Club Notes... - 2023-01-28 07:47:00
Well Done Cork...
I know the seasoned Cork fans were saying ‘There’s no All Ireland Hurling title won in January’ as they streamed out of Pairc Ui Rinn on Sunday last but a win is a win. After an unimpressive victory over a skeleton Limerick side in the ‘semi final’ the Cork Hurlers captured the Coop Superstores Munster Senior Hurling League Title last Sunday with a nice win over Tipperary. It was, to say the least, a strange game. For much of the contest Cork seemed to play second fiddle to the Premier hurlers yet when push came to shove the Rebels showed great pluck and determination to get the win. In the pecking order the All Ireland, Munster Championship and National Hurling League are all ahead of the Munster SHL but from a Cork Hurling point of view any victory which gives hope is to be celebrated. Great to see Brian Roche scoring two points and Eoin also on the panel. Most hurling people think Limerick are a mile ahead of the ‘chasing pack’ but hope springs eternal and Pat Ryan & Co. can only do the best they possibly can with the panel they have. Even in January when there’s no dust in the square and no talk about making hay it’s mighty to win against Tipperary.
CORK v Tipp, December 1972.
Talking of Cork and Tipperary games one I well remember -maybe for all the wrong reasons!, was the ferocious National Hurling League game ‘tween the two Counties played in Semple Stadium on Sunday December the 3rd 1972. Back then four rounds of the Hurling League were played before Christmas and then after the ‘break’ the competition was resumed in February. Cork had lost the All Ireland Final in September 1972 -a game the Rebels should have won, and started the NHL with a good 5 11 to 0 12 win away to Galway in October. Two defeats in November, 1 11 to 1 7 v Kilkenny and 3 4 to 1 9 v Clare meant the Tipp game would be a ‘make or break’ game for Cork. That first Sunday in December of 1972 was a beautiful day, bright, dry and sunny. Four of us set of for Thurles after Bartlemy mass Pat O Connor- driving, Dan Dooley, myself and Dave Ryan. I will never forget the day for many reasons- it was a bitter and nasty game, Tipp won by 2 7 to 1 4 -thus ending Cork’s League hopes, Pat Hegarty and Liam King were sent off and there was ‘trouble’ amongst the spectators. The main reason I have such a vivid memory of the match was it was the last game Dave Ryan attended. When things got hot and heavy in the second half an agitated and loud Tipp fan down the stand from us told Dave to “shut the f***up, ya Cork b****x”, Dave was having none of it and went down across the wooden benches and physically caught the Tipperary man and flung him down the steps! He wasn’t hurt but kept looking back at Dave as he left fairly lively! After the game the Tipp fans gathered outside the Cork dressing-room and despite pleas from County Board Chairman Seamus O Riain and team captain Francis Loughnane it was ages before Cork could leave the Stadium. By then we were stopped in a pub in Holycross as Dave wanted a pint after all the goings on! Dave was great company on trips to Thurles and Limerick, Walsh Park and all over Cork. Dave died suddenly at his home in Bartlemy Cross on Friday February 16th 1973. We took him to Bartlemy Church on the Saturday evening. His funeral took place on Sunday February 18th to Macroney cemetery in his native Kilworth. It was wet miserable day -a tractor and trailer were used to take the coffin up the rough boreen to the cemetery. The Bride Rovers Club are planning to erect a plaque in Dave’s memory in Macroney next month. In the meantime we are seeking any pictures we can get of Dave so if you have any please ring 087 9538077.
WEEKLY CLUB LOTTO.
Results for Tuesday 17th of January 2023, the four numbers drawn were 01, 02, 04 & 18 – there was no Winner. Congrats also to our lucky dip €30 cash winners: Seamus & Ann Collins, Mullintoura, Martina Keane, Kildinan, Mary Arnold, Bartlemy, Liz Flood, c/o Spar and Louis Roche, Ballynanelagh. This week's jackpot was an incredible €6,400 on Tuesday night January the 24th. You can purchase a €2 online as follows; if your ticket has expired or you would like to purchase for the first time, please enter via http://bit.ly/
Tickets can also be purchased from Club Members, in local business outlets and of course an Annual Lotto Ticket would be a mighty New Year present for a friend or family member or a Bride Rovers Supporter abroad.
NEW GAA PRESIDENT TO BE ELECTED.
Jarlath Burns
In a few weeks time the GAA will select the person to be President of the Association from 2024 until 2027. At Annual Congress in Dublin in mid February the President-elect will be voted in. Whoever gets the nod will take over from the incumbent Larry McCarthy at Congress 2024. Runner up last time out Armagh’s Jarlath Burns will have Pat Teehan of Offaly and Niall Erskine of Donegal to contend with. Having two candidates from Ulster seems strange but the votes will be cast on Saturday February 18th in Croke Park. That evening the rafters will ring with ‘The Boys From The County Armagh’, ‘The Offaly Rover’ or ‘The Homes of Donegal’!
HEALTHY CLUB WALKING INITIATIVE.
Through the Ireland Lights Up campaign, Bride Rovers are encouraging people of all ages and abilities up to get active through walking. Each Monday night you are invited to meet the group at the main pitch (large Astro) at 7.30pm. Together, we hope to walk three to four laps of the village to cater for all walking fitness levels.
Well done to our Healthy Club sub-committee – Orla Dorgan, Catherine Hegarty and Brenda Ryan – on leading this initiative. Please dust down the runners and get your reflective bib on and join the fun. Last Monday night January 23rd was the second week with a big crowd once more. Remember you can walk as much or as little as you want -Rome wasn’t built in a day! Do come along on next Monday night January the 30th and spread the news, tell ‘em all about it!
COUNTY BOARD NEWS.
One very interesting item that came up at last Tuesday night’s first meeting of the Cork County Board was in relation to under 13 and under 15 grades. These two grades seem to have been ‘relegated’ or ‘demoted’ in the master Fixtures Plan for 2023. Rebel Og are concentrating on under 14, under 16 and Minor but it seems terrible to leave these age groups without a programme of meaningful games throughout the season. Hopefully it’s not too late to reverse this decision.
JUVENILE ACADEMY WORKSHOP.
On Friday last under the guidance of our new Coaching Officers Damian Healy and Donnacha Carr we had our first Academy Coaching Workshop for both boys and girls coaches. Over 30 coaches attended a great evening full of collaboration and information gathering. Follow up meetings will be held in the coming months but it was great to see so much enthusiasm amongst coaches of varying experiences.
Dates for the 2023 diary:
Our annual Cul Camp is scheduled for week of July 31st. Academy sessions will officially kick off from Saturday Feb 25th but coaches will be in touch with parents of players well in advance of that date
FIT UPS.
Well, it’s Week 3 of the 2023 Blackwater valley Fit Up Festival this week. In Bartlemy Hall on Friday night January 27th at 8pm the Curtains will rise on a super show. Andrias de Staic is a crazy, zany, brilliant actor singer and musician. He has starred in some superb shows over the years. It’s a rare gift to be able to hold the attention of an audience, all on your own, for over 80 minutes but he can do it superbly. He’s known as Ireland’s Musical Storyteller -and for good reason! On Friday night his show is ‘The Rocks Abawn’ -don’t miss it.
FIRST CAR BOOT SALE.
The first Parish Car Boot Sale for 2023 will go ahead on next Sunday January the 29th. It’s the first Sale for 2023 and now’s a great time for Resolutions so if you can give an hour or two to the Car Boot Sale please contact Billy Finnegan or Mossie O Sullivan. If you have unwanted gifts or other useful items they will be most welcome to be sold in the parish Stall. Bring along whatever you have on Saturday morning Jan. 28th at c 11 am. Many hands make light work.
CLUB 100 -JOIN NOW!
We have now nearly 200 local families and individuals who have joined the Club 100 scheme since it commenced in 2017. It is essentially a membership package which includes entries to the Bride Rovers weekly lotto and the Rebel Bounty monthly draws. While the gold package may be attractive (and represents good value) for families, the silver or bronze package may be attractive to players or individual members who wish to spread payments across the calendar year. With plans for huge expenditure on our New Playing Pitch Complex at Ballybrowney we welcome new member to this initiative. A brochure is available and feel free to contact club treasurer Aiden Dorgan on 085 7124312 or, indeed, any club officer if you wish to join the scheme.
30 YEARS AGO- 1993.
Hard to imagine it’s thirty years since we won ‘the double’. They say every cloud has a silver lining. In the early 1990’s when we decided to regrade from A Grade hurling to B Grade in East Cork we felt perhaps that winning the B Grade would be easy enough. Things aren’t always as they seem and we learnt that to our cost in 1992. We travelled down to Castlemartyr for the second round of the B grade championship against Fr O Neill’s second team in confident mood. We’d beaten the Hill handily in round one. We were shocked below in Castlemartyr that July night. Though we scored 2 13 the Joe Swayne inspired Ballymacoda/Ladysbridge team notched 2 16 and we were out. For 1993 then we were still a very young team but, captained by Tom Mulcahy, we prepared well for the championships campaigns in both football and hurling. Having beaten Carrignavar well in the ‘County’ Junior Hurling championship it looked like we would win this competition for the first time as we had a 7 point lead in the second half. Inspired by Donie Murphy, Tom Gentleman and Tim McAuliffe Lisgoold finished strongly to beat us by 2 9 to 1 10. It was a huge disappointment to lose this game but really made the players even more determined for the East Cork Championship. We beat Russell Rovers by 3 11 to 1 5 before meeting Lisgoold omce more in the quarter final in Dungourney. Things didn’t look good at the break as we were 1 4 to 1 1 behind. That second half was an unforgettable contest. Lisgoold added 2 3 to their tally but we got 3 7 including a goal from Pat Barry who had started in goals but switched to the forward line. We won by 4 8 to 3 7 to qualify for the semi final. Carrignavar were our opponents once more, this time in Lisgoold. The game was played on the first Sunday of November -a week after we’d lost to KIllavullen in the County B Grade F. Championship. If our earlier game v Carrig and the Lisgoold tie were high-scoring the semi final was a tough, dour affair but we won by 5 points to 4 -with 5 of the 9 points scored by both teams coming from frees! It was back to Losgoold on Sunday November 16th for the final against Midleton , our first B Grade Final since 1975 with Tom Kearney the sole survivor from eighteen years earlier. The Final was truly a ‘game of two halves’. An early goal from Georgie Johnson and unerring free taking from team captain Tom Mulcahy saw us led by 1 5 to 0 0 after 16 minutes and we led by 1 7 to 1 1 at halftime. Kevin Hennessy was the Midleton trainer and he really got them fired up for the second half . Point after point they came right back into the contest as our scoring dried up. We scored just 3 points in twenty five minutes but our defence was heroic. It was 1 10 to 1 9 with a few minutes to go after Michael Carlton, from a free, left the minimum between the sides. Tom Kearney was tackled heavily and after a long stoppage Tom had to go off and Cormac Howard came on. Into extra time Midleton had three attacks but our backline held firm and we won by 1 10 to 1 9. It was our third year down in the B grade and after a superb campaign Tom Mulcahy was the brilliant captain of a great team. The team v Midleton was Martin O Flynn, Barry Murphy, Liam Barry, Tom Kearney, Batt O Connell, Anthony Cahill, Michael Walsh, James Murphy, Kieran Fitzgerald, Tom Mulcahy Captain, Mike Hogan, Pat Walsh, Dermot Johnson, John A Murphy, Pat Barry, Alan Broderick, Cormac Howard. The season ended in Rostellan on Sunday December 12th with a 2 15 to 0 5 win over Aghada in the Hurling League Final. The team management that brought off that great Hurling Double to accompany the B Grade Football title in 1993 were Pat Hoskins, Tony Walsh and Tommy Barry. All in Bride Rovers send the very best wishes to former Midleton and Cork star Kevin Hennessy who is ill at present -Kevin you gave us all so many great hurling memories, a great warrior. (Our function to honour the 1993 teams will be held on Friday night February the 25th)
SYMPATHY;
Bride Rovers Club extend sympathy to St Catherine’s stalwart Pat Hartigan on the death recently of his sister Noreen and also to the Finn family of Kilworth on the death of John, a great Gael.
BRIDE ROVERS CLUB SPONSORS are; Rathcormac Tyres
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