Club Notes - 2021-04-25 18:08:00
Great to have the Gates Open..
Monday was a beautiful day with warm sunshine, a great day for young hurlers and footballers, boys and girls to get back enjoying gaelic games. I wasn't down at Pairc na Bride Monday night but the buzz was mighty. Everyone there was delighted to be back, children, parents, team coaches and Club Officers. With covid protocols and recording of al who attended it wasn't the same as pre-covid days but it was just great. Each evening this week different groups are back in the pitches and astro turf areas and it will be the same at the weekend. Hopefully by the time you are reading these notes we may well have a 'Roadmap' for adult teams getting back to training, perhaps early in May. As the National vaccination programme gathers momentum we are heading in the right direction. In a few weeks we will be able to view Hurling and Football League games on Television and if progress continues we might have Club hurling and football games in June. In the meantime we still ask all our players, members and supporters to stay safe.
Under 8's The U8’s were back training on Wednesday the 28th at 6:30 to 7:15 in the main pitch and on Saturdays at 10-11am. Any boys born in 2013 are eligible to play. We will have games starting soon but the first few weeks will be all about the kids having fun and learning to play again as a team. For any new players wishing to join, please contact Dave Burke on 087-7999413.
UNDER 9's Our Club under 9s returned to the pitch on Wednesday April 28th at 6.30pm. The under 9s this year will be based on the main pitch and will train on Wednesdays from 6.30 to 7.30pm and on Saturday mornings from 10 to 11. No games are on the horizon yet so we will spend the first few weeks playing games to reintroduce the boys to each other and have a bit of fun. The boys will be reintroduced to some key movement skills in the games which can be used both with the small ball and the big ball.
Return to play protocols from the club will follow. As always, we welcome any new members to join our club.
UNDER 16 HURLING & FOOTBALL.. The under16 will commence training from Thursday 29 of April in the Main pitch at 7-30. Even if you have not been involved before now with Bride Rovers if you are in the 15 to 16 age group do come along and join us.
UNDER 11's.The under 11 boys returned to training (hurling) on Wednesday 28th April at 6:30 in the lower half of main pitch and we will also have training on Saturday mornings at 10 o clock.
UNDER 12'S We are starting back with training in our new
UNDER 13's.The U13s will start back on tonight Thursday, April 29th, at 6.30pm on the main pitch followed by training in Pyne’s Field on Monday May3rd at 7pm. There are no games expected for the immediate future and with non-contact regulations in place skills work will predominate. Mondays and Thursdays will be the standard training days for 2021. Any boys born in 2008 are welcome to come along, even if they have not been involved previously the more the merrier.
UNDER 14's.It's full steam ahead for the under 14 hurlers and footballers on Monday nights. For the next few weeks the under 14's will train on Mondays and Thursdays . The lads are delighted to be back on the field once more and look forward to a great year.
BINGO ON THE WAY.
Clubs are looking for new and novel methods of fundraising and keeping members and friends involved and Bride Rovers are starting online Bingo. The Bride Rovers Bingo will start on Saturday week next, 8th May at 8.30pm. Bingo is a fun game and while it is normally played in halls and Community Centres online Bingo has also taken off. To purchase bingo books please see the Bride Rovers website www.briderovers.ie or the Bride rovers Bingo Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages for the link to buy.
There will be 3 games each night with €50 for first line, €100 for 2 lines and €200 for a full house in each game giving a total of €1050.There will also be a jackpot in the last game and some spot prizes too on the night. A bingo books cost €8 and it promises to be a great night of family fun. All proceeds towards the club development. The Bingo book can only be purchased online, there will be no bingo books for sale in shops. Please tell all your family and friends. For more information please email brideroversbingo@gmail.com. There is also a specific Link outlining the actual details of purchasing the Bingo books and how to play on Saturday May 8th. Email all your friends the link too if they want to play. This is the link: https://member.
New methods of fundraising are always being sought and the Bride Rovers online Bingo is the latest- one of the first Fundraisers I found was in the 1920's when a Raffle was held with the first prize being a Goose.
The Bingo is a club development fundraiser involving all clubs, GAA, juvenile, Camogie and Ladies football
DRAWS OF EVERY KIND TONIGHT!
Tonight Thursday April 29th is a big night for Cork GAA Clubs for several reasons. The April Draw in the 20211 Rebels Bounty Series takes place. As well as that the much awaited Championship Draws will also take place and the League formats for 2021 may be announced. It is expected that the County Championships will be run more or less like last year with an initial League System with groups of 3 or 4 teams.
You can 'view' all the proceedings on the Examiner and the Cork GAA websites.
To win just once against the odds
And once be smiled on by the Gods
To race with speed along the track
Break the tape and not look back
To never have considered losing
As if to win is by your choosing
Bare you soul for all to find
An honest heart and an open mind
That's a verse from The Sawdoctors hit To Win Just Once which illustrates the yearning and longing for victory. It can refer to life or love but almost certainly to games like today's fixture. There was a time fadó, fadó in the GAA world when teams played League games in the spring and early summer in preparation for the first round of the championship. It was do or die back then, no second chances, if you won the first round well it was a great relief. Losing the opening championship game in late May or early June meant a summer of Tournament games or perhaps a few league fixtures. The only thing about that system was that if you were Senior or Intermediate you'd stay in that grade the following year unless a vote at the Club AGM deemed otherwise. The word relegation was never used in the GAA - it only dealt with the goings on of teams across the water playing 'foreign games'. How things have changed in the last decade especially here in Cork. The 'top' three grades Senior, Premier Intermediate and Intermediate now have 16 clubs with promotion and relegation in place. In the last two years then we've further subdivision again with Premier Senior and Senior A Hurling. One way or another it looks like that in this year of 2021 we wont have Championship games at Senior level until at least August or September.
EXECUTIVE MEETING
We have a Zoom Club Executive meeting on Monday week May 10th. Hopefully at this meeting we will have strong indications of what way the Playing Season is shaping up at County Board and East Cork Board levels.
Club Gear.
We still have a certain amount of Bride Rovers shorts and stockings available from our Club Shop. Please contact Betty on 086 1540902 or Kathleen on 086 3807784.
Also several new Product Lines in our Colours with the Club Crest are now available from O Neills at very reasonable prices. To look at the items go to the O Neills website www.oneills.com
LOOKING BACK AT APRIL 2008.
The last week of April saw us play 4 matches. We played SHL games against Na Piarsaigh and Blackrock and JHL games v Ballinacurra and Aghada. Four games with just one win, v Ballinacurra.
Team v Na Piarsaigh: in SHL lost by 0 18 to 1 6
D Fitzgerald, Aidan Collins, B. O'Driscoll, T Moloney, Pat Walsh, Brendan Walsh, Barry Johnson, P Murphy, Kieran Collins, Sean Ryan, Richie Cahill, Pa O'Driscoll, Michael Collins, Donal Ryan, Jerome O'Driscoll
Team v Blackrock: in SHL, lost by 1 12 to 1 11
D Fitzgerald, T Moloney, Brendan Walsh, James Murphy, Ml Kearney, Pat Walsh, Kieran Collins, Barry Johnson, Padraig Murphy, Ml Collins, Pa O'Driscoll, Jerome O'Driscoll, Sean Ryan, Richie Cahill, Colm O'Keeffe
Team v Ballinacurra: (JHL Div 2)
G Quill, J O’Connor, B O’Driscoll, P Barry, T Kearney, L Forde, M Kearney, E O’Flynn, S Kearney, M Hogan, T Broderick, P Cotter, D Dooley, A O’Keeffe, C O’Keeffe.
Subs: S Murphy, S Pratt, J O’Dowd, S Boyce.
Team v Aghada: (JHL Div 3)
A Murphy, J O’Connor, A Broderick, M O’Connell, N Hogan, J Delaney, J O’Dowd, K Manley, S Pratt, P Hazelwood, G O’Flynn, T Kearney, A Fitzgerald, K O’Keeffe. Subs: J Kearney.
WEEKLY CLUB LOTTO.
The Lotto Jackpot for Tuesday April the20th last was €20,000. The four numbers drawn were 10, 16, 25 and 31.. There was no Jackpot Winner. The winners of €30 each were paddy O Shea Rathcormac, Pat Kelleher Cobh, Mark Murphy Rathcormac, Paul Morrissey and Lucy May Cahill.. You can join the Bride Rovers weekly lotto online at http://briderovers.ie/ or purchase tickets from any of the retail outlets locally that are open. Tickets can also be got locally from Bride Rovers GAA Club Members throughout the parish. Your support of the weekly Lotto Draw is deeply appreciated. If you're not in you can't win and each €2 is a help for our Club.
Player Profile.
This week we feature Henry Hazlewood. Now in his 86th year Henry is a proud son of Castletownroche with whom he hurled for many years. On coming to live in our Parish in the early 1960's he was 'persuaded' to come out of retirement and line out with Bride Rovers. He played with us, served as a trainer and selector and was an outstanding Juvenile Club Chairman for many years. I had a great chat with Henry on a beautiful sunny afternoon at his home in Toberneague.
JA What are your earliest hurling memories Henry?
HH. We played hurling in Roches field at Ballygrellihan when I was still in National School.. John O Brien was a great teacher and hurling man, he had us out in the yard at the back of the School (now the Community Centre), it had high stone walls, a great place to practise. Mr O Brien organised us well and we won the North Cork Schools League in 1948/49 with Bobby Galvin the captain and we won it the second year too.
JA Did you play with any other team as young lad?
HH Well now, you see there was a competition called the Mallow and District Town League. All the schools teams more or less in the Mallow Parish could play in it. Ballymagooley had a team in it around Rahan School. They were allowed pick from Killavullen School. Some of the Killavullen lads kinda 'invited' me to play with them! Well we got to the final and beat Ballydaheen in the final inside in Mallow. Pa Looney and myself were very tall at the time and some of the Mallow women shouted 'look at the size of the two of 'em, they're not in National School, they're fit to be drawing the pension'!
JA When did you first play adult hurling?
HH Well Castletown were going bad and I fell in playing Novice (Junior B) with Killavullen, I think I played wing back at 16 or so, we got to the North Cork Final but Doneraile beat us by a point. I came back to Castletownroche then and we had a great team for the next ten or twelve years. Six years in a row we reached the North Cork Final. In '56 we got to the County Final but were beaten by the Barrs. Cloughduv beat us in the County the year after and then Doneraile beat us in the 1st round.
JA Ballyhea were ye're bogey team?
HH Yeah, they were like Dungourney, hard and tough. They beat us in the 1959 Avondhu Final but we were getting better all the time.
JA 1960 was special, winning the County?
HH Yes, we beat Kilworth, Doneraile and Shanballymore to get to the Final again. Allow Rovers from Freemount were in North Cork then and we beat them in Kildorrery. In the County we beat Nemo in Fermoy and in the semi final at Coachford we beat Bandon well, by 3 8 to 1 5.
JA Ye were in the County Final again?
HH yes and our full back line was the rock of the team with Dave Murphy, Billy Browne and Bob Galvin- you'd earn every score off them.
JA Ye beat Cloyne in the Final?
HH Christy Ring was training them, they couldn’t be beaten they thought. We were up 8 points at half time but Cloyne got level near the end. Then Richie (Browne) was fouled and he pointed the free -he was captain, we won by a point 3 6 to 4 2
JA Up Intermediate then in 1961 and you were Captain?
HH Yes I was picked at the AGM ,it was a great honour, we went all the way to the County Final.
JA Ye had two games against the Glen.?
HH Yeah we should have beaten the Glen in the Final the first day. They only got a point in the second half but that was the last score and made it a draw. Vincie Twomey -Cork Senior Hurler was mighty for them. The Glen won the replay by three goals.
JA You came to Rathcormac then?
HH I married in here but by then I'd got a bad knee injury playing a football game in Fermoy and more or less retired.
JA But you came back?
HH I did, the Rovers had no team in 1963 or 1964 and they were back in '65 with a B grade team.
JA They went o the semi final but lost to Castlelyons, and who persuaded you to come out of retirement?
HH I'm not sure, I suppose the Master and David John and maybe Dave Hogan. We had a great game, mighty, against St Catherines and they said whoever would win it would win the Final We beat Catherines and then Youghal in the Final, 'twas great altogether to win it. Seanie Barry was brilliant with the Rovers and of course with Cork too. God, 'the Watch' was great with Catherines that time.
JA Up to A grade the following year then?
HH We had a great team but I put out the knee training in Pynes Field and that more or less finished my playing but I was a selector and the Rovers won two East Corks in '68 and '69 and should have won more.
JA You stayed involved then with the Rovers?
HH I did and trained them for a few years. Then I took over as juvenile Chairman and we had some mighty juvenile teams - a lot of them played on the great Rovers teams in later years.
JA Hurling in the 1950's and today?
HH well it's much faster today but remember now they have good fields, good hurleys and good sliotars. I remember with Castletown taking a 70 of a wet day and when the sliotar would land in the square the water would be still coming out of it! Hurling was harder long ago with more man to man pulling on the ball, plenty overhead pulling and mighty ground hurling. Now they're not hand passing the sliotar but throwing it most of the time I think but it's a lot faster today. I miss the overhead pulling -sure you'd be sent off now if you pulled in the air. The pitches are brilliant yet we hardly ever see decent ground hurling.
JA Henry, thanks for the memories of your hurling life.
HH No problem, I've enjoyed it all and still love the game.
Sympathy.
The Bride Rovers Club extends it's sympathy to the relations of Hanora (Nan) O Keeffe nee Murphy, of Moulane who died last week. Nan was a wonderful woman and she enjoyed life to the full and loved her set dancing. Her family over different generations have made major contributions to our Club over the years. May she rest in peace. We also extend our sympathy to the brother and sisters of the late Sean Gettings.
BRIDE ROVERS CLUB SPONSORS are; Rathcormac Tyres ,Fermoy Print & Design,
