Thursday, 15th December 2016 Review Card For East Cork Clubs by DECLAN BARRON


Now is the time when club Annual General meet- ings will elect new officers, selectors, and pick new coaches for the upcoming season. With that in mind, I have taken a look back at


the current season to


see who did well and who could do better and work harder. This report card is a personal opinion and ac- knowledges the great work being done in all GAA clubs by dedicated volun- teers. Going in alphatabet- ical order we will rate each club in the division.


Aghada Better known for their


football prowess, Aghada are the only East Cork rep- resentative in the Senior football championship and while they have struggled in recent times they did manage to avoid relega- tion. However being out of the football meant that the club could give their full attention to the small ball game and they racked up wins against Blackrock and Castlemartyr before going out to eventual champions Fr O’Neill’s on a day when had they taken their chanc- es they might well have won. Their report card would read: going in the right direction and looking forward to 2017.


Ballinacurra Squashed between Agha-


da and Midleton, Ballina- curra continues to plough a lone furrow in the Junior grades and in football they can hold their own with the best in the grade. In hurl- ing small numbers hamper their efforts but with a dedi- cated handful of great club- men, the men and women of “The Village” continue to keep the Gaa alive in their neck of the woods. 2016 was not a great year for them but it did see a number of young players impress so the future does look bright for them.


Bride Rovers Playing in the


senior


hurling championship the Rathcormack men con- tinue to impress and wins over Youghal and Avond- hu secured their status for 2017. While they failed to make it to the semi-finals they continue to box above their weight and with a strong club structure


in


place Bride Rovers contin- ue to go from strength to strength with 2016 being a good year for them.


Carrig Na BhFear This small dual club is


really what the GAA is all about and while success does come every now and then, each year offers re- newed hope that success will come their way. Carrig are one of the best dual clubs in the division with great hurlers and football- ers coming through the ranks over the years. Tim- my Geany led Imokilly with pride in the senior hurling championship this year and while success elud- ed the club in 2016, they will certainly be looking ahead to 2017 and what it may hold for them.


Cobh The Catherdral men


have fallen on lean times at present and while they reached two junior football finals, victory eluded them on both occasions. Great work is now being done at underage level and while it may take a few years for all this work to bear fruit, the future of Cobh is in safe hands. Until these new kids arrive on the block, the cur- rent contingent will contin- ue to battle hard and hope that 2017 will see them ac- cross the line as winners.


Carrigtwohill Another club with a


proud history and who are one of the clubs playing in the senior hurling cham- pionship. A tough opener saw them run Sarsfields close while they were some- what surprisingly beaten by Ballyea to put them out of the running and into the relegation battle, where they came with a late run to defeat Youghal in Kil- leagh with Niall McCarthy proving the match win- ner at the finish. Overall I would say that 2016 was a poor enough one for Car- rigtwohill although their junior side did play well. They will certainly hope to improve in 2017.


Castlelyons A club with plenty of


potential in both hurling and football, but they will feel that in 2016 that they failed to reach their po- tential. Losing the opener to Inniscarra in


the Pre- mier Intermediate hurling @eastcorkjournal / #eastcorkjournal


championship, put the pressure on from the start and while they did pro- duce a great display to de- feat Courcey Rovers, they came up against an in-form Ballinhassig who ran out comfortable winners at the finish. The loss of Colm Spillane through injury was a big blow so they will cer- tainly look forward to his return for the new year. In the big ball game lack of forward power probably cost them in the finish but while 2016 was not a great year for the “Abbeysiders” they can certainly look for- ward to 2017 with renewed purpose with a new chair- man at the helm.


Cloyne A proud club both on


and off the field and in 2016 they again probably defied the odds with some terrific displays which saw them take Silverware in the East Cork Junior football championship. At Premier Intermediate hurling they were also there to the fnish, with wins over Kanturk and Fermoy putting them into the knockout stages. The defeat of Ballinhassig caused a huge ripple and with Fermoy again the semi-final opponent, hopes were high that they could reach the final. Both sides played out a thrilling draw, but in the replay, Fermoy proved to be the better side and progressed to the final. Cloyne regrouped and took on the big ball with gusto, winning out in East Cork. However it was off the field that Cloyne showed their true ability as they opened their new facilities with a game between Cork and Clare to mark what was a superb occasion for the club. Cloyne in my opinion continue to punch above their weight.


Castlemartyr Last


year Castlemartyr


held their own at Interme- diate level with an opening round win over Milford, but after a long wait they went out to Aghada in an East Cork derby. On the football front Castlemartyr continue to be one of the front runners but 2016 was not one of their better sea- sons so they will hope that their fortunes fare better in 2017.


Dungourney This year saw Dungour-


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ney establish themselves as an Intermediate club, able to take on the best. 2015 had been a terrific year for the “Duns” who got their 2016 campaign off to a winning start with victory over Douglas and Augh- abolloghue before taking eventual champions Fr O’Neill’s right to the wire in a thrilling contest. With the hurling going well the foot- ball did suffer but looking back on 2016 one can say that Dungourney certainly held their own in the grade and with a relatively young side they can look forward to 2017 with high hopes of making further progress.


Erin’s Own Perhaps the success story


of 2016, but without the fairy tale ending as Erin’s Own made it all the way to the county senior hurling final. Along the way they played some superb hurl- ing with wins over C.I.T., St Finbarrs after a replay, Imokilly with a last gasp winner and then Midleton before defeating Blackrock in the semi-final, setting them up for a crack at champions Glen Rovers in the final. In the finish they suffered a two point defeat, 2-11 to 0-19 on a day when little went right for them. However the clubs U21 side got some form of com- pensation with a smashing victory over Ballincollig in a great final, making it a good but not great year for the Caherlag outfit.


Fr O’Neill’s Certainly the


success


story of 2016 must be Fr O’Neill’s who produced some terrific displays on the way to capturing the Intermediate hurling title. The Aghavoine outfit de- feated Carrigaline, Meelin, Castlemartyr, Dungourney and Aghada before go- ing up against Kildorrery in the Final. It took a re- play before the outcome was finally decided in Fr O’Neill’s favor as promo- tion to the premier grade was achieved. With a young side further progress can be expected in the com- ing years, but for now Fr O’Neill’s can look back on a job well done. It was a great year for them and they probably paid a price at U21 level losing out to a strong Blackrock side in the semi-final. Still 2016 was a huge success story for Fr O.Neill’s and Noel Furlong who proved his credentials as a fine coach.


Glanmire The all football club in


the division, continues to make progress and with a good number of young players coming through their ranks, this should en- sure that they continue to be in the premier grade for the forseeable


future.


Winning at this level is nev- er easy but Glanmire can again challenge in 2017.


Glenville Like Glanmire, the men always give


of Glenville


their all in pursuit of vic- tory. The sister club of Watergrasshill means that when both are doing well it becomes difficult to pro- gress, so Glenville would need the “Hill” to go bad- ly for them to get the best out of the players they have at their disposal. They will certainly look forward to 2017 and hope that the first round draws are favourable as to win the opening round takes a lot of pressure off for dual clubs with small playing numbers.


Imokilly Not a club in the truest


sense of the word, but those that pull on the striped jersey play for it as if it was their own club. They again produced some fine displays defeating UCC in the opener and that big scalp gave them confdence to take out Killeagh before eventually going out to Er- in’s Own who were more than happy to escape with victory over an Imokilly side that will certainly be looking forward to the 2017 season. That the division continues to opt out in foot- ball is a dissappointment as there is plenty of talent within the division, but it needs to be harnessed and given a go.


Killeagh The Killeagh club can look back on what for them was a year that they con- solidated their position as a senior side with a first round win over Muskerry. While they lost to New- townshandrum they ac- counted for UCC to keep them safe and while further progress was not achieved the Killeagh club can feel well pleased with their 2016 performance. Off the field they too are leading the way with their Healthy Club initative and hope- fully this will continue and spread to the other clubs within the division.


Lisgoold Great work being done


off the field will soon see the clubs fortunes rise on the field as their new fa- cilities are second to none. That work done by a great club committee must now be turned into success on the hurling and football front and after some decent displays in 2016 the club will be hoping that 2017 smiles on them.


Midleton Always one of the front


runners in the senior hurl- ing championship, Mid- leton can look back on a decent enough season that saw them claim some big scalps with Bishopstown, Sarsfields and St Finbarr’s going under to the Magpies before going out to Erin’s Own on a day that they did not produce their best display. The club were also in the Intermediate grade and while they lost to Glen Rovers in the opener, they defeated Inniscarra before going out to Eire Óg in their third game. The club also had two further jun- ior sides in action and with a huge underage success story as well the future of the Magpies is definitley in good hands. Expectations will always be high in Mid- leton, but they can look for- ward to 2017 with renewed hope of going all the way.


Russell Rovers This junior club con-


tinues to work really hard both on and off the field and while success is never easy to achieve they con- tinue to battle hard and are one of the best organ- ised clubs within the divi- sion. Their box off with Fr O’Neills is already a sell out and should bring 2016 to a successful conclusion for both clubs.


Sarsfields Certainly a mixed sea-


son for the Riverstown club who bowed out early in the senior hurling champion- ship. a first round win over Carrigtwohill set up a coun- ty final repeat with Glen Rovers and while it took the champions two games to get the better of Sars, it left


take all game against Mid- leton who came out on top. The clubs junior sides were however making waves as both the junior “A” and “B” sides swept all before them in East Cork and while both made it all the way to the county final, neither en- joyed much look on the day as both lost out in the finals.


St Ita’s Having been in the East


Cork Final in 2015, much was expected from the Pil- more outfit this year but after an opening round de- feat to St Catherine’s their fortunes went from bad to worse with Seamie Harne- dy carrying an injury, they made an early exit. Small clubs like St Ita’s come to the fore every now and again and so they will look to 2017 as their chance to atone for their 2015 loss.


St. Catherine’s The men from Ballynoe


flattered to decieve in 2016 as their early form would suggest that they were go- ing to be real contenders after defeating St Ita’s in their opener. They contin- ued to go from strength as a successful campaign saw them reach the final against Sarsfields, but whether it was the weight of expec- tation that got to them, or the brillance of Sarsfields on the day, but the wheels came off the St Catherine’s wagon. They will hope to hitch up again in the New Year and they will certainly be one of the fancied sides again in 2017.


Watergrasshill The sister club of Glen-


ville in the North corner of the division, work very hard and as just one of three East Cork clubs in the Premier Intermediate hurling they battle in every game. Success against Blar- ney in the opener was a welcome win, but they then came up against an inform Mallow side who proved far too strong on the day. They wend downhill after that defeat, but “The Hill” will rise again in 2017 where they will hope to get a fa- vourable draw.


Youghal At the end of tha al-


them facing a winner


pabeth Youghal also fin- ished bottom of the pile in 2016 as after defeats to Bride Rovers and Bish- opstown in their first two games, they ended up meeting Carrigtwohill in the relegation play off where they again lost out at the finish. In football they also failed to make any real impression and while the club are really well organ- ised as witnessed with the hosting of the East Cork final, on the field they are struggling a little with some new blood needed to revive their fortunes in 2017.


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