THE Glanmire minor football team are the November winners of the Rebel Óg monthly award, sponsored by the Clayton Hotel Silver Springs and Cummins Sports (award sponsors), in association with The Echo and RedFM (media partners).
They are being honoured for completing the minor double, championship and league, at premier two level for the first time ever in the history of the club.
In the 1890s Cumann Peil Gleann Maghair had a ground in Rathcooney where they trained and played their games. Organised matches were also played in the ‘Pike Inch’ field close to St. Joseph’s Parish Church, Glanmire. They participated in many tournament games throughout the county.
In the early 1920s when the club went out of existence, Sarsfields Hurling Club then entered football teams and won six divisional ‘A’ grade championships between1929 to 1937. They won a county title in 1937.
Since Glanmire GAA Club was re-formed in 1945 many Imokilly Divisional and County Championship titles at both adult and underage levels have been won.
This year their championship campaign didn’t get off to the best of starts, but they recovered from their first round loss to defeat St Michael’s, Buttevant and Inniscarra to reach the final.
There ensued a tough tussle with Mallow before the East Cork side took the title. Confident was high after this and having already qualified for a top four spot they took on Ibane Gaels in the league semi-final.
Again another tough tie they won before facing Mallow in the final again. And they showed their championship win wasn’t a fluke as they took the league title to complete the double at Premier 2 grade for the first time ever.