Castlelyons win a third county football title.

Castlelyons 3-9 Rochestown 1-10 

Castlelyons as the Echo said, “have a soft spot for the big ball”.  We won two Junior B football championships back in 1989 and 2014.  We did not field at team at adult level for the last two years due to concentration on the small ball.  However, our manager Liam Moroney, Coach Darren Tobin and Selector Chris Cotter got a great buy in this year from a lot of young players.  This included several minors, and they put together some great results this season as the new rules seemed to suit us.  We had a convincing victory over Lough Rovers in the semi-final. Then onwards to the final in Mallow last Sunday and getting the better of a fancied Rochestown side gave us our third county title at adult level.

The weather was good but the pitch, surprisingly, could be in much better condition. Our lads started well with a good press from early on and after just two minutes full forward Ronan Ryan rose to get a lovely touch on the ball into the net. Jack Cremin pointed a free, but Rochestown came back and put over four points as we struggled a bit.  It was followed by a Cremin free, but Rochestown weren’t rocked by the challenging opening when they put together four points on the trot in the space of five minutes from Jason Walsh.  Stephen Hickey who was active in goal then made a great save and we gained possession to go down field with Richard Morrison scoring 0-1 to lead 1-2 to 0-4 on fifteen minutes.  Rochestown tried hard but our backs weathered the storm and Dylan Leetch and Shane Moroney began to do very well at midfield while Alan O’Regan worked very hard on the wing.  Dylan Leetch scored 0-1 and Jack Cremin 0-1 from another free.  Back came Rochestown with two points and on the hooter for half time it was level at 1-4 to 0-7.

The teams scored two points each on the resumption as Stephen Hickey put over a forty-five, Richard Morrison from play. Then Jack Cremin latched on to a long ball from Peter Roche and finished well for a goal from close range but Rochestown level with one of their own. We replied in great excitement with a point from play by Jack again and then Ronan Ryan punched in his second goal from a floated forty-five by our goalie Stephen Hickey. Minor star Dylan Leech cut through for another great point for us as our backs were coping well with Rochestown and turned over some great ball.   While they pressed very hard late on in the game all our backs played very well and subs Daren Tobin, Shaun Leneghan and Eoin Barry took over from some tired bodies.  Well done to our lads as they coped very well under pressure and to a man gave it everything on the field.  It was interesting to hear the various speakers and some concern at the specially convened meeting by the County Board on all aspects of Cork football last week.  Better still to see three county board officers, Ger O’Sullivan PRO, Tony McAuliffe Safety and Facilities Officer and Derek Connolly at our game as Tony presented the cup to our captain Stephen Hickey amidst great celebrations.  Any championship is important in Cork as the county accounts for one tenth of the overall GAA and it was great to win.  We are competitive at Under 12, Under 14 and Minor in football.  This latest win gives the opportunity of the younger players feeding into adult football again.  So comhghairdeas mór do na peileadóirí agus an bainisteoireacht as they put the ‘big ball’ up in the club and county lights for 2025.

Panel: S Hickey (c); C Sheehan, C McCarthy, O Morrison; P Roche, E McLoughlin, S Flynn; D Leetch, S Moroney; M Rosner, A O’Regan, S Cotter; R Morrison, R Ryan, J Cremin. S Leneghan; D Tobin, E Barry, Declan Morrison, Kevin Barry, Tom O’Neill, Stephen Rice, Jack Kenny, Michael Griffin, Cees Kwoenberg, Stephen Griffey, Barry Murphy, Adam Lardner and Brian Spillane

Amarenco East Cork Junior Hurling League Division Two Final

Castlelyons 0-17 Fr O’Neills 0-18.

This game was played in Dungourney last Wednesday evening and it was the proverbial cracker with Fr O’Neills eventually coming out on top in the fourth minute of injury time by just one point.  The pitch was in excellent condition, the ball was fast as there was a little crosswind, and the standard of hurling was excellent too.  It was three points each after ten minutes with our scores coming via two frees by Brian O’Donovan and one free by Colm McCarthy.  We were a bit loose marking and under pressure for a while.  Eoin Barry was excellent for us in goal and then our backs slowly got to terms with a strong O’Neills full forward line. We stayed with them through some great scores from play by Noel McAuliffe and Ronan Fenton while Dunny pointed from play and frees. Leaving us just a point at 0-8 to 0-9 on the short whistle.

Fr O’Neills came out in the second half and scored three points on the bounce and looking very good to go four points ahead.  However, our lads came alive again and roared on by the faithful support Ronan Fenton, Shane Cotter and Dunny scored a point apiece from play.  Then Dunny passed to Colm McCarthy, and he sent over a great score from long range to leave it level pegging at 0-12 each.  O’Neills put us under pressure again and we had a little tendency to foul at times as their accurate free taker put over two frees.  However, we replied with two more points one a free from Dunny and another long range free from Colm McCarthy to leave it 0-15 each with less than five minutes.  In a swelter of excitement and with a wide by both teams O’Neills did go one ahead again but Shane Cotter took a short sideline got possession again and drove through for a great point to level the game with time up.  But there was injury time.  Shane Cotter pointed again to put us ahead and we thought we had it but O’Neills rallied and got the winner.  While it was disappointing to lose the standard of hurling was excellent.  We were down a few players on the night through holidays and injury.  The lads made a massive effort and so did our management team of Chris Cotter, Daithi Whelan, Will Daly and Ian Barry.  They deserve support particularly for the championship as it is so important to bring on new players and helps develop some of our younger lads in adult hurling.

Panel: Eoin Barry; Stephen Casey, Liam Moroney, Declan Morrison; Matthew Rosner, Stephen Griffey, Shane Moroney; Brian Carroll, Noel McAuliffe; Colm McCarthy, Ronan Fenton, Peter Roche; Brian O’Donovan, Shane Cotter, Jack Cremin; Sean Leneghan, Oisin Morrison, Shane Flynn, Dylan Leetch, Jack Kenny, Ian O’Sullivan, Ronan Ryan, Adam Lardner, Stephen Rice, Kevin Barry, Mike Griffen, Alan O’Regan, Darragh Bransfield, Cathal Sheehan.

Rebel Óg North Under 18 Hurling League.

Castlelyons 6-18 St. Catherines 4-9

Our minor hurling squad qualified for the Rebel Og North Cork Division Two hurling league final by securing a win against neighbours St. Catherine's on Wednesday 2nd July in Ballynoe. We will now play Killara Óg in the final on a date to be arranged.  We played the aid of a strong breeze in the first half and made a great start to this game. Our inside forwards got good ball and banged in early goals through Shane Hallihan (three), Ronan Ryan and Darragh Fleming one each, with Gearoid McCarthy, Sean O’Callaghan, Thomas McCauliffe and Ciaran Murphy slotting over some nice points. Despite the pressure they were under, Catherines responded well with two goals of their own and some excellent free taking from Gearoid Sheehan kept them in touch at the end of the first half. Castlelyons started the second half strong again with Sam McCarthy contributing 1-2. Our backs tightened their marking in the in this half and didn't give away any frees within scoring distance. Despite this, Catherines themselves got two more goals which meant that our lads had to keep up their work rate to ensure the win.

St. Catherines were missing a few of their key players for this fixture and no doubt when the sides meet again in the championship towards the end of August we can expect a much tighter encounter.

Castlelyons Panel:  Jude Hallihan; Cathal Sheehan, Tom O'Neill, Darragh Bransfield; Gearoid McCarthy, Dylan Leetch, John O'Neill; Sean Og Maguire, Thomas McAuliffe; Sean O’Callaghan, Darragh Fleming, Ciaran Murphy; Shane Hallihan, Ronan Ryan, Kevin Barry; Shane Hussey, Ronan Hickey, Sam McCarthy, Liam O'Riordan.

Castlelyons GAA Lotto Results - Monday 7.7.25 - Jackpot now €15,800

The results of the draw held on Monday 16.6.25 had the following numbers drawn were 2, 15, 16 and 23. There was no Jackpot winner which was €15,800.   The Lucky Dip Winners of €20 each were as follows: Eddie Conran, Martin Dorgan, Ann Cotter, Noreen O’Flynn, Mary McNulty, Michael Hegarty, Paul McCarthy, Marie Fitzgerald.

The Jackpot is now a massive €15,800.  The next Draw be held in the Community Centre on Monday 14th July at 8.15pm. Thank you all for your support and don’t forget you can play our Lotto Online or purchase from the usual outlets.

Cork senior hurlers patient and still on course to end a twenty year wait.

What a day on Saturday in the hollowed turf of Croke Park for the Rebels and their followers who travelled in their thousands to cheer them on.  The word Drone is mentioned a lot these times but a drone over Croker with fabulous photos showed the magnitude of Cork support in the stadium as it looked all red.  The team responded by winning in style as they defeated Dublin 7-26 to 2-21 including a hat trick by Alan Connolly.  This was a near perfect display as they cut though the Dubs defence with ease.  There are great expectations now that Cork can take Tipperary in the final and they are pegged with the favourites tag yet again.  One of the pundits on TV mentioned that the last time Cork scored seven goals in an All-Ireland final was in 1972 when they beat London 7.20 to 1-12.  This game was in a quiet Cork Athletic Grounds rather than the cauldron of Croke Park like last Saturday.  The great Seanie O’Leary did score three goals that day. The pundit, Henry Sheflin, a famous Kilkenny hurler did outline that his own county went on to beat Cork in that 1972 final and, of course, he was hopeful that Kilkenny would be there this year too. 

However, Kilkenny were defeated by Tipperary last Sunday, and it is now an intriguing game between old rivals in Munster. The strength of Munster hurling is really coming to the fore this year with Tipperary defeating Kilkenny in the Under 20 final.  We had a first ever Clare versus Waterford in the All-Ireland minor final and now a first ever Cork v Tipperary in the senior final.  The struggle for tickets is on as the interest increases every day should make for great times ahead. They say patience is not simply the ability to wait rather it’s how we behave when we are waiting.  The Cork team have behaved well to date since the final of 2024 winning the League and Munster in 2025 so hopefully the wait is finally worth it.

 Camogie Fixtures

• Annual Ciara O Brien Blitz on Saturday 12th July in Castlelyons from 1pm to 6pm
• U17 Annual Imokilly Blitz on Sunday 13th July in Castlelyons from 1pm to 3pm
• U10 Camogie Blitz on Sunday 9th July in Aghada at 11am
• U8 Camogie Blitz on Sunday 13th July in Dungourney at 12pm.

GAA Fixtures

• Rebel Óg Under 18 football league Bride Rovers v Castlelyons on Thursday 9th July in Castlelyons at 7.30pm.
• Rebel Óg Under 12 football Bride Rovers v Castlelyons on Thursday 10th July in Pynes Field at 7pm.
• Rebel Óg Under 14 football Kilworth Araglen v Castlelyons on Friday 11th July in Kilworth at 7.30pm.
• Rebel Óg East Under 18 hurling championship Mayfield v Castlelyons on Friday 18th July in Mayfield at 7.30pm.

Kieran McGann:  Communications Officer.

Sponsor:  East Cork Oil.