56 East Cork Aghada Juvenile GAA by MIKE DALY


Billy Ahern 2017 U12 FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT A feast of football


played out on an im- maculate new pitch, on a wonderfully crisp bright winter’s morning on Sunday November 5th


in


Rostellan. The crowds in attendance were treated to a spectacle that en- thralled and also paid a fitting tribute to a club stalwart, the late Ahern.


Billy Aghada hosted our


annual u12 football tour- nament which has been now named in honour of the late Billy Ahern, a talented dual player for the club, skilful and courageous in his day. Numerous club acco- lades were achieved and he also starred at centre forward when Imokilly brought the Cork Senior title back to the Baro- ny of East Cork for the first time in 1983. To be presenting the new cup in his honour in such a week of high achieve- ment for the adult men and ladies clubs of Agha- da, is fitting timing. He was a great


character


to have in the dressing room and club at large and was a very highly re- garded person by all who had the pleasure to know him and is greatly missed by his family, colleagues and friends. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. Four eager teams took


to the Forest Pitch in Rostellan on a day that belied the time of year. Last year’s Plate winners, Fr. O’Neills, Kiltha Óg, Youghal and Aghada. 2 pitches were set up on the Forest field which stood out in all its glory in the bright


sunshine


and was in immaculate condition as usual thanks to Pat and his team. The huge expanse of grass accommodated the


4


teams playing side by side and this added to the atmosphere on the day with some support- ers filling the south bank


and others finding the sideline a more enticing spot. There was room for everyone and every- one supported the home club’s suggestion that the kids be left to play and to stand back and enjoy the morning. We were hon- oured to have the help of


club referees Brian


Walsh and Cathal McAl- lister along with Michael Franklin, Midleton, who all made the day more meaningful


with their


contributions. The hosts lined up on


pitch 1 for the morning with the guest teams ro- tating between this and pitch 2. The hosts sprint- ed from the blocks in the first game vs Kiltha Óg and were duly rewarded with the victory against a very spirited side who had the upper hand ear- lier in the season in the league. 2-03 0-01 This was a sign of


things to come and the second game quickly fol- lowed.


Up against Youghal,


a drawn game in the league and the most re- cent meeting between the teams was in the A hurling league final, in which Youghal narrowly pipped Aghada for the ti- tle. This game burst into life with both sides going end to end, with scores at a premium. Defences stood firm as points were exchanged and then the game burst into life with the Aghada lads striding forward. Youghal moved a corner forward out the field and started to run through the home de- fence, which yielded a couple of scores. Agha- da made a change that stopped the Youghal tide and from there it was all Aghada to run out com- fortable


winners. The


hosts ability for point kicking was the differ- ence in the end. 3-08 1-02 The third group game year’s


saw last beaten


Plate finalists play the Plate winners from the inaugural u12 Football tournament, Fr. O’Neills. In truth, it was apparent very quickly that


the


Rostellan boys had their gander up and the scores came thick and fast, with the host harbouring am- bitions of a place in the Cup final. Goals flowed and again points were kicked that were out of the top drawer, which had the finger prints of u11 coach Seanie O’Keeffe all over them! O’Neills are a game crew and never gave up which is a huge testament to their mentors and club. 4-06 0-01 Following the


group


games, each team had a few minutes break and then every team gathered at the south side of the Forest pitch to face the National and club flags for Amhrán na bhFiann. Teams


stood shoulder


to shoulder as one and there was a short address from none other than All Ireland winning captain and manager, Conor Counihan. He spoke to the attentive crowd about enjoying the game, how Billy would be delighted with the day and direct- ed to the players how im- pressed he was with the day and especially the players’ endeavours and skill levels. The Cup and Plate


finals would be a repeat of the second round of games with Fr. O’Neill’s and Kiltha Óg contest- ing the Plate. This was almost a game too far for the 2 teams as they were both depleted by injuries and in true sporting fash- ion, O’Neills reduced their team number to match Kiltha’s numbers. A most fitting decision and typical of


the man


the day was in honour of. The game itself was a rip roaring contest with not an inch given by either side. The lead swayed back and forth in a very sporting contest with Fr. O’Neills just hanging on to retain the Plate they won the previous year. 2-03


1-04 The Billy Ahern cup


final took place in a cauldron of intensity as Youghal and Agha- da squared up again. Youghal were seemingly intent on spoiling Agha-


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sport@eastcorkjournal.ie Notes


da’s day for the second time in 3 weeks as they put out


up then in the group game. These


a stronger line Aghada


lads though are made of stern stuff and the sur- rounding forest of cedar and oak would not com- pare to the strength of will and body that these lads now possess.... The green shirts tore into the game from the throw in with a score yielded al- most immediately and it was relentless from there on. Points were kicked, tackles were made, long raking kick passes, hand passes to the man run- ning off the


shoulder


were all in abundance. Youghal didn’t flinch but to be fair, they met an al- most immoveable


force


in the final. The size of the Aghada squad made a difference as lads tired, with a large


number


of u11s making a huge contribution and to be fair, there were as many lads again looking to be part of the day which is a great sign and testament to the coaching that the u11s have received this year especially. As the game wore on, every lad in a jersey made a contri- bution when introduced, with lads playing in unfa- miliar positions without a quibble. At the final whistle, attempted


there were


scenes of quiet contem- plation but the raucous cheering from players and supporters alike immediately dismissed that notion! The players had earned their right to celebrate and after


the customary sporting handshakes, smiles and laughter were in abun- dance. 3-10 1-02 Everyone


decamped


to the clubhouse where a feast was laid out by the parents of the play- ers and it was devoured in double quick time. Special


thanks to pre-


dominantly the mothers of the lads for such an array. The


the Plate was then made to the O’Neills


presentation of victorious Fr.


captain Ryan


O’Mahony by Anthony Ahern, brother of Billy. Next up was Oscar


Slye, Aghada captain on what is and will forever be a proud day for him and his family, the first captain to lift the Billy Ahern Cup. The victo- ry speech was magnan- imous and a testament to him and an example to us all. The custom- ary victory parade took the lads on the highways and byeways of the par- ish from Rostellan to Saleen/Scartlea, Upper Aghada to Whitegate and everywhere in be- tween! The only sour note


on the day was a nasty looking injury to Keelan Cody, goalkeeper. He was injured while brave- ly clearing an attack. Thankfully, it was soon reported back that his in- jury isn’t as severe as first appeared. Many thanks to those who helped at the time and especial- ly our local doctor, Dr. Mulcahy, who is a huge resource


to the parish


and club and is selfless- ly available and never slow to help when called upon. Many thanks from


all the coaches involved with these u11s and u12s this year for all the sup- port during the season. Ath Fhada Abú... Squad: Aaron Baylor,


Keelan Cody, Tomás Condon, Eric Cunning- ham, Noah Devoy, Ro- nan Devoy, Jack Dunne, Jack Broderick Flynn, Reuben Flynn, Conor Geary, Cian Hegarty, Gavin Hill, James Hur- ley, Aaron Kearns, Nicky Bertocci,


James Moth-


erway, , Hugh Mulcahy, Fionn O’Callaghan, Seán O’Callaghan, Alan O’Connell, Fionn O’Connor, Seán Santos O’Sullivan, Oscar Slye (Captain), David Wal- lace, John Walsh, Ronan Walsh.


U16 Hurling League Final played at Minane Bridge. Tracton 3-13 Aghada 2-7 This game was played in Minane bridge Saturday 3rd


rattled the Aghada net and it took a marvellous save from Ronan O’con- nell to stop them scoring another goal. Aghada had good scores from Diarmuid Phelan and Darragh Ryan again to leave the half time score Tracton 1-6 Aghada 0-4. Unfortunately Tracton scored two quickfire goals after the resump- tion to give them a com- manding lead however aghada refused to give up and two well worked goals


from the hard


working Conor O’Keeffe showed the Aghada resil- ience. Tracton just had too much on the day and ran who worthy winners Aghada team and


scorers Ronan O’connell


on Novem-


ber. Aghada faced the elements in the first half and faced a Trac- ton team who narrow- ly beat Aghada in the Championship and who now await the County Championship


Final.


Tracton scored the first two points of the game as Aghada replied from outstanding midfielder Darragh Ryan and a well worked score from Rory O’Connell then tracton


Rory Bawden Jack Nor- ris Craig Healy Johna- than O’Mahony Dylan Buckley Dan Leahy Max Ahern Darragh Ryan 0-3 Conor O’Keeffe 2-1 Diarmuid Phelan 0-1Rory O’Connell 0-1 Ben Walsh Jamie O’han- lon 0-1 Sean Óg O’Keef- fe subs used Eoin Moth- erway, Oscar Slye, Sean O’Donnell,


Seamus Moloney, Jack Colbert


Congrats to Aghada Ladies Footballers. Massive


Thursday, 9th


November 2017


congrats to


our Ladies Footballers on their fabulous win in the Munster Champion- ship Final last weekend. A fabulous achievement to win out the Province and you are all a credit to yourselves as a Group, Your families and the en- tire Aghada Community.


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