Bride Rovers

Championship Hurling Fever..

Well our Minor and under 19 teams have already tasted championship action and our Footballers are safely through to a Championship Quarter Final so this weekend its hurling all the way. Our Senior team meet Carrigtwohill on Sunday and on bank Holiday Monday our Junior B side face Cloyne. Every Championship in East Cork and Cork County is now run on a ‘Round Robin’ format so win, lose or draw the games this weekend we’re still there. Nevertheless a win in the first Group game is a mighty bonus and takes the pressure off facing into the subsequent games. We have faced Carrigtwohill thrice in the last dozen years. In Ballynoe in 2010 we won by 2 13 to 0 14 and we lost in 2013 and 2014. Our most recent meeting was in Riverstown and that day eight years ago we lost by 1 21 to 2 13. We lost to Carrig early this season in the RED FM Senior Hurling League. We had very mixed results in the league and will be in the 2^nd Division whilst Carrig have kept their place in Division 1 of that competition. In East Cork ‘Derby’ games anything can happen and with the game being played in Midleton on Sunday next at 2 o clock it will surely attract a huge crowd. Our preparations have been hampered by long term injuries to several players. When we played Carrigtwohill in 2014 our lineout was as follows; Dinny Fitzgerald, Donncha Carr, Brendan Walsh, Mike Liddane(0 1), Liam Forde, Barry Murphy, Mike Kearney, Jason Pratt, Cian O Connor, Barry Johnson (0 8,4frees), Brian murphy, Daniel Dooley (1 3), Michael Collins, Shane Walsh(1 0), Stephen Glasgow. Subs; Owen Murphy (0 1), Dean Linehan & Shane Kearney. Our lads have trained well and there’s a great buzz about the panel so it’s all down to the day. We wish all the players and management the very best of luck on Sunday. Sunday July 31^st SHC v Carrigtwohill in Midleton,, Sunday August 7^th SHC v Ballyhea in Kildorrery at 2pm, Saturday August27th SHC v Ballynartle in Riverstown at 7pm

Junior Hurling on Monday..

On Bank Holiday Monday we play our opening game in the East Cork Junior B Grade Hurling Championship. We face Cloyne in Lisgoold at 3 o clock. Our Junior team had some good displays in the League but with every ‘second’ team a lot depends on how many players are played on Sunday in the Senior game. Best of luck lads, go for it.

Minor Hurlers win

With a game against St Catherines in the Minor grade had a real local derby feel about it for our first championship game. Not often since the Rebel Og new grades began have we got to play local teams at this grade. Going to school together all the lads know each other so well on and off the pitch so it was always going to be a tight match. On last Friday night we were missing Cormac and Cillian O Sullivan, Darragh and Oran Kielty, Ciaran Dowd, Gearoid Gubbins and Tomas due to holidays and Jack Collins who was injured in a recent under15 match. All this meant we were down to 17 players on the night. Shane Hodgins from Erins Own was in charge of the whistle at Pairc Naomh Caitrionaigh, Ballynoe. St. Catherine’s started the stronger team, settled well raced into an early lead. Cillian got our first score. Eldon who was assigned to mark Cork Minor hurler Sean O Donoghue was excellent and gave him very little space. Ben struck our second point from a placed ball and when Conor scored a great goal it put us a point up 1-2 to 0-3. Catherines then upped the pace and unfortunately we also lost Cameron to a serious injury to his knee during this time. The home side kicked on and they added 1-2 to the scoreboard to leave us1-5 to 1-2 in arrears at half-time. We reorganised and rearranged at half time and our half forward line of Cillian, Kamso and Ryan upped their workrate. The whole team tightened up and it helped cut out the fast ball. Adam, Luke, Denis and Cormac were all on top form now. Conor was unerring from frees won by Louie and Kieran. Ben Knox won a great puck out, sent the ball in where it was won by Frank. He passed to Conor who rattled the net and we were now a point up. Colin who came on for Cameron won a great ball and was fouled. Ronan came out to take it and sent the ball over from 70 yards as good as Limerick’s Diarmuid Byrnes in the All Ireland Final! Some great defending kept the home team at bay. In a welter of excitement we saw it out to the finish line, winning a great game by 2 8 to 1 9. Thanks to all the parents and a large support from the parish which helped the lads over the line. Hopefully Cameron and Ben won’t be out too long with the injuries they sustained. Team. Ronan, Eldon, Adam, Luke, Cormac, Denis, Kieran, Cameron, Ben, Cillian, Kamso, Louie. Ryan. Frank. Connor. Colin. Gearoid.
Fixtures.
MINOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES
Friday July 29 away to Youghal at7pm Monday August 1st away to Cobh at 7pm

SFC IN PITCH.

Thanks to all who helped out when we hosted the County Senior A Football Championship game last Friday night. James Bermingham was in charge of the contest in which Fermoy beat Bishopstown. This was the first of a series of County and East Cork games which are fixed for Pairc na Bride over the coming weeks. This coming Saturday we have Ballygiblin and Dripsey in the County Premier Junior Hurling County Championship at 4 o clock.

LOTTO AT €22,400.

On Tuesday last July 19^th we had a Lotto Jackpot of €22,200.The four numbers drawn that night were 2,9,24 and 29 and there was no Jackpot winner. The five winners of €0 each were Jack Hegarty,c/o Car Boot Sale, Alastair Brook, Manor Mills, Eddie O’Connell, Riversdale, Ruairi Lankford, Pairc na n-Ean and Raymond Hegarty, Shanowen. We are very extremely grateful to all those who regularly support the Bride Rovers Lotto each week. Please tell your family members, friends, work colleagues and relations abroad about the Weekly Lotto and urge them to join -text, phone, email, whatsapp, skipe or twitter them! If your ticket has expired we would appreciate if you would enter again via https://bit.ly/BrideRoversweeklyfundraiser Remember for just €2, if you’re not in you can’t win!

2022 CUL CAMP.

What a magnificent sight it was last Monday morning when over 200 youngsters descended on our Club Grounds to begin the 2022 Kellogs Cul Camp. I was in Croke Park for the last two Sundays at the Senior All Ireland Finals but truly these Cul Camps are the real heart and soul of the GAA. I never cease to be in awe of the way, year after year, these young boys and girls are introduced to Gaelic games and get so much fun and enjoyment from the games that Archbishop Thomas Croke, back in 1884, described as ‘being racy of the soil’. That is as true today at it was 138 years ago. I think we had close on 60 involved in running the Camp this week, coaches, coordinators, caterers, car park attendants- a huge ‘thank you’ to one and all who helped in any way.

LOCAL LINKS WITH GALWAY WINNER.

On Monday at famed Ballybritt racecourse in Galway Dairerin was a 9/2 winner. Trained by in-form Jessica Harrington Dairerin is owned by the Sniper Alley Syndicate which included former Cork Hurler and 1999All Ireland winning captain Mark Landers. John Browne is another syndicate member -son of the late Joe of Rathaneague, Bartlemy, who was a selector on our East Cork Junior B Grade winning team in 1966. Well done to all concerned.

KERRY WIN NO 38.

We have many Kerry and Galway born Club members and most of them were in Croke Park last Sunday. It was great game of football which could have gone either way. In the end the Kingdom claimed their 38^th Crown. Well done to Kerry and Jack O Connor on his 3^rd Coming

END OF CODY ERA.

Micko and Jim Gavin will probably be recalled in years to come as the greatest ever County Gaelic Football managers, both leading their Counties, Kerry and Dublin to multiple All Irelands, but it is doubtful I we will ever again see the likes of Brian Cody. The James Stephens Clubman led Kilkenny for 24 years, winning 11 All Irelands with some of the best hurlers ever seen. He was a brilliant hurler himself and took over as the Cats boss in 1998. True here in Cork we often cursed him but when all is said and done we must salute him for his brilliant managerial skill and his ability to create ‘new’ teams over many years. Farewell too to Pat Spillane who finished up with RTE Sport on last Sunday. Pat was a great footballer and a great pundit who said it as he saw it.

IRONMEN TERRY AND GEORGIE.

Club stalwarts Terry Broderick and Georgie Johnson are both doing the gruelling Ironman Cork on the 14^th of August and in conjunction with the event would like to raise funds for LauraLynn. Any support for this worthy cause would be greatly appreciated. A 1.9 Km swim followed by 90Km on the bike is finished off with a nice 21Km run, all based around East Cork near Midleton and Youghal. We wish the two lads the very best and will include details of how you can financially help this wonderful cause next week.

FIXTURES.