Castlelyons commence Rebel Óg Underage Competitions.

Our underage managers have been in action recently tuning up the lads for the various Rebel Óg competitions which are due to commence shortly.  In Under 18 Hurling and Football; Will Casey and Pat O Neill are in charge and have Alan Fenton in as coach. These are the same mentors who had a lot success last year but have lost a number of their top lads from last year.  They are in Division 2A East group with Mayfield, Passage and Bride Rovers in hurling.  The game versus Bride Rovers is down for Castlelyons on Wednesday 22.7.20 and local derbies are always interesting. More on the football later.

Donal O Callaghan, Pat O Sullivan and Freek Rosner are in charge of the Under 16’s. They play Mid Division 2 in hurling with Mayfield and St Vincents and Division 3A in football with Tracton, Lisgoold and St Vincents.  Here again Donal O Callaghan says they are somewhat short on numbers and will be pulling in others from down the age groups. John and George Leech are in charge of the Under 14s and they are in East Division 2 in football in a formidable group with Glenville, St Vincents and Carrigtwohill.  They are in East Division 2B Hurling with St Colman’s Lisgoold and Fr O Neills all good sides.

Shane O Neill, Damien Fleming are in charge of Under 12s with Brian O Donovan as coach.  They are in East with Whitechurch, Mayfield and St Colmcilles and East 3A Football with Lisgoold, St Catherines and Fr O Neills.  Again, for we are tight in numbers here and great to see Brian O Donovan of the intermediate panel helping out the lads with the team.

I spoke with Shane Hickey who has Stephen Riordan and Seanie Cotter with him over the U11’s and while they do not play in official competition they are seriously committed.  Shane tells me they went to big Ballyduff tournament las year and made the final against Holycross at Under 10 and that the numbers are good so good story there and an outfit to watch in the future.

Kieran Barrett and Declan Wallace are dealing with U10’s and 9’s and doing well with them as they are taking them through the basics.

All our juvenile’s teams are training and ready to start the games which are ongoing throughout July.  Fixtures and dates are to be found in the Rebel Óg website but there may be the odd change.  We wish them all safe and well and hope they have great enjoyment during the games.

Return of Castlelyons GAA Weekly Lotto Draw.

Our weekly lotto again on Monday 20^th July in the Community Centre at 9.30pm.  Tickets are available from the usual outlets, sellers and Online at just €2 each. Our Jackpot is €20,000 with eight Lucky Dip Prizes of €20 each.  Go on have a cut of the 20,000 for just €2 and have a good summer.  Thanks for your support in the past and we look forward to it in the future. No doubt all club members are buying, selling tickets, and promoting our Lotto.

Intermediate Hurling Challenge.

Castlelyons 2-15 Ballymartle 1-14

We went to the Boulaling Grounds in Riverstick to play Ballymartle on Sunday with two teams.  Throw in was at 11am and great to see a big Castlelyons following beyond the City for such an early game. Ballymartle are playing at senior level for some time and they will face Bride Rovers in the SHC in Ballincollig shortly.  They are a strong physical side, good hurlers and were serious from the start.  Referee Teddy O Donovan did not play too many tunes on his whistle or sing many songs either as he let the game flow and fair play to our lads they adopted and settled into what was a tough but good game and ideal preparation  for championship hurling.  Anthony and Mike Spillane had a few points early on.  Jack Barry was authoritative in goals and good with his puck outs. He found Eoin Maye who moved loose.  Eoin parted to Peter Roche in space and Roche duly delivered a well taken goal.  However, Ballymartle worked hard and got back in the game back in it and began to put ball in around the house to their full forward Killian McCarthy and a lively Sean O Mahony.  It took strong hurling from our full back line of Colm Barry, Cian O Leary, and Jamie O Leary to hold them out.   Ballymartle then shot from out field and put over a few points from outfield.  The referee blew for this new water break between the fifteenth and twentieth minute. We organised again and done well for the second quarter As Barry Murphy and Keith O Leary made an impression with Niall O Leary dominating at centre back.  Colm Spillane back in harness after injury was having a right battle with their centre back, a former Cork minor Daniel O Leary, but kept the ball moving. At half time, the score was 1-9 to 0-10 as we were up 0-2.

We started the second half in style as corner forward Dave Morrison ran on to an angle ball and unleashed a rocket to the net. At the other end we failed to get away the ball and they were awarded a penalty, but Jack made amends with a great save.  Colm O Neill and Tom Carroll were busy in the second half on proven hardy wing forwards Ger Cummins and Brian Corry but done very well. Barry Murphy was in good form for us, also, James Kearney with 0-2 and Brian Carroll both half time substitutes done very well.  We did lose a little concentration towards the end especially after the last water break.  The result showed we won by 0-2 and overall, there were a lot of positives to take from the game as Colm Barry continues to recover from last year’s serious injury, Colm Spillane and Leo Sexton got some game time and are recovering but Alan Fenton did not play. Hopefully, we will have these lads available for the panel championship. Unfortunately, it looks as if Peter Roche is out for a while as he got a serious ankle injury on Sunday. Ballymartle were not playing from the full deck either as they were down a few players on the day. This is tough on us and Peter as he was showing excellent form this year both in defence and attack and banged in a great goal on Sunday.  We wish him a safe and speedy recovery.   There are a few lessons to be learned as well and important ones are toughen up to the pace of the game from the start, we had a few wild shots heading towards the airport which needs a bit of homework and see the session out to the full whistle as championship will hard fought.  Overall, very encouraging.

Panel: - Jack Barry, Cian O Leary, Liam Moroney, Peter Roche, Jamie O Leary, Niall O Leary, Colm O Neill, Eoin Maye, Barry Murphy, Keith O Leary, Leon Doocey, Alan Fenton, Michael Spillane, Anthony Spillane, and David Morrison David Kenny, Leo Sexton, Chris Cotter, Ronan Fenton, James Kearney, Coran Lawlor, Brian O Donovan, Alan O Regan, Ronan O Regan, Conor McCarthy, Shane Flynn, S Fenton, Tom Carroll Brian Carroll, and John Healy. 

Junior team play on Ballymartle Intermediates.

Castlelyons 2-15 Ballymartle 1-14.

Well at the time of going to press last week it was understood that our junior team were first into action on Sunday.  However, we had to play the main game fist and then see who was available for the junior panel.  I did hear of one or two supporters that may have been inconvenienced as they wished to watch the big game only but even if one went to the races sure good winners are not always found in the big race.   John McCarthy and Michael O Donovan must be complimented on having a fine strong panel for the second game and this is vital for our hurling as it is imperative that all the lads get games.  This game again started at a fierce pace and was of high quality as Teddy O Donovan was on the whistle again and let it go.  Ballymartle put over a few scores and we replied through Ronan Bransfield, James Kearney, Alan O Regan, and Darren Tobin from frees.  Ballymartle got a fortuitous goal to leave it 1-5 to 0-5 at the first water break. We exchange points and Ballymartle got another goal to leave it 2-6 to 0-6 at half time.

The second half showed up some great hurling as our lads hurled well all over the place.  The backs held up well led by Shane Fenton in the centre and Brian Carroll done very well in midfield as James Kearney and Ronan Bransfield had excellent games as did all the forwards.  One new man again on Sunday to put in a mighty hour was Cian O Flynn.  This guy played a good bit of hurling in NUIG but due to studies as a radiographer he was unavailable but is a big addition to the squad.  Again, this was a great game for our lads as Ballymartle are intermediate and two grades above us preparing to play Milford in the first round of the championship.  The final score was 2-15 to 1-14 but it was the effort that counted so well-done lads.

Panel: - David Kenny, John Paul Murphy, Coran Lawlor, Liam Moroney, John Healy, Shane Flynn, Shane Fenton, Conor McCarthy, Brian Carroll, Cian O Flynn, Ronan O Regan, Brian O Donovan, Ronan Bransfield, Ronan Fenton, James Kearney, Alan O Regan, Shane Cotter, Darren Tobin, Chris Cotter, Richard Morrison, Michael John Dorgan.

Note: - The Ballymartle set up in the Boulaling Grounds boosts two massive pitches, huge hall, ball alleys and pristine tarmacadam about the place and is worth a visit by our developers.  They were equally complimentary of our numbers for two games which was nice to hear.  

Pitches busy for some time.

There are just two adult teams in action for the next few months as our two Under 21 teams are not out until later in the year.  However, there are now twelve juvenile teams between football and hurling and eight Camogie teams in action. So, with training and games the pitches will be well worked over the summer.  This shows the value of having Leahy’s field and hopefully it will be developed in the near future. Our Covid-19 Committee are working well to date and must now prepare for upcoming games from July 20^th onwards without dressing room facilities as the decision to open has been reversed.  There are some other jobs to be reviewed. 

While coronavirus may be in decline in parts of the world it is extremely high in many places. There are fresh pockets of infection that highlight the need for continued vigilance and illustrate the complexity of managing the right response.   The GAA have issued numerous guidelines in the last number of weeks on the return to play, dealing with positive symptomatology, match regulations and return of spectators to the GAA.  It is imperative that we adhere to them if we are to continue with our games.  We as a nation after massive commitment may now be a little complacent as have seen mass gatherings of socialising about the country especially at weekends which is not good enough.  The guidelines both by Government and GAA are well thought out and shown to work.  However, if they are honoured in the breach rather than the observance, we are on a dangerous route. It is vital that we are most vigilant now as the competitions commence.  Tabhair aire.

Castlelyons Main Sponsor: ZEUS Packaging Group.