Castlelyons GAA Notes weekended 8.12.25.

Castlelyons no match for Cobh in East Cork Under 21 C Grade Hurling Final.

Cobh 6-20 Castlelyons 0-12.

We travelled to Park South, Midleton on Friday last as Castlelyons under 21 hurlers took on Cobh in the East Cork C Grade Final.  Congratulations to Midleton on their new development as Park South is really taking shape and we played the game on a full sized fully lit synthetic pitch. They also have another fully lit turf pitch and two others almost complete.  Back to the game and it was certainly not a good outing for our lads.  Cobh dominated this game from the start as they were superior in almost all areas, and it was 2-13 to 0-3 at half time.  The game was 13 a side even though there were plenty subs about.  Then I looked through the programme of the East Cork Junior A Final of Sunday 26th October.  I noted Cobh had ten (10) of that team that recorded a strong 3-19 to 3-11 win against Bride Rovers.  This included their goalie, two full backs, the three half back line and forwards that scored 3-15 out of 3-19 against the Rovers that day.

We fielded ten minors and three of our junior B team.  And all our subs were minors also.  We were under pressure from with start with such a mismatch but fair play to the lads overall as they their best throughout the game. There is no doubt it this Cobh team are very good and more suited to a higher grading. We will learn from the experience as the player development gained up to the final was very good.  Cobh have since gone on to defeat Tracton 5-19 to 0-16 in the quarter final of the county and we wish them the best of luck in this competition.

Castlelyons Panel: Kevin Barry, Gearoid McCarthy, Matthew Rosner, John O’Neill, Oran Hickey, Dylan Leetch, Oisin Morrison, Sean Óg McGuire, Olan Linehan, Cathal Sheehan, Brian Spillane, Cees Kouwenberg, Jack Cremin, Adam Lardner Shane Hallihan, Tom O’Neill, Ronan Ryan, Darragh Bransfield, Sean O’Callaghan.

Ireland Lights Up - commencing Wednesday 7th January 2026. 

The GAA is delighted to announce that Ireland Lights Up and the Irish Life GAA Healthy Clubs Steps Challenge will return on January 7th, 2026, running over 5 weeks until the 11th of February bringing communities across the country together once again in a shared commitment to health, fitness, and wellbeing.  Each winter, hundreds of GAA clubs open their gates and light up their walking tracks, pitches, and community spaces, offering safe, bright, and welcoming environments for people of all ages and abilities to get fit and active.

In partnership with Irish Life, the GAA’s Healthy Clubs Steps Challenge will run alongside Ireland Lights Up, encouraging clubs to collectively track their steps and support one another in building healthy habits through the darker winter months.  Win a Share of €30,000* in Funding for your Club Get your club off to a good start in 2026 and a chance of winning a share of €30,000 in club funding, up for grabs in the 7th Irish Life GAA Healthy Clubs Steps Challenge on MyLife.   The 5-week challenge kicks off on January 7th and wraps up on February 11th.  It is intended to have one supervised evening per week and there will be more detail on social media.  Would you be interested!

Get your GAA Plus 26 Season Pass for only €79 now

Cuman Lúthchleas Gael with to let all patrons you know about an offer running from now until December 31st to purchase a 2026 GAA+ Season Pass for only €79.  This limited time offer unlocks every GAA+ exclusive match in 2026 for only €79 before the price increases to €95 from January 1st. This change reflects the rising cost of delivery and alignment to other subscription platform pricing.

This is best in class live match coverage and analysis during the season, while also delivering new weekly shows and innovative content from our newly built studio facility in Croke Park. Keep an eye on GAA+ social channels for more on that soon! The match schedule will be released in early 2026 and made available through all the usual GAA+ channels. See this link to purchase now for yourself or as a gift for the GAA fan in your life help@gaaplus.ie

East Cork Board promoting football again.

The East Cork Board are making a big effort to promote football in the Division for 2026.  The following have been ratified by the Executive as part of the Imokilly Football management: - Seanie Bowes (Castlemartyr), Jimmy Cronin (Midleton), Aidan Darius (Youghal), Paul Driscoll (Youghal), Martin Enright (Castlemartyr), Dan Lenihan (Glenville), Pat McHugh (Glenville), John O’Connor (Aghada).  They will be upcoming meetings as both the Executive and Management wish to work closely with clubs in running the divisional senior football team and the various club teams also.  It is unfortunate that that Glanmire a huge club are now left East Cork and plying their trade in the Cork City (Seandún) Division.  The decided to switch to the city for 2025 as they have a huge number of players and were not getting enough games in East Cork.  They will be a loss as they always supplied some great players to Imokilly like Tadgh Murphy & Bertie Óg Murphy, Brian Lotty, Teddy McCarthy and Michael Cussen. However, Sarsfields are still with East cork in hurling.

Castlelyons under twelves show the way for 2025 with Five Cups.

A review of the 2025 season shows that all our teams were most competitive, and we had a good year.  However, our under twelve hurlers and footballers had an exceptional season winning five cups.  In the the Rebel Óg East U12 Football Group 4 Final played in Glenville, we defeated Bride Rovers on a score Castlelyons 2-12 Bride Rovers 1-3.  They game was a tough battle and despite some massive pressure from the Rovers at times and had a few points to spare on the full-time whistle.

In the Rebel Óg East Under 12 Hurling Group 3 Cup Final it was also a local derby game versus the Rovers, and we came out on top on a score Castlelyons 4-5 Bride Rovers 2-2.  This was an excellent game, and we were lucky to build up a bit of a lead in the first half because the Rovers made it fairly exciting in the second half. 

It is always nice to be invited to club blitzes and tournaments as players get an opportunity to express themselves in a kind of free spirit because they are not tied by championship and they meet up with teams from other areas. Our under 12 hurlers were invited to the Colman Dillon Tournament in Erins Own on Saturday and it was reminiscent of tournament games in olden days. The games were very well organised, and we came through our group to play Glenroe of Limerick in the final.

We played mighty in that first half with the score 0-5 to 0-4 at half time in favour of the Limerick side. Tom Barry was solid in goals with Fionn O Neill and Eoghan McCarthy working hard and hurling a lot of ball. We missed some goal opportunities and had a few wides in the second half, but Jack Cronin, Robbie Wallace and Rian Fitzgerald got on top around the middle. Cian O’Donovan got a cracking goal. He then showed nerves of steel to put over a last minute free out by the sideline to give us a one-point win on a full-time score Castlelyons 1-6 Glenroe 1-5.  The team were also victorious in two other tournaments.  Well done to all including their coaches Declan Wallace, Michael O’Donovan, Paul Cashman, Declan Martin and Barry Fitzgerald.

Panel: Sean Ekechukwu Tom Barry, Darren Buckley, Bobby Hosford, Fionn O'Neil, Liam Cashman, Jack Cronin, Luke Dolan, Robbie Wallace, Rìan Fitzgerald, Cìan O’Donovan, Eoghan McCarthy, Dara McCarthy, Liam Martin, Robbie Milward, Callaghan McCarthy, Flynn Murphy, Diarmuid Ó hUallacháin, Mason White, Harvey White, Morgan O’Driscoll, Noah O’Loughlin.

Castlelyons GAA Lotto Results - Monday 8.12.25 - Jackpot now €20,000

The results of the draw held on Monday 8.12.25 had the following numbers drawn 9, 13, 21 and 23. There was no Jackpot winner which was €20,000.   The Lucky Dip Winners of €20 each were as follows: - Ciarán Barry (CM), Danny Healy (CH), Malachy Cullen (JM), Will & Conor (CD), Ita Madden (TN), Paul Bary (MH), Catherine Murphy (CD), and Kitty Murphy (JB)

The Jackpot is now a massive €20,000.  The next Draw will be held in the Community Centre on Monday 15th December at 8pm. Thank you all for your support and don’t forget you can play our Lotto Online or purchase from the usual outlets.

Notes: Kieran McGann, Communications Officer

Club Sponsor: East Cork Oil.