Bride Rovers

Historic week..

To paraphrase a famous song by Van Morrisson

‘When it’s not always raining

There’ll be weeks like this

When there’s no one complaining

There’ll be weeks like this’,

well certainly this week in the middle of August is a unique week for the Bride Rovers GAA Club. Cork are contesting three All Ireland Finals -trying to emulate the feats of the Minor, Under 21 and Senior teams of 1970. Fifty one years ago our main interest was in the Cork Senior Team with Seanie Barry on the panel. Led by Paddy Barry the Rebels won their 21^st All Ireland. Now over half a century later Cork are on a high and we here in Bride Rovers are so proud to have so many players involved. Last night Cork took on Galway in the 2020 Hurling Final in Thurles and Paddy O Flynn was on the extended panel with this side. Next weekend then is a massive few days for all of sporting Cork and Bride Rovers too. On Saturday evening at 7.15 pm in Thurles the Galway Minor team are attempting to win Five in a Row of Hurling championships. Just over a month ago they won the 2020 final and are back in this years decider after just a single game when they defeated the Leinster champions Kilkenny in the semi final Rebel Cork provide the opposition and for the second time in four years Bride Rovers provide two vital players Cillian Tobin and Adam Walsh to the Cork panel. In 2017 Brian and Eoin Roche were on the Minor team defeated by Galway as they started on their great run. Cork have defeated Clare, Limerick and Waterford en route to the Munster title. Galway are a fancied team but in fairness this Cork Minor team have been superb all year. We wish them well as they attempt to capture the All Ireland title for Cork for the first time since 2001 when Tomas O Leary captained the winning team, managed by John Considine. We beat Galway by 2 10 to 1 8 that day. Cillian and Adam are great ambassadors for our Club and on behalf of everyone in the Club and parish we wish them the very best. Carrig’s Noel Furlong is the Manager with Barry Johnson on the backroom team

SENIOR FINAL.

On Sunday then in Croke Park Cork will try and bridge a 16 year gap. Not since 2005 when Brian Murphy starred have Cork won the Liam McCarthy Cup. On Sunday Limerick will attempt to become the first side from Shannon-side to retain the All Ireland Crown. Since 2013 when we lost a Saturday evening replay to Clare Cork have not been present on Hurling’s Biggest Day. On Sunday they go into the Final as underdogs against Limerick who beat Waterford in last year’s final just before Christmas. Cork lost to Limerick in the Munster semi final but even in defeat that day Cork looked like a team on a mission. Since then they have impressed greatly in the Qualifiers. The semi final win over Kilkenny was an extra time affair. Some say ‘twas not a great Kilkenny side but lads in fairness when do we see a bad Kilkenny team? Under Kieran Kingston this year Cork have made great strides and though the loss of both Bill Cooper and Ger Millerick is a double whammy the Rebels are in with a great chance in Sunday’s decider. Talking to our former trainer Pat Heffernan lately he said ‘twould be a game of contrasting styles. Cork are a fast and skillful side and Limerick are a physically powerful unit. Cork never feared Limerick and the same will apply on Sunday. Our own Brian and Eoin Roche are on the extended Cork panel so we wish them all the very best. It’s great to see Niall O Leary and Colm Spillane from Castlelyons on the panel as well as so many others from East Cork. Go for it Cork and bring Liam home -actually the Liam McCarthy Cup will remain in Croke Park on Sunday evening but if we win the absence of the Cup won’t matter!

FOOTBALLERS IN SEMI FINAL.

Our Junior A Football team travelled to Castlelyons on Saturday night to play Carrigtwohill in the quarter final of this years Championship. This was a tough quarter final draw against an experienced Carrig side who were last year's beaten finalists and topped their Group in the Round Robin stages of the competition -we were runners up in our Group.. In true Rovers style the lads battled from start to finish and were rewarded with a well deserved victory on a score line of 3-05 to 0-12 points. The Castlelyons pitch was in excellent condition however the continuous rain contributed to the game being played in very tricky conditions throughout. The footballers are now through to the East Cork Semi Final where they will meet the winners of CarrignabhFear and Lisgoold on the weekend of the 28th / 29th September – Carrig and Lisgoold meet this weekend. The Rovers opened the scoring with a point from Brian Roche and Carrigtwohill responded with two points leaving the lads trailing by 0-02 to 0-01 at the first water break. The next quarter belonged to Cian Hogan where he scored 2-01 with Carrigtwohill responding to keep in touch by kicking 2 further points. This half time score-line had the Rovers leading 2-02 to 0-04 points. Carrigtwohill started the third quarter with intent and kicked four points in a row and had the scores level at 2-02 to 0-08 points after 45minutes of play. Shane O'Connor then kicked a point for the Rovers just before the whistle sounded for the second water break to give the Rovers a slim one point lead heading into the last quarter. Not too dissimilar to the first half, the lads kicked on in the third quarter with Cian Hogan completing his hat trick to take his tally on the night to 3-02. Carrigtwohill battled to the end in what was a typical East Cork football championship game where no quarter was given or taken. The final score of the game came to the Rovers and came from the boot of Shane Walsh. This was a well deserved win for the lads and was a just reward for their workrate up to the final whistle. So after starting our campaign with a defeat to Midleton we have recorded three wins over Erins Own, Fr O Neills and Carrigtwohill. The team and scorers were: Stephen Glasgow, Jordan Mannix, Shane Walsh(0-01), Eoin Roche, Jason Mannix (Capt), Liam Forde, Tom Murray, Shane O'Connor (0-01), Cian Hogan (3-02), Daniel Dooley, DJ Cahill, Conor Barry, Brian Roche (0-01), William Finnegan, Damien Buckley, Jamie Barry, Seamus Ahern, Kieran Kearney, Tadhg O'Sullivan, Patrick O'Flynn, John O'Sullivan, Edmund Cashman, Jack O'Connor, Matthew Quinn, Cian Howard.

CLUB EXECUTIVE MEETING on MONDAY.

We had a busy Executive Meeting on Monday night last, held via ‘Teams’ online again. It might be a Zoom meeting but it really should have been called a @Buzz’ meeting as everyone was really buzzing in anticipation of the week ahead! Chairman Ger Lane presided and the various Committees reported progress on all fronts. The Juvenile and ladies Clubs are busy, busy on all fronts. The Chairman reported on the Club Development position. Finance reports were given by Treasurer Liam Barry. Future planning was discussed and the huge financial steps we are undertaking. Our Lotto and Club 100 are major contributors and we are always looking for extra people to support these initiatives. Ger wished all the Cork teams the very best and especially mentioned all the Rovers players. He welcomed Fr Seanie Barry home on holidays. Ger also thanked everyone involved with the running of the Tony Walsh Memorial Cup game v Ballyduff. The next Executive meeting is fixed for September 13th

UNDER 9’s.

The Under 9 boys had a good run out on Saturday against a strong Erin's Own outfit. Two 20 minute games produced some fine hurling and an opportunity for the lads to practice their blocking which has been the focus of training lately. Desire and effort were also to the fore as the lads are really beginning to grasp that hard work brings results. Our thanks to Erin's Own for the friendly games.

The squad was: Jack Fitzgerald, Harry Fitzgerald, Luke Fitzgerald, Eoghan Croke, Daniel Maher, Noah Collins, Theo Byrd, Jack Barry, Jack Roddis, Jack Gubbins, Patrick O'Connell, Jamie Gould, Cameron Hoare, James O'Leary, Conor Healy, Ryan Field, Adam Hackett, Patrick O'Regan, Cian Barry, Aidee Carr, Alex McCarthy, Jack O'Donovan, Ryan Hogan, Oisín Dorgan, Scott Lynch and Sean O'Dowd.

Next Saturday, we host Ballyhooly, Castlelyons and Whitechurch in a hurling blitz at 11am. We had Hurling training on last night, Wednesday night in Pynes from 6 to 7. It was at an earlier time to let the boys home to support the Rebels U20s in the All Ireland Final

UNDER11’s IN ACTION.

Our under11’s were away to Watergrasshill on Thursday evening last. Two evenly matched played two great halves of hurling with some excellent scores. Next up is a Rebel Og hurling blitz away in Carrigtwohill on this coming Saturday August 21^st followed by a football blitz on the following Saturday at home. It’s just marvellous to see the skill levels of the players improving from game to game. They are really enjoying their training and game. Well done to all who give of their time to look after these youngsters.

WIN FOR UNDER 15’s

On Saturday July 24^th our Under 15s played Millstreet in the third game of our Round Robin Championship. A win was vital to keep our hopes of qualifying alive. A fantastic start and a couple of early goals put us in a very strong position at the water break. A strong lead at half time put us well on our way to gaining the 2 vital points we needed. Following a number of changes early in the second half our momentum was not broken, and we were able to see the game out on a very strong fashion. We have 1 game remaining in this against Ballygiblin which will be a must win game with a date yet to be fixed. We have the Feile qualifiers this Saturday the 21^st in Carrignavar v Fermoy and Killara Og, first game is at 10 am.

Panel v Millstreet. K O’Sullivan, J Keating, D Delaney, R Barry, T O’ Riordan, O Kielty, C Barry, L Harrington, J Collins, B Knox J Mannix, J Hynes, C O’Sullivan, S Prendergast, D O’Connell, D Cash, T Hackett, C O’Riordan, G Gubbins, D Fitzgerald, G O Connell., S Dowling,

UNDER 16’s IN SEMI FINAL.

Our under 16 hurlers take on Inniscarra in their League semi final at home in Pairc na Bride on tomorrow night Friday August 20^th at 7.15pm.

COUNTY BOARD FIXTURES.

The Masters Fixtures Plan for the remainder of the year was sent out last week. Our three Group games at Senior Hurling level will commence on the weekend of September 11^th/12^th. That weekend we are billed to play Ballyhea. A week later Ballymartle will be the opposition and the mallow game will be on the 9^th or 10^th of October.

WEEKLY CLUB LOTTO.

The Jackpot for Tuesday last August 10^th was €20,000. The four numbers drawn were 15, 20, 27 and 30 and there was no winner on the night. The winners of the €30 each were Annmarie Knox, Claire and Trish O Flynn, Donal Kelleher, Maurice Corbett Limerick, Sean O Brie.n Tickets for the Weekly Lotto are just €2and can be purchased in local business outlets, from Club members and online. The Club thanks all those who regularly support the Lotto, as it provides vital income for the running of the Club.

CATHY GUBBINS RIP.

Last week we were all saddened and shocked at the unexpected death of Cathy Gubbins of Hollyhill, Bartlemy. Cathy was a vibrant and energetic member of our parish community. Her late husband Mike, son Gerard and her grandchildren have all played with the Club. Cathy was a friend to so many and always had a welcome on the mat for friends and strangers. We extend our sympathy to Gerard, Rosaleen, Marie, John and her grandchildren and other relatives.

ARAGLEN WIN COUNTY.

I went to Araglen on Sunday night to join in the joyful celebrations. Earlier that afternoon the men from Araglen had travelled to Pairc UI Rinn and defeated Freemount to win the 2020 County Junior B Hurling Final by 0 17 to 2 10. A one point win and how they celebrated their second County title, the first being in 1999. Well done to all concerned with the Araglen Club. It might be a small parish but it has huge spirit and some great hurlers. Well done to all the players and mentors on a brilliant win.

FIXTURES