Ballinora do the double as they win Féile Premier 2 hurling title

By John O’Shea, The Echo

Ballinora 0-12
Cloughduv 1-8
Ballinora completed the second leg of a memorable double after winning a thrilling Premier 2 Féile hurling final against Cloughduv at Ovens.
This was a gripping contest that went right down to the wire, with Ballinora overcoming the challenge of Douglas and Cloughduv, coming out on top against Mallow in the semi-finals beforehand.
After winning the football last Monday, Ballinora will remember this week for a long time.
They opened the scoring thanks to a lovely Billy Mehigan point, and Cloughduv got off the mark when Jacob Barry slotted a neat point.
Ballinora then edged back in front as Mehigan went on a dashing run through the defence before pointing, and Cathal Murphy then added a lovely score from distance, 0-3 to 0-1 after 10 minutes.
Cloughduv responded well though, Tadhg Murphy scoring from distance, followed by Barry’s second.
A few minutes before half time, Cloughduv hit the back of the net, following a strong spell of attacking pressure, Noah O’Callaghan finished from close range.
At the interval, Cloughduv were 1-4 to 0-5 up.
Cormac Murphy got Ballinora off to the perfect second-half start as he was coolness personified from a free. Cloughduv, however, kept their heads in front courtesy of a Liam Buckley point.
Ballinora levelled at the midway juncture of the second half, a Cormac Murphy point, followed up by a cracker of a point from distance by Cathal Murphy: 1-6 to 0-9.
Another Tadhg Murphy point edged Cloughduv back in front, with the game now heading into the closing stages.
When their backs were against the wall, Ballinora duly responded and showed the character of champions.
A pair of frees by Cormac Murphy saw Ballinora retake the lead, but the response was a Tadhg Murphy free.
With extra time on the horizon, Ballinora grabbed the winner in stoppage time.
As the sliotar broke into his path, Cathal Murphy showed wonderful agility and converted. It was a fitting score to decide what was a wonderful contest.
At the end of an action-packed weekend and a compelling final, it was Ballinora that were the last team standing to claim the silverware.
Scorers for Ballinora: Cormac Murphy 0-7 (0-5 f), B Mehigan, Cathal Murphy 0-2 each, B Hegarty 0-1 f.
Cloughduv: T Murphy 0-4 f, N O’Callaghan 1-0, J Barry 0-2, L Buckley, B O’Leary 0-1 each.
BALLINORA: P McCoy; L Gaffney, M Cremin, J O’Sullivan, P Twohig, B Hegarty, F Murphy, A Lehane, Cathal Murphy, O Murphy, Cormac Murphy, D O’Mahony H McCoy, B Mehigan, O Kingston, T Mahon, T O’Reilly, P O’Regan, P O’Mahony, D Conway, B Murphy, C Noonan, C Murphy, D Fenton.
CLOUGHDUV: F O’Leary; L Buckley, J Bruen, T Murphy, S Collins, B O’Leary, C Bateman, J Twomey, D Fehily, D O’Driscoll, K Delaney, J Barry, F O’Callaghan, C Feeney, D Cotter, J Phelan, M Kiely, R Madden, T Lehane, N O’Callaghan, E Van Der Westhuizen, G Shanahan, A Hayes, C Healy.
Referee: John Horgan (Gleann na Laoi).

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Midleton lift Féile hurling Premier 1 trophy

By Rory Noonan, The Echo

Midleton 1-11
Ballincollig 0-11 (aet)
It took extra time to separate the sides as Midleton were crowned Premier 1 Féile Hurling champions at Togher.
The winners were made to fight all the way by Ballincollig, who were hoping to complete the double, having won the football a week ago.
Points from Charlie McCarthy and Rory Nolan in the second half of extra time secured the win for the Magpies after a top-class game of hurling.
Ballincollig can’t be faulted for their efforts and, on many a day, their display would have been enough to win it.
Jack Costello was outstanding, with Bobby Power, James Harrington, Luke Higgins, and Daithí Murphy also doing well.
They were up against a talented Midleton side, who had stars all over the pitch — with Finn Cahill, Alfie Hennessy, Jack Cahill, and Rory Nolan playing their parts in their win.
Jack Cahill opened the scoring for the winners, with Power replying from a free for the Village.
A good move, involving Cal McCarthy and Fionn Walsh, set up Daithí Murphy to put Ballincollig in front and, when Eanna Lynch raised a white flag, they led by 0-3 to 0-1.
With seven minutes gone, Midleton got the only goal of the game, after John O’Sullivan burst through the Ballincollig defence to score.
Credit to Ballincollig, they hit back with Murphy on target again from a very tight angle out wide. A booming Costello free made it 0-5 to 1-1 in their favour.
Jack Cahill pulled a point back for Midleton, with the lively Power replying to see the Village 0-6 to 1-2 up at half time.
Two more from Power, one from play and a free, increased their lead, and they looked likely to win. However, Midleton upped their game with Liam Walsh, Ciaran O’Brien, and Hennessy all scoring to draw them level, 1-5 to 0-8.
Power put his side back in front before Kaden Coomey made a brilliant save to deny O’Sullivan a goal for Midleton.
However, a late free from Walsh saw the Magpies level to take it to extra time.
Walsh put his side back in front, but again Ballincollig replied with Power and Costello both scoring from frees to make it 0-11 to 1-7. Two more from Walsh, one a free, put his side one point up at half time in extra time.
It was always going to be tough for Ballincollig from here, and their fate was determined when Charlie McCarthy put his side two points clear. With the last shot of the game, McCarthy put three between the sides to see his side run out deserving winners after a highly entertaining game.
Scorers for Midleton: L Walsh 0-5 (0-3 f), J O’Sullivan 1-0, J Cahill 0-2, C O’Brien, A Hennessy, R Nolan, C McCarthy 0-1 each.
Ballincollig: B Power 0-6 (0-3 f), D Murphy 0-2, J Costello 0-2 f, E Lynch 0-1 each.
MIDLETON: W Stokes; C Hogan, B Dunlea, J Quill; R McCormack, P Egan, F Cahill; A Hennessy, C Kelly; J O’Sullivan, C McCarthy, L Walsh; R Nolan, J Cahill, C O’Brien.
Subs: B O’Dalaigh, D Crowley, D Moloney, A Molumby, M Stewart, P Spelman, R O’Brien, E Foley, D Butler.
BALLINCOLLIG: K Coomey; S Richmond, L Higgins, P Skehan; J Harrington, J Costello, E Harris; J Miskella, E Stack; E Lynch, C McCarthy, F Walsh; D Murphy, E Ó hUrnaí, B Power.
Subs: D McCarthy, C McDonnell, B O’Driscoll, M Downey, D O’Regan, S O’Brien, E Lonergan.
Referee: Peter O’Donovan, Carraig na bhFear.

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Late goal sees Ballinora win Féile Premier 2 football title

By Rory Noonan, The Echo

Ballinora 3-6
St Michael’s 2-8
(After extra time)
BALLINORA won the Premier 2 Féile football title dramatically after extra time at Bishopstown.
And hero of the day was Ben Hegarty, who scored a goal directly from a free to win the title for his side.
Trailing by two points, he knew that a white flag was no good and with literally the final kick of the game he found the top corner to see his side come out on top after a simply superb game.
Both sides deserve credit for the part they played in the decider, with Jack Punch, Darragh O’Flaherty, and Conor Stack leading by example for St Michael’s, who can’t be faulted for their efforts.
But huge credit must go to Ballinora as a team, for their resilience and never-say-die attitude when they went down to 14 late on.
They had outstanding displays all over the pitch, with Hegarty being one of them.
Others to impress for the winners included the likes of James O’Sullivan, Alex Lehane, and Billy Mehigan, to name a few.
Michael’s started the game the better of the two sides with early points from Punch and Stack putting them in front before O’Sullivan hit back for Ballinora.
With 10 minutes gone, Michael’s raised their first green flag when Darragh O’Flaherty scored a penalty, following a foul on Ronan O’Grady.
This put them 1-2 to 0-1 up, but it didn’t take Ballinora long to hit back, with Billy Mehigan finding the back of the net at the other end.
Stack pointed for Michael’s and just before half time, Punch was unlucky not to get another goal when his effort came back off the crossbar.
O’Sullivan pulled a point back for Ballinora at the start of the second half.
He then found the back of the net, after Lehane played him in, to make it 2-2 to 1-3. Hegarty added a point from a free to put three between the sides.
Oran Kingston made it 2-4 to 1-3 before Ballinora had Alex Lehane sent off for a second yellow card offence.
Michael’s made the most of the extra man, with Cian Coates scoring two frees to reduce the deficit.
Stack added another from a free before a late point from Punch had them level to take it to extra time, 1-7 to 2-4.
Michael’s got the perfect start to extra time when Punch scored a goal, with O’Sullivan replying at the other end.
Punch added a point and at half time in extra time, it was now 2-8 to 2-5 in Michael’s favour.
Denis O’Mahony pointed for Ballinora before we had that dramatic finish which saw Hegarty find the back of the net to secure the title for his side with a strike worthy of winning any final.
Scorers for Ballinora: J O’Sullivan 1-3 (1f), B Hegarty 1-1 (1-0 f), B Mehigan 1-0, O Kingston, D O’Mahony 0-1 each.
St Michael’s: J Punch 1-3, D O’Flaherty 1-0, C Stack 0-3 (3f), C Coates 0-2 (2f).
BALLINORA: D Fenton; L Gaffney, M Cremin, P Twohig: O Kingston, A Lehane, J O’Sullivan; B Hegarty, C Murphy; B Mehigan, C Murphy, F Murphy; P O’Mahony, D O’Mahony, D Conway.
Subs: O Murphy, P McCoy, T Mahon, T O’Reilly, H McCoy, P O’Regan, B Murphy, C Noonan, C Murphy.
St MICHAEL’S: A McEvoy; J Mahony, O Walsh, L Mackesy; J Gartland, D O’Flaherty, H Spratt; C Stack, O McCaffrey; B O’Callaghan, J Punch, K Stack; C O’Neill, R O’Grady, C Coates.
Subs: R O’Connell, J Toomey, C Hanna, R Walsh, F Butler, J Dwyer, R O’Donaile, J Kearney, T Mulconry, B O’Callaghan.
Referee: Luke Knight, Kilmurry.

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Ballincollig footballers win Féile football Premier 1 title

By John Coughlan, The Echo

Ballincollig 1-12
Glanmire 0-2
IT WAS a comfortable win for Ballincollig as they were crowned Féile Peil U15 Premier 1 champions in style, following the defeat of Glanmire at Ballincollig.
It’s hard to believe these teams couldn’t be separated when they clashed in the group stages at Trabeg on the morning of this decider, but Ballincollig learned and brushed aside their opponents.
Inspired by some lovely kicking from Joe Miskella, son of former Cork football star John, Ballincollig seldom looked in trouble against a fatigued Glanmire side.
There is little doubt Ballincollig’s fitness was crucial as there was only a 15-minute turnaround from both semi-finals.
Ballincollig were pushed to the wire by a talented Carrigaline side 0-7 to 0-5 as Glanmire got the better of the Barrs 3-3 to 2-2.
Speaking after the game, Ballincollig manager Gareth Harrington praised the commitment of his players.
“This is an incredible group of players, as they struggled when we played Glanmire in the group game,” he said.
“However, as good teams do, they learned a few lessons and did the business in the final.
“We have never lost at any level in league or championship since these lads got together, and I think this win is just reward for the effort they have put in from a very young age.”
Ballincollig started in a blistering fashion, and consecutive points from Joe Miskella put them in pole possession.
The biggest problem Glanmire were encountering was winning possession, as they looked leg-weary.
It got worse for Glanmire in the fourth minute, when a sweeping three-man move saw the ball fall into the path of Eoin Stack, who drilled a low shot to the corner of the net.
On the rare occasions Glanmire got out of their own half, their shooting was wayward, as their supporters were willing them on to open their scoring account.
The Ballincollig defence was seldom troubled for the remainder of the half, and Miskella finished with a free that saw him chalking up his fourth point and helped his team lead by nine points at the break.
On the restart, the trend of the game didn’t change and Bobby Power could have put the game out of sight, but his fisted attempt producing a miraculous save from Glanmire keeper Tom Hurley.
Glanmire did break their drought with a Donagh Healy point, and the hardworking Tom Huggins got his just reward when he also split the posts.
That’s as good as it got for Glanmire, as the class and fitness of Ballincollig was evident from start to finish, with both teams putting in a hard day’s work at various venues around the city.
Scorers for Ballincollig: J Miskella 0-5 (0-3f), E Stack 1-0, F Walsh 0-3, C McDonnell 0-2, B Power, C McCarthy (0-1 each).
Glanmire: D Healy, T Huggins (0-1 each)
BALLINCOLLIG: D McCarthy; P Skehan, L Higgins, E Lynch; J Harrington, E Harris, J Costello; J Miskella, E O hUrnai; R Fitzgerald, E Stack, F Walsh; B Power, M Downey, C McDonnell.
Subs: B Farrell for M Downey (15), D Murphy for C McCarthy (22), R Doyle for J Miskella (26), S O’Brien for C McDonnell (27).
GLANMIRE: T Hurley; S Carey, A O’Sullivan, A Soltani; F O’Sullivan, C McMahon, E O’Donovan; E Considine, E Dawson; D Healy, M Sullivan, J Daly; A Maher, T Huggins, J Daly.
Subs: T Desmond for S Carey (inj 10), A McCarthy for F O’Sullivan (h-t), E O’Donovan for C MacDonald (20), D Forbes for J Daly (25).
Referee: Kevin O’Sullivan, Valley Rovers.

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Rochestown College and Coláiste Choilm honoured with Rebel Óg monthly awards

The February and March Rebel Óg awards were presented at the Clayton Hotel, Silversprings.
The February winners were Coláiste Choilm, Ballincollig, Junior A camogie team who won the All-Ireland championship.
March winners were St Francis College, Rochestown, who won the O’Callaghan Cup, defeating CBC in the final.
Two quickfire goals from Leah Hannigan in the 26th minute turned the Allianz Corn Gobnait All-Ireland Junior final in favour of Coláiste Choilm, who collected their first ever title in the 50th final of the competition. Hannigan had already scored a goal after nine minutes when Emily McGrath took two defenders out with a hand-pass from a move on the right wing.
But Hannigan’s two goals ensured her side came out on top by 3-8 to 0-13 against St Patrick’s Maghera. It was a superb win for the school with their goalkeeper Tara O’Donoghue, being name Player of the Game.
In winning they became only the second Cork school to ever win this competition, St Mary’s, Charleville, being the other. In the O’Callaghan Cup final Rochestown College got off to the perfect start with Ronan Dooley grabbing their first goal after two minutes and a minute later he got their second, to make it 2-0 to no score.
From here they drove on to victory with impressive displays from the likes of Dooley, Liam Kelleher, Mark O’Brien and Charlie Lucas.
CBC recovered from the slow start but in the end Roco won by 2-15 to 2-9 after a top-class game of hurling.
Michael O’Mahony, chairman of Rebel Óg congratulated the two winners on their success and wished those facing exams in the next few weeks the best of luck.
He said to be only the second Cork school to win that particular All-Ireland competition was a major honour and one all involved with Coláiste Choilm should be proud of.
Michael said the same of Rochestown College, winning the O’Callaghan Cup is never easy and it was great to see the school win the title for the first time in a number of years.
Rory Noonan, on behalf of the judging panel, also congratulated both schools on their wins and said that success at schools’ level was vital to the future of both hurling and camogie for Cork inter-county sides.
To nominate a team, club or person for a monthly award email: probng.cork@gaa.ie stating who and why you are nominating them. All nominees are passed on to an independent judging panel.

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Gaelcholáiste Mhuire AG win Rebel Óg award for January

The Rebel Óg monthly awards have returned for 2024 and the January winners are Gaelcholáiste Mhuire AG An Mhainistir Thuaidh.
They recently won the Cork Colleges U16 A hurling championship, defeating Midleton CBS in the final by 2-14 to 3-9.
This was a huge win for the school as they took on a side that won the Münster U15 A championship last year and would have been considered favourites to win.
The corresponding AG team lost the first round of Münster U15 B to Glanmire Community College, so huge credit must go to all involved to turn that disappointment around.
At the start of this championship, no one expected Gaelcholáiste Mhuire an Mhainistir Thuaidh to reach the final let alone win the championship. But after an inspirational 14-point victory against Christians in the county semi-final, this team showed that it had a phenomenal spirit and work ethic.
Five of the starting AG team were U15 hurlers, all of Na Piarsaigh GAA – Jack O’Connor, Ruairí Quinlan, Jayden Cregan, Nathan Coffey, and Callum Coffey – all playing a year above their age, which made this feat even more impressive. These young U15s were supported by U16 stars such as Luke Hurley, Craig O’Sullivan, Ryan Cronin, and Evan McGuckin.
To beat Midleton CBS teachers and selectors of the AG team, Donagh Seartan, Tomás Ó Mainnín, Seamas Mac Amhlaioibh, and Éanna Ó Deasúnaigh, knew they would have to have a plan and execute it meticulously to have any chance of winning. It was a surprise to many when they came out on top, winning only a second A grade hurling title for the gaelcholáiste since 2002.
The outpouring of emotions and celebrations spoke volumes of the victory.
Vice-chairman of Rebel Óg, Peter Watson, congratulated the school on their win and wished them the best for the coming season, both with their school and clubs.
Nominations for the monthly award can be sent to probng.cork@gaa.ie stating why they are being nominated and by whom. All nominations are considered by an independent judging panel whose decision is final.

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