TOMMY BARRY. It was with a sense of sadness and emotion that we learned last Thursday of the death of Club Stalwart Tommy Barry of Gneeves. Rathcormac. In his 91st year it can truly be said that Tommy was an ‘out and out’ Bride Rovers man. He played a bit of hurling but it was as an Administrator that he excelled. For two decades he served as an outstanding Treasurer. Son of William (Billy) Barry and Jane Pyne Tommy was born into a family involved with the GAA and greyhounds and all his life long Tommy never faltered in his support for his sports in his native parish. In the early 1950’s local former player, referee and hurley-maker Ned Daly made a special Shield which was presented for a Juvenile Hurling Tournament between a ‘village’ and a ‘country’ team. Tommy lined out with the Country team which also included Michael Pyne, Joe O Keeffe, Mick Barry, Larry Kelleher, Paddy O Brien, Tommy Hickey, Paddy Dea, Donie Pyne and Billy Moroney – Tommy’s future brother in law. During the 1950’s Clubs under the names Bride Rovers, Bartlemy and St Batholomew’s were affiliated in different years. In 1962 and 1963 no Club was affiliated in the parish but in December 1964 the Bride Rovers Club was reorganised. Tommy’s near neighbour and friend Paddy O Regan was appointed Treasurer. On December 22nd 1965 at the Club AGM Tommy was appointed as Treasurer and he remained in that position for two decades until 1985. Money was scarce in those years so ‘minding the cash’ was a huge task – the Annual Church Gate Collection was the biggest source of funding. In 1972 the Church gate Collection brought in £144.75 and at the AGM Tommy reported a profit of £100 for the year with £272.75 on hands at year’s end. As well as being Club Treasurer Tommy was also a regular attender at East Cork and County Conventions. He also served as a Club Selector -along with Willie and Tom Cotter and Dan Carroll Tommy guided the Junior B Grade hurling team to East Cork glory in 1975 -a team captained by Pat O Connor. In 1981 Tommy was the Manager of our Tom Kearney-captained B Grade Football team that won our first East Cork title. Even after he stepped down from the position of Club Treasurer his involvement with and support for Bride Rovers never, ever lessened. He would talk passionately about our tremendous successes from 1997 onwards and the glorious 1960’s. He loved chatting about games and players and marvelled at the growth of the Club over the years. Last November after our great County win Michelle and myself brought the Cup to Tommy – he was overjoyed. That day I was telling him we had recently bought a robotic lawn-mower for the new pitches for €30,000 -back in 1977 we had bought Pairc na Bride for £21,000 ! He enjoyed that! As well as his huge commitment to the GAA Tommy also had a passionate interest in greyhounds and in Rathcormac Coursing Club. Of course his charitable work was simply massive. He was a long-time fundraiser and promoter of Fermoy MS, Fermoy and District Lourdes Invalid Fund and St Patrick’s Community Hospital Fermoy. They say when something needs to be done in a community ‘ask a busy person’ and that summed up Tommy Barry -he never said ‘No’. He was great company and his renditions of ‘The Whistling Gypsy Rover’ and ‘The Red River Valley’ will never be forgotten. Sometimes the word ‘legend’ can be bandied about but we in Bride Rovers know that Tommy Barry was one of our ‘living legends’. His family, his Club and his parish are in mourning -we will all miss him so much. We owe him a great debt, he was one of the men who made and developed our proud tradition as a GAA Club. To Nellie, William, Margaret, Liam, Jamie, Alan, Cillian, Aobhinn, Mary, Eoin, May, Gena, Kathleen and Billy and the extended family, we offer our deepest sympathy. Club Members formed a guard of Honour for Tommy last Sunday -the very least we could do for a simply great Bride Rovers man. Rest in Peace Tommy. Thanks to all our Club members who helped out last weekend.
MIGHTY BINGO/MUSIC NIGHT. Well done to the Ladies Club on their Music/Bingo Fundraiser last Saturday night which was a huge success. It was very well supported.
THREE HURLING TEAMS IN ACTION. Our three hurling teams all have League Action. coming up. Under light in Pynes on Fridy night we have a Div 4 game against the Hill. On Sunday the Senior travel to Fair Hill to meet na Piarsaigh with a 2 o clock throw-in. Then next Tuesday our Div 1 Hurlers meet Fr O Neills with a 7.30 start in Aghavine.
CORK IN NHL ACTION. On Saturday evening the Cork Hurlers meet Offaly in their final Group game in Pairc Ui Chaoimh t 7pm. The Faithful County are finding the going tough in Division 1A of the NHL. Cork are probably through to the HL Fial. More than likely they’ll be meeting the winners of next Saturday’s game between Galway and Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds. Limerick will be favourites but with Galway one never knows. The Westerners have a lot of very good strong, physical hurlers on their side.
WELL DONE JOSH. As a GAA Club and as a parish Community we were all very proud of the Ahern family of Monanig last Friday. Riding King Alex, trained by his father Garrett, Josh Ahern took part in the famous Foxhunters Chase in Cheltenham. Well done Josh – just getting to the famous racecourse by the Cotswolds is a feat, a real dream come true.
CLUB LOTTO. The Lotto Results for Tuesday the 10th of March were as follows; The 4 Numbers drawn were 4, 10, 14 & 23 -and there was No Winner of the €6,200 Jackpot. Congrats to our lucky dip €30 cash winners Ciaran & Fiona Manley, Ballinterry, Linda O’Sullivan, c/o Online Lotto, Jim Dunne, Kilworth, Padraig Hoskins, Ballinagore and Paul Drinan, Coolnakilla. This week's jackpot was an incredible €6,400. If your ticket has expired, we would appreciate if you would enter again via Bride Rovers GAA Lotto
FIXTURES; Fri March 20th JHL Div 4 v Watergrasshill , Pynes, 7.30 Sat March 21st fe 14 Football L. v Carrigtwohill, home, at 10.30 Sunday March 22nd Co. SHL v Na Piarsaigh, away, 2pm Tuesday March 24th East Cork JHL Div 1 v Fr O Neills in Aghavine, at 7.30. Sat March 28th fe 14 HL v Erins Own, away, 10.30 Sun March 29th fe 16 HL (2) v Blackrock (2), home, at 11.30
REBELS BOUNTY. The time is approaching fast for the commencement of the 2026 Cork GAA Rebels Bounty Draw. Three Draws for January, February and March will be held on Thursday week March 26th. With a massive Prize Fund this is a great opportunity to win and support Bride Rovers GAA Club. Contact Pat Cullotty if you still have not purchased a ticket- but do so before the end of this week.
CLUB CENTENARY in 2028. The Bride Rovers GAA Club was initially set up in the autumn of 1928. AS we approach our Centenary a special Committee has been set up to prepare for this special year. On next Monday night March 23d he Centenary Committee will have their first meeting in the Clubroom at 8.30pm
SYMPATHY. We also extend our deepest sympathy to the nieces and nephew of Paddy Murphy of Mondaniel who died just a week after the passing of his sister Mary. Paddy was a great Bride Rovers supporter all his life. Born in 1936 Paddy played with the Club in the 1950’s at a time when the fortunes of Bride Rovers were low but enjoyed the experience and was proud to be a ‘Rovers man’. He was always interested in the future of the Club and a great supporter of Club Fundraisers down the years. May he rest in peace.
RESULT. Junior Football League, Est Cork Division 3 played under lights in Pynes Monday March 16th; Bride Rovers 2 13 Carrigtwohill 0 6-report next week.
SPONSORS; The Bride Rovers GAA Club sponsors are Fermoy Print & Design, Rathcormac Tyres, Gerard Gubbins Construction and Veoila -please support our sponsors whenever you can.
BRIDE ROVERS JUVENILE GAA CLUB NOTES.
Under 14 Football League Bride Rovers 2-4 | Canovee 1-11. Bride Rovers’ Under 14s began their league campaign on Monday night with a tough opening-round encounter against Canovee in Pynes. The Mid-Cork side made the brighter start, opening the scoring after three minutes and adding three more points before the 10-minute mark. Rovers were playing some good football during this period but struggled to convert their chances, while Canovee were more clinical in front of goal. Rovers got off the mark on 12 minutes when Jack Fitzgerald pointed from play. However, Canovee responded with two further scores to move into a 0-6 to 0-1 lead. On 20 minutes, Rovers were right back in the contest when a free from the 45 by Tommy Conway dropped dangerously into the square and deceived everyone before finishing in the back of the net. Canovee replied quickly with a well-worked goal of their own two minutes later and added another point before halftime. Fitzgerald added his second point from play for Rovers to leave the halftime score at Bride Rovers 1-2, Canovee 1-7. Rovers made the perfect start to the second half. Within the opening minute, Alex McCarthy produced a brilliant individual run through the Canovee defence before finishing calmly to the net to reduce the gap. Canovee added a point after eight minutes, and the game then opened up with both teams creating chances. Rovers enjoyed a strong spell of pressure but found scores difficult to come by. McCarthy added two points to his tally, but Canovee responded with two of their own before finishing the game with the final point of the evening.The final score was Bride Rovers 2-4, Canovee 1-11. Despite the result, there were many positives in the Rovers performance, with plenty to build on ahead of the next league outing. Team: Joey Allen, Scott Lynch, Denis Skillington, Oisín Dorgan, Liam Harrington, Matthew Finn (C), Callum Dixon, Conor Healy, Tommy Conway (1-0), Ryan Hogan, Alex McCarthy (1-2), Jack Roddis, Kai Roddis, Jack Fitzgerald (0-2), Patrick O'Regan. Subs: Noah Collins, Cian Barry, Seán O'Dowd.
REBEL OG MINOR HURLING. Bride Rovers defeated by Aghada 3-10 to 0-15 in the first round of the Rebel Óg Div 1 hurling league The first minor hurling league game of the year took place under lights in Aghada last Friday evening. An early goal from Aghada saw them lead from early on but points from Matthew Kenny, Shane O'Dowd and Darren Kearney saw the Rovers close the gap. Two further goals from Aghada meant their lead was increased. Further points from the Rovers by Kenny, O'Dowd and Finn O'Driscoll meant a tight finish but we lost by a margin of four points. Team: C. Somers, É. Lyons, D. Hurley, B. Sweeney, E. Quaine, O. Harris, J. Walsh, F. O’Driscoll, T. Cronin, J. O'Connell, S. O’Dowd, M. Kenny, D. Kearney, D. O’Farrell, A. Scorers: S. O'Dowd (0-8), M. Kenny (0-4), F. O'Driscoll (0-2), D. Kearney (0-1)
REBEL OG UNDER 14 14 Hurling League – Round 1. Blarney 6-7 Bride Rovers 7-12 Bride Rovers got their U14 league campaign off to an exciting start with a high-scoring victory over Blarney in Round 1. The game began at a frantic pace with Blarney striking for a goal inside the opening minute from their full forward. Rovers responded quickly and after two minutes Eoghan Croke showed great awareness to bat the ball to the net for the home side’s first goal. Alex McCarthy followed up with a point shortly after, before Blarney replied with one of their own. On five minutes Conor Healy opened his account with a point from play and Rovers continued to build momentum. McCarthy then broke through the Blarney defence on seven minutes to finish clinically to the net for Rovers’ second goal. He added another point on 13 minutes, but Blarney struck back with a goal on 16 minutes from their dangerous number 13 to keep themselves in contention. Rovers pushed on again approaching the break. Jack Fitzgerald began what would be an outstanding scoring display with a point on 21 minutes followed by a well-taken 65 a minute later. Fitzgerald then found the net on 25 minutes, sparking a dominant spell for Rovers before halftime. During this purple patch McCarthy added a goal and two points, while Healy also raised a green flag and chipped in with a point to leave the halftime score Bride Rovers 5-8, Blarney 2-1. Blarney started the second half strongly with two quick points inside the opening minute, but Healy responded with a point for Rovers. Blarney then struck for a goal, only for Jack Fitzgerald to immediately reply with his second goal of the day. The scoring continued at both ends. Blarney added another goal four minutes into the half, Healy answered with a point, and Blarney again found the net before Jack Fitz steadied Rovers with a point. The remainder of the half was competitive with plenty of substitutions as both teams used their panels. Blarney added a point from a free and another from a 65, but Conor Healy grabbed his second goal of the day on 19 minutes to keep Rovers in control. Blarney finished strongly with another goal and a couple of late scores, but Rovers maintained their lead to secure the win on a final scoreline of Bride Rovers 7-12 to Blarney 6-7. Overall it was a very positive performance with plenty of players getting valuable game time and strong contributions across the team. Bride Rovers Team: Noah Collins; Scott Lynch, Denis Skillington, Liam Harrington; Callum Dixon, Jack Fitzgerald (2-4), Luke Fitzgerald (C); Ryan Hogan, Thomas Hegarty; Matthew Finn, Alex McCarthy (2-4), Patrick O’Regan; Eoghan Croke (1-0), Conor Healy (2-4), Seán O’Dowd. Subs: Cian Barry, Aidan Carr, Oisín Dorgan.
Under 16 Hurling Bride Rovers 2–11, Kilworth/Araglen 0–9 Under the floodlights at Pynes Field last Friday evening, Bride Rovers and Kilworth served up an entertaining contest in the opening outing of the season for both sides. Bride Rovers ran out winners on a 2–11 to 0–9 scoreline after a strong overall team performance. The Rovers defence was very solid throughout and dealt well with the Kilworth attack, while midfield worked tirelessly to link defence and attack. The forwards made good use of possession and kept the scoreboard ticking over, with goals from Killian and Henry proving key scores. Jakub also contributed well on the scoring front, while a number of others chipped in with points. In all, 19 players were used, giving plenty of game time in what proved to be a very worthwhile first outing of the year. A special mention also to the team’s new jerseys sponsored by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, with thanks to Andy for his help in organising them. Scorers: Killian 1–0, Henry 1–2, Jakub 0–4 (2f), Cathal Q 0–2 (f), Seán Finn 0–1, Cormac 0–1, Seán O’Leary 0–1.
FIXTURES; Fri March 20th JHL Div 4 v Watergrasshill , Pynes, 7.30 Sat March 21st fe 14 Football L. v Carrigtwohill, home, at 10.30 Sat March 28th fe 14 HL v Erins Own, away, 10.30 Sun March 29th fe 16 HL (2) v Blackrock (2), home, at 11.30
