CASTLEBRIDGE CELTIC

- New season upon us -

Castlebridge juniors will start competition next Sunday evening when they travel to play Cappoquin in the WWEC premier league. The game is fixed for a 7.30pm KO in Cappoquin under lights and should be a good test for the players to see how well pre-season has gone.

Some new and old faces have joined the squad this year and it will definitely be competitive for starting positions in the first few games as players try to get established.

Johnny and Chris have put a lot of work in to getting training and friendly matches organised and hopefully this will pay off in the results over the coming weeks. Underage back to league action.

The underage section of the club will be getting league teams back into action in the next few weeks. The U12s kick off the season on this Saturday with a home game against Brideview. On Sept 11th the U11s and U14s will start off and then the U16s and U17s will start on the last two weekends in September.

Training sessions have started again and we look forward to all our lads getting back on Wednesdays at 6pm for our U10s, Thursdays at 6pm for U11s and U12s, 7pm for U14s and 8pm for U16s and U17s. Our soccer academy will start back on Sept 11th with a session for the 5-7 year olds at 4pm followed by U8s at 5pm.

This year the club will have league teams for U8 (born 2002), U10 (born 2000), U11 (born 1999), U12 (born 1998), U14 (born 1996), U16 (born 1994) and U17 (born 1993).

Registration for all under age teams is now taking place so please get a form and make sure you are registered as soon as possible. Contact Vince Kearney at 087 9824277 or Paul Donnellan at 086 8733738 if you need any information on registration.

FIXTURES

Saturday, Sep. 4: WWEC Schoolboys League U12: Castlebridge v Brideview Utd. KO 11am in Bridesbridge. Players to be in dressing rooms for 10.30am. Sunday, Sep. 5: U11 Castlebridge v Watergrasshill Utd. KO 10.30am in Bridesbridge. Players to be in dressing rooms for 10am.
Sunday, Sep. 5: WWEC Premier Junior League: Castlebridge v Cappoquin. KO 7.30pm in Cappoquin. Cars leaving Bridesbridge at 6.15pm. Contact Chris at 087 6771011 if travelling direct to Cappoquin.

FAI Coaching Course held in Bridesbridge The club hosted a very successful coaching course last weekend with a total of 17 from Castlebridge plus another 5 from Kilworth and Fermoy taking part.

It was very good course and all that took part felt it well worth doing. All participants now have the Level 1 course completed and many will go on hopefully to do further courses.

Thanks to all who took time out to do the course and we expect that these new coaches will be a huge benefit to the club and to all our teams over the coming season.

ASTRO PITCH RENAL

Slots are filling up again fast on the all-weather pitch as we are taking bookings for September to December at the moment. Anyone interested in renting a slot please contact either Paul at 086 8733738 or Gene at 086 3754178 to make a booking.

LOTTO

Lotto draw held in The Abbey Bar on Friday, 27 August. Numbers drawn: 59, 64 and 100. No winner. Match 2s: Mary Hartnett, Miriam Quinn, Ollie Flaherty and Pat Whelan. Next draw on Friday, Sept 3 in The Peddlars Rock Jackpot €7,150. Tickets from usual sellers. Castlebridge Celtic wishes to thank all our weekly lotto members for your ongoing support.

KILDORRERY HILLTOP GOLFING SOCIETY

- Presidents prize a great success -

The second major competition of the Kildorrery Hilltop Golfing calendar took place at Charleville Golf Club on Saturday last when the members competed for Jim Costelloe’s president’s prize.

Charleville was a wonderful setting for the occasion and the golf was played in excellent conditions. The golf course was a severe test and the wind played a part in ensuring the scoring remained close throughout the day. The greens also tested the competitors and caused problems for many golfers.

Despite these tough conditions some good scores were returned.

For the second year in a row we had a first time president’s prize winner in Christopher Power whose 38pts (39-1) was good enough to hold off the rest of the field. Runner up was John Coughlan who had a very creditable 36pts. In third place was JP Leahy who finished with 34pts (35-1).

A big thank you to Pauline’s Gift Shop, Mitchelstown who was our main sponsor for the outing. Thanks also to our president Jim who has been a wonder president all year and for putting up a prize, which would be the envy of many golf clubs.

It was also great to have Jim’s family present for the presentation and to see his grandson present the wonderful prize to the winner Christopher Power. The golfer of the year competition was also decided on Saturday when Sean Coughlan capped off a wonderful year with solid performances throughout.

Willie O’Connor for the second year in a row claimed the runners-up spot. Willie will look back on his finish at Gold Coast earlier in the year and we wonder what might have been if he had played the last 3 holes differently.

The matchplay final between JP Leahy and Maurice Bermingham also took place in Cahir recently with JP claiming the matchplay title in convincing fashion for the second year in a row.

It is going to take a big effort from the Cork lads to prevent the Tipperary man from claiming the coveted three in a row next year. Full results as follows: President’s Prize: Christopher Power, 38pts (39-1); Second Overall: John Coughlan, 36pts; Third Overall: JP Leahy, 34pts (35-1); Category 1: Dave Nolan, 30pts; Category 2 Denis Hanrahan, 33pts; Category 3: John Lane, 31pts; Past president’s prize: Mick Reidy; Front Nine: Peter Collins, 20pts; Back Nine: Fr Tom Curran, 21pts; Nearest the Pin: Sean Coughlan, 27ft 2ins; Visitors prize: Denis Culligan 36pts; Golfer of the year 2010: Sean Coughlan; GOY runner-up: Willie O’Connor.

NEXT OUTINGS

Homebirds (captain’s selection) v Exiles (president’s selection). Date and venue to be decided. Overnight to the Heritage on 2nd October. Closing date for deposits 12th September.

GRANGE/FERMOY ATHLETIC CLUB

- Success for athletes at All-Ireland championships -

The track and field All-Ireland championships were held over a period of 3 days. The team events for the U9 - U11 were held in Templemore, Co Tipperary. Grange Athletic Club qualified in the ball throw competition, from the Munster championships in Castleisland. Aoife Hurley and Anna Leamy qualified out of the Munster championships with a combined throw of 61.95m.

A team mate Ciara Turner replaced Aoife for the All-Ireland competition. The result for both in this competition was 2nd place silver. Ciara Turner 28.77m, Anna Leamy 27.18m (combined 55.95m).

1st place gold in the competition went to Dunleer Athletic Club with a combined throw of 56.04m for Seoda Mathews and Emma Cheshire. 3rd place was awarded to Carraig na bhFear Athletic Club with a combined throw of 53.34m for Andrea Quinn O’Donovan and Maeve Daly.

The second day of the All-Ireland championship competition took place on Saturday 3 and Sunday, July 4 for the U12 – U19 age group. These competitions were held in Tullamore, Co Offaly. The two representatives from Grange were Aileen Hurley and Helena Noonan in individual competition.

Aileen Hurley took part in the hurdles U16. She competed over two distances 75m and 250m. In the 75m hurdles Aileen was placed 2nd in the final with a time of 12.50 secs. 1st place went to Ciara Joyles Doran, Ferrybank Athletic Club in 12.04 secs and 3rd was awarded to Lisa Earls, Inbhardee Athletic Club in 12.54 secs.

In the 250m hurdles Aileen was 2nd with a time of 37.47 secs. 1st was Ciara Joyles Doran in 34.25 secs and 3rd was Orla Furney, Gorey in 37.59. So well done Aileen on your achievements of two silver medals. Helena Noonan took part in the U17 800m.

Helena did not feature in the medal line up but in spite of this ran an outstanding race. The third day of the All-Ireland championships was held on Saturday, July 24. The Grange U17 relay girls team namely Helena Noonan, Celine Fitzgibbon, Zoe Doran and Julie Buckley, qualified for this event. They qualified for the finals but were beaten for medal placings.

Another season finishes in the track and field events. Well done to all our members and their successes over the past season, both in county, Munster and All-Ireland championships and also to those who competed in the various local sports held around the county during the summer months.

We would also like to thank all the parents who helped at the training session in Colaiste an Chraoibhin track every Tuesday and Thursday nights during the past few months. We now look forward as a club to the cross country season.

FORTHCOMING FIXTURES

September 19 – North Cork Cross Country Championships in Charleville. October 3 – Even Age Cross Country – County. October 10 – Uneven Age Cross Country – County. October 17 – Even Age Cross Country – Munster. November 7 – Uneven Age Cross Country – Munster. November 21 – All-Ireland Even Age and Country. November 28 – Munster B and Country. December 5 – All-Ireland Uneven Age and Country.

TRAINING

Training will start in St Colman’s field on Tuesday, September 7 and Thursday, September 9 for all athletes interested in competing in cross country. Starting time is 7pm. The training session will finish at 8pm.

Circuit training for all others not interested in taking part in cross country training will resume in St Colman’s pitch or hall every Tuesday night from 7-8pm. New members are welcome to attend. Any queries contact Clo Fitzgibbon 086-3162145.

OPEN SPORTS EVENING - FRIDAY

Grange Athletic Club will hold a juvenile open sports in Colaiste an Chraoibhin track, Fermoy on Friday, September 3 at 6.30pm sharp. Athletes must compete in their own age group but can move up one age group if an event is not catered for in their own age group.

The programme of events for boys/girls is as follows: 2005 - U6 50m, 2004 – U7 50m, 2003 – U8 50m, 2002 – U9 60m, 400m, ball throw, 2001 – U10 60m, long jump, relay, 2000 – U11 80m, 400m, ball throw, 1999 – U12 80m, long jump, relay, 1998 – U13 100m, 800m, long jump, 1997 – U14 100m, 800m, relay, shot, 1996 – U15 100m, long jump, 1995 – U16 100m, 800m, shot, 1994 – U17 100m, relay, long jump, relays: mixed 4 x 100m – U10, U12, U14, U17. Novelty races for parents.

The programme is varied to suit all age groups so come along and enjoy the last track and field sports fixture of the season. This event is open to anyone who would like to participate. Athletes do not have to be members of athletic clubs to take part.

KILWORTH G.A.A.

- Final for minor footballers -

MAFC SEMI-FINAL

Kilworth 2-10 Blackthorns 0-8
Fermoy hosted this minor A football championship game on Tuesday night as we took on Mitchelstown for a place in the decider against Charleville. The sides exchanged early points with Sean Keane on hand to level after an early Blackthorns score.

The Mitchelstown side added two more but tenacious defending from Kilworth ensured no goal chances came their way. A quick Aidan Condon free led to Noel McNamara registering our next score before Shane Keane was upended allowing us a chance to tie the contest once more.

Will Condon stepped up and fired over the resulting free but Blackthorns responded swiftly with another point. Nathan Byrne then set off on a run finding Shane Keane in space who duly obliged putting the sides all square for the third time. A Sean Keane point just before the whistle left us 0-5 to 0-4 ahead at half-time.

Blackthorns were quick out of the blocks in the second period and added four unanswered points to their tally. Our next score came when Eoin Condon’s quick free set up Noel McNamara for his second point. Eoin had the white flag raised in the next phase of play following some great work from wing back Dave Mannix.

The game’s pivotal score came four minutes later when a pinpoint pass from Nathan Byrne found Noel McNamara who rounded his man before firing home Kilworth’s first goal.

Will Condon followed that with a free from an acute angle before Nathan Byrne sent a long range free over increasing our advantage to four points. Aidan Condon then linked up nicely with Eoin resulting in the latter pointing nicely.

Aidan then killed off the contest approaching full-time when he fisted home a Sean Keane pass to seal the win.

The final will take place next Tuesday night against Charleville in Ballyhooly and the club would like to wish all involved the very best of luck. Team and scorers: Donal Horgan, Pa Aherne, Gary McCarthy, Darragh Allen, Brien Roche, Nathan Byrne (0-1 free), Dave Mannix, Will Condon (0-2 frees), Shane Keane (0-1), Kieran Twomey, Aidan Condon (1-0), Michael O’ Callaghan, Eoin Condon (0-2), Sean Keane (0-2) and Noel McNamara (1-2).

JAHC QUARTER-FINAL

Kilworth 2-21 Charleville 2-13
We travelled to Doneraile on Sunday last where Charleville provided the opposition in the quarter-final of this year’s junior A hurling championship. It was our opponents who started stronger with three early points but we soon found our feet and three points from Justin Aherne had us all square approaching the end of the first quarter.

Two more points from Justin and Paddy Moakley edged us ahead but Charleville replied with two of their own. Paddy soon had the games first goal when he flicked home a ball in from centre forward Noel Gowen.

We were looking in command with a five point advantage nearing the end of the half however a late goal saw Charleville right back in the contest at the interval. We started the second half in fine style when Sean Beecher’s long ball in to Ned O’Brien resulted in the latter firing to the net for Kilworth’s second goal.

Justin was pinpoint accurate from dead ball situations and a brace from him along with a Paddy Moakley point put us in the driving seat once more. Two more Aherne free’s were exchanged with the opposition making for a tight final quarter.

However, we pulled away with points from Shane O’Brien, Justin (2) and Paddy approaching the end of the game. Charleville did have a late consolation goal to which Ned O’Brien responded with a fantastic point from distance to seal our passage to the semi-final. Final score Kilworth 2-21 Charleville 2-13.
Team and scorers: Michael McCormack, Brien Roche, Henry Allen, Declan Tobin, Kevin Whelan, Kieran O’Donoghue, Chris Kenny, Shane O’Brien (0-1), Sean Beecher, Brian Whelan, Noel Gowen, Justin Aherne (0-13, 0-10 frees), Mark Kenny, Ned O’Brien (1-2) and Paddy Moakley (1-5). Subs used: Kenny Murphy for C Kenny and Aidan Condon for B Whelan.

SYMPATHY

The club would like to extend sympathy to the relatives of the late Kitty Linehan, Kylebeg and the Mannix family, Fermoy on their recent bereavements.

LOTTO

Kilworth GAA lotto rolls over to €1200 this coming week after no punter matched last Monday night’s winning numbers. 7, 11, 19 and 23 were drawn on the night for a €1050 jackpot. €20 lucky dips went to Eilish Ryder, John Finn, Paddy Long and Gerry Shelley. Our next lotto draw will take place in the clubrooms this coming Monday evening for a jackpot of €1200. Tickets available locally for just €2. Your continued support is much appreciated.

ALL-IRELAND FOOTBALL FINAL TICKETS

Names for All-Ireland football final tickets are to be in with club secretary Shane Tobin (087 9425635) by this Sunday evening September 5th at 7.00pm. The draw will take place at our weekly meeting on Monday night, September 6th. This will give those who do not get a ticket in the draw a chance to source them elsewhere. Please note those entering the draw must be attending the game.

CONGRATULATIONS

A number of Kilworth hurlers lined out for Cork underage sides in the last week, namely Michael Wade at U15, Noel McNamara at U17 and Nathan Byrne also at U17. The lads acquitted themselves very well and this is a major achievement in their short careers to date. The club would like to congratulate each of the lads on reaching this milestone.

CO BOARD DRAW

Maurice McNamara was the lucky winner of a laptop/television voucher in the recent Co Board Draw. Congratulations to Maurice on his win.

FOOTBALL TITLE FOR MITCHESLTOWN

The club would like to congratulate Mitchelstown on capturing the North Cork junior A football championship last Sunday overcoming Kilshannig at Doneraile. Best of luck in the county section.

O2 ENGAGE – CLUB FUNDRAISING

O2 Engage enables club members to give up to 5% of their monthly spend directly to their GAA Club. As well as this, O2 will donate an extra €5 for every club member that switches network to O2 and takes part in O2 Engage.

How to join - Go to www.O2.ie/corkgaa ; Select Kilworth GAA and submit your phone number(s). Once done, 5% of your spend will be given to Kilworth GAA. This will not cost you anything extra. O2 in March 2011 will donate 5% of the peoples spend for those signed up to Kilworth GAA to Kilworth GAA.

This applies to both pre-pay and bill-pay mobiles. For those who are not up to speed with the IT world and still wish to sign up, you can ask any committee member the they will take your details and register for you.

FIXTURES

Junior A hurling championship semi-final Kilworth v Shanballymore in Ballyhooly this Saturday evening at 6.00pm. Minor A football championship final Kilworth v Charleville in Ballyhooly next Tuesday evening at 6.45pm.

GLANWORTH G.A.A.

- Glanworth reach two finals -

U21 B HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINAL

Harbour Rovers 3-18 Doneraile 3-10
Our U21 hurlers earned the right to contest the North Cork final when they overcame Doneraile in a high scoring game played in Castletownroche on Sunday evening. In a game where every Glanworth player contributed to an important victory, special plaudits go to Alex Sheehan who notched 2-5 from play in a scintillating performance.

We jumped into a four point lead in the opening seven minutes, the scores coming from Martin Roche, Davy Pyne and Alex Sheehan (2), three players who once again played superbly over the hour

. A Doneraile point was countered by an Alex white flag, but a minute later Doneraile goaled to bring them back into the game. But our players were eager for the fray and the hard working Aidan Condon rattled home a great goal to lift the spirits of the boys in green.

We were working hard and two points from Martin Roche and a point from Aidan Condon were no more than we deserved. Doneraile were a good team and slotted over some good points to narrow the margin.

But in the last minute of the half Alex Sheehan showed craft and guile to rifle his second goal to the net to give us a 2-8 to 1-5 advantage at the interval. In the first half we had outstanding performances from our half backs John Blackburne, Sean O’Keeffe and Michael O’Neill, while Stephen Dunne was inspirational at full back.

Doneraile began the second half well but their best efforts were countered by three glorious points from Martin Roche. The quality of play from both sides was impressive but we had four excellent points from play, our marksmen being Alex Sheehan, Martin Roche, Sean Og Quinn and Shane O’Riordan.

With ten minutes of play left Doneraile got a good goal but any doubts in our minds were eased when Alex Sheehan got his second goal of the game. We followed up this inspirational score with a point each from Davy Pyne, David O’Sullivan and Alex Sheehan.

A late flourish from Doneraile saw them add 1-1 to their total but we emerged victors at the end of a most enjoyable game. Doneraile played very well and were gracious in defeat. Referee Walter Cole had no problems with two sporting sides and as always, the facilities in Castletownroche were top class.

Our mentors have instilled real self belief into this group of players and we are looking forward to the final with keen anticipation. Team: Martin Jackson, Michael Cremin, Stephen Dunne, Emmet Sheehan, John Blackburne, Sean O’Keeffe, Ml O’Neill, Dave Pyne (0-2), Francis John O’Flynn, Martin Roche (0-7), Sean Og Quinn (0-1), Wm Jackson, Hugh O’Neill, Aidan Condon (1-1) and Alex Sheehan (2-5). Subs played: Shane O’Riordan (0-1), Ross Murphy, David O’Sullivan (0-1) and Johnny Magnier.

MINOR B FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINAL

Glanworth 1-8 Kildorrery 2-4
After an exciting game our minor footballers go forward to contest the championship final. Kildorrery proved to be formidable opponents as they fought back bravely and we were happy to earn our place in the final where we will be attempting to achieve a championship/league double.

The first half was very keenly contested with both defences proving very difficult to breach. Philip Blackburne and Sean O’Neill were rock solid at the heart of our rearguard while Ross Murphy, Shane O’Riordan and Francis John O’Flynn were prominent in all our attacks.

We had an interval lead of 0-5 to 0-2 with our scores coming from Diarmuid Colfer and Shane O’Riordan with a point each, while Francis John O’Flynn had three points to his credit. After 5 minutes of the second half Jerry Foley got a splendid goal after Shane O’Riordan powered through the heart of the Kildorrery defence. Shane added another point to our account and we appeared to be in control of our destiny.

But Kildorrery were not going to concede tamely and two goals put the game into the melting pot. A vital point from Ross Murphy saw the sides level on a scoreline of 1-7 to 2-4 with three minutes of play remaining. After losing a good lead we were in danger of surrendering our opportunity of reaching the final.

In the remaining pulsating minutes we were resolute and Ross Murphy proved to be our ace as he slipped over the winning point. It was the narrowest of winning margins but we worked earnestly over the hour to achieve our goal of contesting another final.

This was a good win and the spirit of our side reflects well on the mentors who have instilled a never say die attitude in their charges. We thank Kildorrery for a really sporting contest and look forward to the final.

We have always put immense emphasis into our under age structures as this provides the springboard for adult glory. Team: Brian Roche, Niall Fogarty, Philip Blackburne, Paul Duffy, Diarmuid Colfer (0-1), Sean O’Neill, Shane Quinlan, Ross Murphy (0-2), Thomas Condon, Callum Robinson, Shane O’Riordan (0-2), Francis John O’Flynn (0-3), Bill O’Flynn, Eugene Rice, Jerry Foley (1-0). Sub played: Brian Duffy.

LOTTO

On August 24 the jackpot was €2,900 and the numbers drawn were 7, 12, 24 and 30. There was no winner and the €25 lucky dip winners were: Billy McAuliffe, c/o Mac’s Bar; Owenie McAuliffe c/o himself; Terence Ryan, c/o Pauline O’Dwyer and Billy Feore, c/o Marian O’Callaghan. The jackpot is now €3,000 and the next draw will benefit the funds of Glanworth Community Council.

BURNCOURT CELTIC F.C.

- A solid start! -

LEAGUE THREE DIVISION

Redsmondstown 1 Burncourt Celtic 1
On Sunday last we travelled to Redsmondstown to play our first league game of the season. Both teams were in good form having won their first round shield match the previous week and were looking for the three points.

Burncourt started the brighter with Pa Ryan and Alan Carter getting on the ball in the final third. Alex Meaney making his second start for Celtic was also doing well on the right getting in some good crosses.

Our best chance fell to James English on 15 minutes when his header from 10 yards was saved by the Redsmondstown goalkeeper. On 25 minutes Burncourt took the lead when a cross into the box was not dealt with by the Redsmondstown defence and James English pounced to score from six yards out.

As the half ticked on it looked as we would have a second with both Alan Carter and Pa Ryan having shots on goal.

However, we started to give away needless free kicks before half-time which invited pressure on us, from one of these free kicks Redsmondstown won a corner and scored from it to leave the scoreline level at 1-1 at the break. In the second half both sides were even enough with Burncourt having the better chances both Pa Ryan and Martin Burke unlucky not to score from chances created, and the match finished 1-1.

A solid start to the season with a point on board away from home.

GOLDEN GOAL

Our golden goal game from last Sunday was Everton v Aston Villa with the first goal coming in the ninth minute, congrats to the winner! The selected game for this week is Ireland v Armenia which is on this Friday night, 03/09/10. Thank you for your continued support.

SPONSORED WALK

At the time of writing nearly all cards are in and there has been good funds raised. We will get the last couple of cards in this week and publish the figure raised in next week’s notes. Thank you all so much for your support.

FIXTURES

We hope to have a match for our U11 team next Saturday we will have more details at training. Afterwards Dave Lehane, FAI coach will be taking the junior team for training also, be at the pitch at 7.15. Next fixture for the junior team is away to Redsmondstown in the shield semi-final next Saturday evening at 6pm.