share of the spoils

ACFL Division 1

St Mary’s Ahoghill 0-11 Tir na nOg Randalstown 0-11

Honours were shared at the end of a close hard fought division one league encounter in Clooney on Wednesday evening last as a late point by Danny O’ Neill in added time earned St. Mary’s Ahoghill a share of the spoils.

O’Neill was certainly a contender for the man of the match award as he ensured his side took something from a close fought encounter involving Ahoghill and their opponents, Tir na nOg, Randalstown.

A close encounter from start to finish was the pre-ordained script already forecast for the meeting of Ahoghill and their fellow South West rivals as they came together on a pleasant Wednesday evening in the division one football league.

The Whitehill men arrived as favourites on their visit to Clooney being well ahead of the St Mary’s men in the table. The visitors held a four point advantage over their hosts in the league and when they led by two with time almost up they looked set for victory.

Tir na nOg’s Ciaran McGrellis
Aaron McNeilly drive forward for Tir na nOg

The Clooney men showed their character in the dying minutes however and an

excellent Ronan Graham point in the 58th minute reduced the deficit to the minimum before centre forward Danny O’ Neill stepped up to add the equaliser, much to the delight of the home support.

Having struggled in recent outings, Chris McGlone’s St Mary’s Ahoghill sought a change of fortune as they lined out against an in form Tir na nOg on Wednesday evening.

A good start to proceeding looked essential for the home side and indeed such was delivered during the first quarter.

Ronan Graham, who was to figure prominently in the dramatic ending, opened account for the home side with an eye catching  point in the 5th minute and when a precise delivery by centre back Danny O’ Neill opened the door for an Eamon Brady follow up the home side were on top it seemed.

The Randalstown side were finding the posts an elusive target in the opening minutes and a pointed free by James O’ Connell ensured a 0-03 to 0-00 advantage for St. Mary’s at the end of the first quarter.

The visitors finally got off the mark in the 16th minute as full forward Darryl Feagan despatched a 30 metre free between the posts and by the 22nd minute they had nipped into the lead.

Cathair O’Kane who had a good game in the Ahoghill goals

Emmett Murray and the fleet footed Aaron Mc Neilly added points apiece to square the issue and when mid fielder Cormac Devlin added another from distance the visitors were ahead for the first time.

The home side responded and James Magee, and Fionnbar O’ Neill led the way from free kicks in the closing minutes to ensure the Clooney men had earned a slender 0-05 to 0-04 lead at half time.

The Ahoghill lead was short lived as their visitors were to dash away from the start traps at the start of the second half and early points by the towering Darryl Feagan and Christy Sheerin saw them regain their lead by the 38th minute.

Ahoghill responded with a point from Danny O’ Neill but the Randalstown side replied through Darryl Feagan and Aaron McNeilly to move 0-08 to 0-06 ahead as the game entered the final quarter

Ronan Graham added a point to the home side’s total with a precision based delivery in the 46th minute after Ahoghill net minder Cahir O’ Kane made a smart save to deny Ryan O’ Neill at the other end to leave it finally balanced at 0-08 to 0-07.

As the game moved into the last quarter the Whitehill men seized control and Ryan Crilly dashed forward to add a point to the visitors total before Christy Sheerin followed suit and the visitors had gone three points clear 0-10 to 0-07.

Tir na nOg looked on their way to victory but St. Mary’s replied with back to back points from James O’ Connell to reduce the deficit to the minimum but a superb delivery by Christy Sheerin suggested the points were Randalstown bound.

Ahoghill refused to concede however and a superb late Donal Graham point was quickly followed by another from the excellent Danny O’ Neill just on the long blast to earn his side a share of the spoils.

Ahoghill: Cahir O’ Kane, Harry 0’ Donnell, Barry Magee, Sean Mc Keever, Paddy Dougan, Fionntan O’ Neill, Diarmuid Graham, Tom Mc Glone, Neil O’ Connell, Eamon Brady (0-01), Danny O’Neill (0-02),Conor Crossey, Ronan Graham (0-04), James O’ Connell (0-04)

Subs

Colla Mc Donald

Tir na n Og: S P Mc Atamney, Ryan Crilly (0-01), Ciaran Mc Grellis, Brandon Mc Larnon, Paul Mc Cluskey, Ciaran O’ Neill, Ethan Higgins, Josh Higgins, Cormac Devlin (0-01), Eamon Murray (0-01), Eamon Og Mc Allister (0-01), Ryan O’ Neill, Aaron Mc Neilly (0-03), Darragh Feagan (0-03), Christy Sheerin (0-03)

Subs

Barry Mc Cormick

Referee: Ray Matthews (0’ Donavan Rossa)

by thesaffrongael

Great win for St. Paul’s moves them up to third in the table

O’Neill’s Sportswear Antrim Football League Division Two

St Teresa’s 0-12 St Paul’s 3-15 

Pics by Martin Brunty

St. Teresa’s suffered their first defeat of the season when they lost to an impressive St. Paul’s at MhicDhomnaill/UiDhoctairtigh Park on Wednesday night.

The home side went into this encounter with a six game unbeaten run under their belts but had no answer to a slick moving St. Paul’s side who now climb to third place following this win.

The Hoops found the net three times over the hour that exemplified their attacking display as they kicked some excellent points throughout and had that cutting edge to find the goals.

Lorcan Phillips was in superb form with three points, while Caoimhin Duffy netted in each half and Ruairi Hamill got the third as they narrowed the gap on St Teresa’s who still command top spot despite this, their first loss of the campaign.

The visitors were on the front foot right from the throw in with Ruairi Hamill kicking them into the lead within 30 seconds but they had to thank their keeper Jonathan Rodgers who pulled of a point-blank save to deny Eoghan Hamill as St. Teresa’s tried to respond.

The Shaw’s Road side attacked again and doubled their lead when Conall Duffy kicked an excellent point and at this stage the majority of the traffic was towards the St. Teresa’s goal.

St Teresa’s finally opened their account after seven minutes through Mark Small following a slow build-up, before Darren McCann fired over the equaliser from the right.

Just when it looked like the home side were getting a foothold in the game St Paul’s produced a decisive response with the game’s opening goasl in the 9th minute.

Miceál Duffy collected the ball in midfield and he found Caoimhin Duffy whose initial effort was saved by Ciaran Murtagh, but Duffy was on hand to finish to the net from close range.

Lorcan Phillips then opened his account from a free, but St Teresa’s rallied with points from Niall McCann (free) and an excellent John Mallon effort to bring them back into contention.

Phillips was beginning to stamp his influence on the game and he kicked the next three points to move the visitors five ahead, but St Teresa’s would respond again and John Mallon and Eoghan Hamill replied from frees.

Caoimhin Duffy for St. Teresa’s and Mark Munce for the visitors exchanged points after Mallon kicked a free, but a Hamill 45 in added time left a goal between them at the end of a top-quality half with St Paul’s leading 1-8 to 0-8.

St Paul’s extended their lead at the start of the second half as Phillips kicked a free and then Caoimhin Duffy finished soccer style on the ground for their second goal to put the visitors seven ahead.

Conor O’Rawe replied with a point for the hosts, but the game was effectively wrapped up after 40 minutes as Phillps kicked another free, before turning provider for Ruairi Hamill to fire home.

The league leaders tried to respond and they would kick three of the next four points through Mallon and McCann and another from O’Rawe but it was not enough as Hamill replied with a superb point from out on the right.

The hosts were then reduced to 14 with McCann shown a second yellow, but both would finish with 14 as Caoimhin Duffy was shown red after an altercation between both sets of players.

That came after Ciaran Murtagh pulled off a superb save to deny Niall McStravick at the expense of a point while a late Phillips point brought his personal contribution to 0-8 for the evening.

St. Teresa’s: C Murtagh; E Connolly, P Johnston, A Dugan; C McGoldrick, S Carey, C Mallon; D McCann (0-1), C O’Rawe (0-2); E Hamill (0-2, 1f, 1 45), J Mallon (0-4, 3f), P McGoldrick; M Small (0-1), N McCann (0-2f), A Taylor

Subs: P Fagan for M Small (39), L Cassin for S Carey (42), R Mallon for A Dugan (47), F Duggan for P McGoldrick (55).

St. Paul’s: J Rodgers; A Kavanagh, G McGroarty, D O’Sullivan; M Duffy, J Farrell, N Ward; M Munce (0-1), S Mac Corraidh; R Hamill (1-2), P Magee, Caoimhin Duffy (2-1); N McStravick (0-2), L Phillips (0-8, 6f), Conall Duffy (0-1).

Subs: N McKenna for M Duffy (50), B Burns for R Hamill (50), C Finnegan for Conall Duffy (55), D Magee for N Ward (60).

Referee: Colin Thompson (St John’s) 

by thesaffrongael

Creggan take the points at Fr Maginn Park

Antrim Football League – Division 1

Glenravel 1-10   Creggan 0-16

Creggan continued their rich vein of form with a three point victory over Glenravel but they will feel they got away with it after the home side grazed the upright with a goal chance deep in added time that would have left honours even for both sides had it got in. The visitors made a great start to the game going five point ahead in the opening thirteen minutes. Glenravel actually won the remainder of the game from they but couldn’t close the gap enough to gain victory.  Dominic McAteer and Conor Small recorded fourteen of Creggan’s sixteen points giving a masterclass in finishing. 

Con Magees Eamon Ward slumps to his knees after his late goal attempt slipped narrowly wide

Creggan played with the slight breeze in the first half and used it to good advantage to go five clear with Dominic McAteer, Conor Small and Joe McAteer the providers. Eamon Fyfe and Small would trade points before Niall Hynds treated us to the game’s only goal when his persistence in front of goal paid off. Fyfe pointed again for the home side but Creggan finished the half stronger with three points all from placed balls off the boot of Conor Small so the sides retired on scoreline of 1-02 to 0-10 in favour of the visitors.

Creggan’s Conor Small in action against Glenravel’s Charlie Henry

Eamon Fyfe and Dominic McAteer were first to raise white flags in the second half maintaining the five point advantage for Creggan but then Glenravel closed the gap to two as Eamon Ward, Aiden O’Donnell and Sean McKay all scored from play. But back came Creggan with three in a row to once again lead by five entering the final quarter. Glenravel were beginning to gain the edge in possession at the stage and they tagged on four more points in exchange for Creggan’s two to leave a three point game. A goal would have levelled the game and that chance fell to Eamon Ward who had an excellent hour’s football but his shot grazed the wrong side of the post and drifted wide. 

This was an entertaining game of football with both sides fielding bereft of a lot of  regular players so I don’t think too many conclusions can be drawn on the evening in relation to the overall competitiveness of either team. 

by thesaffrongael

Can Ruairi McCann extend his recent record against Wexford?

Tailteann Cup Round 2

Wexford v Antrim

Chadwick’s Wexford Park-Saturday
4-00pm

Antrim travel to Wexford Park on
Saturday for the second game in this year’s Tailteann Cup hoping to build on
their opening round win over Tipperary at Corrigan Park on Sunday past.

Wexford lost their opening group game
away to Sligo and will be hoping to get their first win in the competition or
their Tailteann campaign will be as good as over.

Andy McEntee’s side will travel in
confidence and recent results against the ‘Treaty’ have been good.

Indeed the sides met at the same
venue in the same competition in 2023 and a double from Aghagallon’s Ruairi
McCann propelled the Saffron’s to a convincing win.

Significantly McCann returned to the
Antrim starting line-up on Sunday and showed why he has been so badly missed
during their league campaign and weighed in with another double.

Antrim keeper, Mick Byrne weighed in
with 0-4 (2 f’s-2 45’s) that day and Dominic McEnhill 0-8 (5f’s) and Marc
Jordan were all on the score-sheet at Chadwick’s Wexford Park.

The above scorers were all in action
against Tipperary on Sunday past and McCann’s Aghagallon colleague, Adam
Loughran returned to action as a second half substitute after a lengthy
lay-off.

Of the Antrim team who opened this year’s
Tailteann Cup with a good victory, 11 of them experienced action away to
Wexford last year so the Antrim lineout for Saturday should have a familiar
look about it.

A repeat of last year’s performance
would put Antrim in a strong position going into their final game against Sligo
at a destination yet to be decided and Ruair’s McCann for one is likely to come
in for some close attention.

The big full-forward also got two
goals when the same sides met in the NFL in Glenavy so Wexford will surely be
sick of the sight of him and hopefully that will still be the case when they
face Antrim on Saturday evening.

Tailteann Cup Round 2

Chadwicks Weford Park

Wexford 0-14 Antrim 2-15

Pics by Noel Reddy

Wexford must be sick of the sight of Antrim’s Ruairi McCann. If they’re not they should be as the big Aghagallon full-forward added two goals to his recent haul against the Leinster men.

In 2020 he hit two against today’s opponents in a NFL Division 4 game in Glenavy and in 2019 he rattled the net in Wexford Park in the same competition and he continued that impressive form today as Antrim came from behind to move top of the group and have qualified for the quarter-finals with one round remaining

Antrim centre forward Adam Loughran steps inside the challenge of Wexford’s Conor Carty during Saturday’s Tailteann Cup game at Chadwick’s Wexford Park. Pic by Noel Reddy

McCann struck with two second half goals within two minutes to inspire Antrim to an eventual comfortable seven point victory but it didn’t appear to be heading that way for much of the opening half.

Wexford had shown enough through the opening period, with some splendid flowing football, to suggest they were capable of backing up their draw with Fermanagh, but they were total eclipsed through the second period by a now dominant Antrim outfit, who restricted the home side to just three second half points.

Wexford had been the better of the two sides through the opening twenty minutes at the end of which they led by five points, 0-9 to 0-4, but it was Antrim who finished the half strongest with some well taken scores, giving them the confidence to go on and dominate the second period.

Liam Coleman and Paraic Hughes gave the home side the ideal start with two points inside the opening three minutes. They went on to add further points through Hughes, Mark Rossiter and Kevin O’Grady, while Antrim managed two points in between from Marc Jordan and Dominic McEnhill to remain in touch.

Antrim’s Cathal Hynds in action during the Tailteann Cup win over Wexford. Pic by Noel Reddy

Wexford then had a dominant spell with Michael Furlong, Rossiter and O’Grady adding further points and by the twentieth minute they had stretched into a 0-9 to 0-4 lead.

Antrim began to assert themselves at Mid-field with Conor Stewart dominating and finished the half with points from a Michael Byrne ‘45’ and a free from the Antrim keeper. Patrick Finnegan added another and two from McEnhill reduced the deficit to two at the half way stage.

The visitors carried that momentum into a second half which they dominated and they struck with the game’s opening goal in the 7th minute when Patrick Finnegan sent a searching delivery towards the Wexford goal which was fielded by full-forward Ruairi McCann who rifled a tremendous shot to the net from twelve metres.

Before Wexford had a chance to recover the Aghagallon man struck with a second as he got on the end of a delightful move to beat keeper Darragh Brooks with a well-placed shot to the corner of the net, giving his side a 2-9 to 0-11 lead.

Antrim shut up shop in defence after this and Wexford had to wait until the forty-seventh minute for their opening second half score, a Ben Brosnan point, but it was evident they faced a real struggle to haul themselves back into contention.

Odhran Eastwood in action against Wexford’s Kevin O’Grady. Pic by Noel Reddy

The pressure continued from the visitors and it was only excellent saves from keeper Brooks that denied them further goals, but in the end they have managed to put back to back victories together and have qualified for the quarter finals with one game remaining.

That game is against Fermanagh, who beat Leitrim in Carrick on Shannon and will be played at a neutral venue.

Wexford: D Brooks (1f, 1, 45), M Furlong, P Hughes, K O’Grady, B Brownan (1f), M Rossiter 0-2 each; L Coleman, M Rossitger 0-1 each.

Antrim: R McCann 2-0; D McEnhill (5f) 0-8; M Byrne (2f, 2, 45s) 0-4; P Finnegan 0-2; M Jordan 0-1.

Wexford: D Brooks, B Molloy, P Hughes, M Furlong; E Porer, G Malone, C Walsh; L Coleman, N Hughes; C Carty, E Nolan, K O’Grady; R Brooks, M Rossiter, B Brosnan. Subs: R Waters for P Hughes (inj. 11); J Tubritt for R Brooks (49), C Kinbsella for Brosnan (49), D Lyons for Walsh (54), S Nolan for Waters (61).

Antrim: M Byrne; R Boyle, P Healy, P McCormick; P McBride, J Finnegan, D McAleese; C Hynds, C Stewart; P Finnegan, A Loughran, R McCann; M Jordan, R McCann (St. Mary’s), D McEnhill. Subs: D Lynch for Healy (58), O Eastwood for Loughran (65), O Doherty for Finnegan (66), C Higgins for Jordan (69).

Referee: D Marnane (Cork)

 

by thesaffrongael

Fun and celebrations as St. John’s open new Corrigan Park stand

Report by Maria Gough

Pics by Bert Trowlen

Saturday 11th May must have been the hottest day we have experienced this year and the sun attracted families in great numbers to Corrigan Park. This was the day planned for the official opening of the new stand and terracing and the sun was definitely the icing on the cake.

To have old, young and everyone in between together in the state of the art facilities was a joy to behold. From their vantage point in the stand they looked out across the magnificent pitch which is constantly in a perfectly groomed state, thanks to our fellow clubman Niall McCallin. Every blade of grass seemed to be smiling as the national flag fluttered gently in a warm breeze to the sweet sound of The Glengormley School of Traditional Musicians.

Invited guests included our Ulster President Ciaran McLaughlin, local MP Paul Maskey, Belfast Lord Mayor Ryan Murphy, Patrick O’ Boyle from OB Construction  along with our own John Rainey and Paddy Carlin the professionals who made this dream a reality. However, the very special guests on the day were undoubtly The Golden Eagles of Naomh Eoin. From the oldest at 94 to the youngest at 70, they occupied the white seats across the middle of the new stand.

Guest speaker Ciaran McLaughlin spoke of the impact of looking up and seeing the very senior members of the club in front of him and then to the extreme right the hundreds of young people all decked out in their blue and white. To him this illustrated that this was indeed a great family club where every single member is valued. Ciaran spoke so elequolently about the important role which Corrigan Park has played within Antrim, none more so than in the last decade when Casement Park has not been available. He highlighted too, the support of Ulster GAA in striving to get Casement Park built in Belfast, the second biggest city in Ireland. This was greeted with thunderous applause by every person present.

Club legend John Gough chats with Fr Ciaran Feeney

Very Reverend Ciaran Feeney completed the formalities with a beautiful blessing in which he remembered those members no longer with us who had built St. Johns over the years. Most of the gathering were hoping as he blessed the new stand that the Holy Spirit would float across the pitch beyond, to ensure that an Antrim Championship would be in the trophy cabinet by the close of 2024!

As the dignitaries lined up for an official photograph with Ciaran McLaughlin unveiling  the new marble plaque, the Johnnies anthem ‘Whack Fol the Diddle’, was sang with gusto by the blue and white army of children and their families, clearly testing the acoustics within the stand.

David Robinson as MC with his expertise in this field, had done a great job moving the ceremony forward and in no time all the young people in their club colours were lining the route from the stand to the clubhouse for the guests to pass through. Frank Maskey our very own piper was on hand to lead the way, piping everyone to lunch where they were once again entertained by the exceptional talents of the young musicians from The Glengormley School of Traditional Music .

One little person in the line-up was overheard asking her mum as the guests walked by , ‘Who are all those old people, to which her mum replied, ‘they were once boys and girls like you playing for St. John’s and now that they are old we look after them in our club.’ What a beautiful comment!

Ulster GA President Ciaran McLaughlin looks up the plaque he unveiled to mark the official opening of the new Casement Park stand, while looking on is Belfast Lord Mayor Ryan Murphy, Patrick O’ Boyle from OB Construction, Club President Gerry McCann and fellow dignataries

Gerry McCann the new Club President was so very proud of everything which he had witnessed as he was one of the chief stalwarts in getting the new stand in place. What a legacy to leave for generations to come.

As the last notes of the piper floated towards Divis Mountain, a roar went up from the children as they left their lines and dashed onto the pitch for the fun to really begin for them.

Laura Bannon had gathered together her team of coaches and mentors including the Senior Football Manager Aaron Douglas, Jase Simpson, Paula McGivern, Eimhear Costello, Ross Hannigan, Joe Garland, Conor Adams, Ronan Donnelly, Niamh McArdle, Emma Donnelly, Sophie McMahon, Sinead McAleavey, Emma Park, Hannah, Kathryn Mallon, Eoin Rua Lambert and Matthew Mallon who had organised fun activities for the next few hours. Hundreds of children enjoyed races, 3 legged, sack, egg & spoon, relays, sprints and obstacles with the emphasis on fun. There was definitly more competition when it came to the tug-o-war challenges though.

Inside in the sports hall Orla Grew and Pauline Devine kept the Fundamentals group, toddles to age 4 occupied with a circus of activities appropriate to their age group. However, the activity which stole the show was the parachute. Whether the toddlers were above it shaking the huge material to knock objects into the air or under it hiding from each other they certainly all had fun.

The outdoor activities concluded with major competitions organised for the mums and dads with the emphasis on competition. This definitly put the fun in fun day as the adults took each other on in welly boot throwing, striking the bar with a hurling ball, egg & spoon and 3 legged races and of course tuga, tuga, WAR!!! as the accompanying photographs will illustrate. Fergal Collins with his running commentary added to the excitement as the children cheered and yelled for their parents to win and hurling legend Sean ‘Crossbar’ Morgan once again showed his brilliance when he took the title from the line-up of hurlers!

As the field cleared the ne-naw of the fire engine didn’t cause alarm as it was the final event of the fun day. Club fireman Kevin McGlinchey brought his colleagues along for the young boys and girls to not only get into the fire engine but soak their friends with the hose!!

As the evening sunshine continued to warm those gathered, the senior hurlers took to the field to extend their unbeaten league campaign as they lined out against Bally galget before everyone adjourned to the club house to be entertained by The Hairy Lemons .

It certainly was a most memorable day which will go down in the history of the club as opening new club stands does not occur very often!