FERMOY ADULT GAA

MAGNIFICIENT ALL-ROUND DISPLAY EARNS CO TITLE AT LAST

The programme quite rightly pointed out that Fermoy’s appearance in the Evening Echo Co JHC final on Sunday last was their first ever, but what a time to make that appearance and all that came with it, on exactly the same date and day 125 years ago, when the seven far seeing men met in M/s Hayes’ Hotel in Thurles, and founded this great Association which has stood the test of time all those years and which is still as honoured and revered here in Fermoy as it is in the cities, towns, villages, and townlands all over the country, and while the rest of the country was celebrating the birthday in Thurles, we here in Fermoy were celebrating it in the very best way possible with our junior hurlers, by winning in a most convincing manner, the trophy which all junior hurling clubs set out to win each year, the Cork Co C/ship, but it can only come to one club at the end of the year, this year it has come to Fermoy.

Our opponents in last Sunday’s final were the men from Cloughduv in the Mid Cork Division. I have had the pleasure of reading their club History called “Hand me down my Hurley”, and it seems as if they have been playing hurling out there for most of those 125 years that our Association is in existence and maybe longer. From it I have learned, that they are a very proud hurling club and they take their hurling very seriously, they have campaigned in all grades in Cork c/ships over the years and their record shows that they have commanded great respect at all times in their division and in the greater county areas. In more recent times they competed in the intermediate grade winning it in 1986 (the year of our U21 title), regraded to junior in 2001, won three mid Cork c/ships since, including this year, they must have felt that, with Jimmy Barry Murphy on board to oversee the coaching, that this was going to be the year that they would re-enter the higher ranks once again, so with that little bit of background on our opponents we can see why the papers and the Bookmakers etc got it all wrong on this occasion and why it was a little more than a mild surprise to most doctors of the game when the underdogs stepped in to spoil the party.

I suspect that most of those said doctors of the game, read too much into the fact that we “had to dig deep in our last three games inc the previous Sunday’s Avondhu final against Clyda Rovers” and the fact that we could only defeat those teams by a single point, I’m afraid that they totally underestimated the actual strength and skills of those three teams, each of whom could have given an excellent account of themselves had they reached the final and not our team. To those of us in Fermoy, who really know the real strengths and the abundance of skills which our lads possess, we knew that once we met a team which also had a lot of the skills of the game and relied on them, then we were going to be there with a great chance at the finish, I believe that Cloughduv are a very skilful side, which, if given half a chance would put you to the sword very quickly, but on the day, our lads went in there to hurl each man directly and more than half of his colleague’s markers as well, if this meant hunting in packs so be it.

They never allowed their opponents to settle for a split second on the ball and as such they never got going like they were reputed to have in their semi-final game. Maybe the tag of favourites going into the match caused them to be a bit slow in starting, but in truth they were never allowed to get into their stride and it was evident after just fifteen minutes playing with the aid of the strong wind as they were, the Cloughduv players were turning to sideline mentors as much as to say “ye never told us about this”, at this stage Fermoy were flying in all sectors, any advantage gained by the Cloughduv forwards was thwarted by the alertness and courage of our goalkeeper Jason Condon whose form in goal seemed to inspire his outfield colleagues and they responded in turn.

In fairness to our team manager, coach and selectors, the first real blows to Cloughduv’s hopes were dealt in the dressing room before the match, there were a few changes made here and there but they worked wonders with the team and the overall performance of each and every player was improved by several notches from previous games, Tom Ryan has called them tactics so we will go along with that, but they were tactics that many a selection committee before now, would give their hearts for at any time.

Barring Jason Condon in goal, there were changes in all lines from the previous games. Jack Hutchings moved back to right corner back with Alan Baragry crossing over to the left corner, this left Luke in his by now customary full back position. Centre half forward the last day, James O’Sullivan found himself playing at right half back, not a new position for him since he began playing as a defender, this line was completed by Darragh O’Carroll and Liam Coleman.

This left Ronan O’Callaghan free to take up a midfield spot partnering Eoin Clancy, Tomas Clancy, at midfield previously, began the day in his more customary spot on the forty; Trevor Grumbridge was back on the right wing of attack with Brian O’Sullivan retaining his left wing forward spot. Paudie Shanahan was back in his favoured position at full forward, and probably the two boldest switches of all was the placing of Alan O’Connor in the right corner of the attack with the first start of the c/ship being handed to the man, who came on and saved the day in the recent North Cork final, the vastly experienced Shane Killeen. This meant that there was no room for either Ferghal Ryan or Mark O’Flynn on the starting team.

Once the game began and the players began to take up their respective positions, there was no time for us debaters in the crowd to evaluate the wisdom or otherwise of the selectorial decisions, nor was there any need to debate them as the team, from the throw-in slipped into top gear very fast and it soon became obvious that the selectors were right in their choices and the team was running like a well oiled machine.

Playing against the strong wind in the opening half, did not seem to affect our lads who were playing fast, first time hurling from the word go and it soon became obvious that they were going to have a very big say in where the destination of the most sought after trophy in Cork was going to lay. Brian O’Sullivan opened the scoring with a point from a free as early as the second minute, Cloughduv equalised one minute later, two points of vintage quality from Paudie Shanahan and Alan O’Connor had our side in control by the tenth minute, Cloughduv, upping their game for a brief period drew level at 0-3 all and but for the alertness of our Jason in goal, they might have gone in front, in fact Jason was in action on the double at this stage when a goal for Cloughduv might have changed things quite a bit, this was a testing period for our team but they responded very quickly and none as quickly as Alan O’Connor who hit two further points in fairly quick succession from the right wing, these were vital scores at the time because with another from Shane Killeen we were three points in front once again 0-6 to 0-3.

A shower of storm force hailstones hit the Park some eight minutes from halftime making it very difficult for players and officials to keep on playing, but to the credit of all they kept playing away but Fermoy never lost concentration despite two more points scored by Cloughduv brought the scores to read 0-8 to 0-7 in Fermoy’s favour at the interval. A happy enough position but we were all wary of what the half time chat would do for the Mid Corkmen.

We need not have been, it was Fermoy, this time with the aid of the elements, got off to a great start with Brian O’Sullivan opening the scoring for the second half with a point from a free. Ten minutes into the half, an incident at midfield led to a Cloughduv player being sent off and from the resultant free the Hurley maker Liam Coleman, showed that he can use them as well, by converting the free from 70 metres out. Brian O’Sullivan who had dropped an earlier free short, was back over to the other wing to collect the clearance and he duly popped it over to make up for the missed free. Cloughduv pulled back a point and were again unlucky when a shot which seemed to have beaten Jason Condon, came back off the post and our defenders gratefully accepted the let off and cleared their lines, this let-off and what was to happen two minutes later, sent the Pairc Ui Chaoimh jeweller scurrying to write the name of Fermoy on the trophy, as, after a great move which involved a number of players including Liam Coleman, Alan O’Connor and Tomas Clancy, saw the latter draw out a defender before passing inside to the waiting Shane Killeen who made no mistake from that range and suddenly all Fermoy were heard loud and clear all round the vast Stadium as Killeen performed his, by now almost legendry, lap of honour after scoring a vital goal.

Fermoy lost midfielder Ronan O’Callaghan ten minutes into the second half through a leg injury, but what a cheer greeted the arrival on the field for the first c/ship appearance since an injury in the first round game against Mallow, severely curtailed the appearances of Fermoy’s beloved Trevor Cooney, playing junior since the middle eighties with the club, Trevor is known and respected both as a player and a person by everyone in Fermoy and in Avondhu and Cork also, it was a lovely way to win a county title by including the man who has given so much of his life and time to his club and everyone appreciated this fact, but Trevor was not in there just for the honour of playing only, he displayed a lot of his old craft and positional sense around the centre half back area and contributed more than his share to a great second half team performance.

After Killeen’s goal, Tom Ryan introduced his replacements, Mark O’Flynn, Kieran Morrison, Ferghal Ryan, and Ian Brennan, all minors with the exception of Ferghal Ryan, all performed well but Kieran Morrison and Mark O’Flynn combined exceptionally well for the latter to score one of our last points of the game, Liam Coleman converted a late 65, as Cloughduv never gave up trying to save the day, however the unbridled scenes of joy which followed the Referee’s final blast, was testament to just how much this victory meant to the followers, mentors, members and players of the Fermoy club.

The presentation of the trophy by Bob Ryan V/Chairman of the Co Board to team captain Trevor Grumbridge was a terrific moment for all present and indeed many remembered a lot of those who are no longer with us at that precise moment and who had longed so much for this day to happen. Trevor Grumbridge was very eloquent in his acceptance speech and he quite rightly thanked all his colleagues, selectors, team manager and coach for all their efforts to get the team to where they are at the moment, he also pledged, on behalf of the team, that they would try their best to represent Cork well in the forthcoming Munster inter-club c/ship. He especially thanked the club’s main sponsor Quinn-Healthcare for their very generous support and he hoped that it would continue to support them even though the company had relocated from Fermoy.

When the team returned to Fermoy, they were met by the Thomas Kent Pipe Band at Cork Rd (thanks lads and lassies) and with a large contingent joining in, they were paraded to the Platform on Patrick St where the team was welcomed home by the Mayor of Fermoy Cllr Noel McCarthy, who, on behalf of the people of Fermoy, welcomed the team and its management back home and congratulated the team and the club on bringing such great honour and success to the Town and to their club.

Club Chairman Brendan Keane spoke to the crowds and he outlined the club’s role and that of his vice-chairman Brian Shinnick, who was so involved as leader of the playing committee and as the liaison officer between team manager Tom Ryan and the club throughout the year. Brendan congratulated all concerned with the team especially the selectors and coach Darren Moynihan for all their work in achieving this result.

Brendan said "Quinn-healthcare have been wonderful sponsors of Fermoy GAA and it was great to see the success of that partnership this week with our players making  history by winning the club's first ever junior A hurling title. This meant a lot to many generations of Fermoy GAA members and we had a fantastic reception in Fermoy Sunday evening on arrival home.  While we celebrate and congratulate that winning team our entire focus now shifts to this Sunday’s Premier minor football final where we hope to make a further bit of history. Unfortunately two of the players that helped us to the final, Gary Burke and David Clancy will not be available. We hope the rest of panel ably managed by Jim Bartley, Brendan Hynes, Shane Stapleton, Ciaran Carroll and Gerry Galvin can rise to the occasion on Sunday. We will be thinking of Mick Hennessy the team manager who misses the final due to peacekeeping duties in Chad."

Team manager Tom Ryan then spoke and outlined his involvement with most of this team for a number of years as U16 and minor players, a share of them had won the Co minor c/ship under him in 2005 so he was well aware of their capabilities. He also thanked his selectors Michael Kearney, Brendan O’Callaghan and Gary Mahon, he valued the help and advice all year from Arthur Coughlan and from Pat O’Hanlon, Pa (Bosco) Roche and Dave Daly, Dr Paddy Burke played a big role with the team all year, with help also from masseur JJ Wall and medic Denis Dingivan, Tom introduced each and every member of the entire panel and he also remembered the lads who could not be there for the final but who had played their parts during the year, Conor O’Kane, who is in Haiti building houses for those who need them, Michael Hennessy and Deccie Higgins who are both serving their country with the UN in Chad.

Brendan, in thanking the club’s sponsors Quinn-Healthcare, and all who turned out to greet the team, issued a warm welcome to all to join with the team and the club in celebrating the victory at the Clubrooms in Fitzgerald Park where the players were treated to fine hot meal by Nell Richards and her team, and thanks also to Carol, Cora, and the team in the Bar for their role as a great night of celebration began for the players and the supporters etc.

Our club is grateful for all the support we received in Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Sunday last; we especially thank all those from our neighbouring clubs in both Avondhu and Imokilly who lent their support to the team and who contacted club members since. In return I wish the Glanworth club and team all the best in Sunday’s Co JFC final.

PS: If I have omitted or forgotten to thank or mention anyone who may have helped in any way the club or the team, I beg your forgiveness as I can assure you it is not intentional.

For the record – the following is the full team line out in the final plus the full list of players on the panel, I will not comment on individual displays but I will honestly say that every man on the team and those who came in as replacements all played excellently, for once there was not a weak link on the team and I say that from my heart, if the Evening Echo Man of the Match was awarded to Luke Mannix, it was because his display epitomised the will of the whole team to win on the day, in fact any player could have been named and it would have been acceptable all round: Jason Condon, Jack Hutchings, Luke Mannix, Alan Baragry, James O’Sullivan, Darragh O’Carroll, Liam Coleman (0-2), Eoin Clancy, Ronan O’Callaghan, Trevor Grumbridge Capt, Tomas Clancy, Brian O’Sullivan (0-5), Alan O’Connor (0-3), Paudie Shanahan (0-2), Shane Killeen (1-1). Subs played: Trevor Cooney, Mark O’Flynn (0-1), Kieran Morrison, Ferghal Ryan, Ian Brennan. Also on panel – Conor Quinn, Pa Boyce, Seamus Kelleher, Richard Kelleher, Donal Galvin, Trevor Higgins, Pa Burke, Eoin Ryan, Don O’Connell, Seanie Shanahan, Mattie Condon, Tommy O’Brien, Conor O’Kane, Michael Hennessy, Declan Higgins and Philip Mahon.

CO MINOR FOOTBAL FINAL ON SATURDAY

Saturday next at 2.30pm, its back again to Pairc Ui Chaoimh for the Fermoy followers, this time to support the club’s minor footballers who are playing St Finbarrs in the final of Ulster Bank Premier A Co minor final.

Once again, this is a huge honour for our club to be involved at this stage of this very competitive c/ship. It is many a long year since Fermoy were involved at this stage of the minor grade, history reminds us that Fermoy won their first Co MFC in 1923, this was followed by another Co title in 1934, in 1948 a team which included current club President John Fenton, Tom Cavanagh, and the grandfather of current team members Jack and Tom O’Brien, the late Jackie O’Brien, reached the Co final only to be defeated by St Colman’s of Macroom on the score of 2-6 to 2-3, this brings us to 1953 when a team under the management of Derry Gowen, Tobe Maloney and Andy Scannell Senr, brought the team through North Cork but not without one hell of a fright from Mitchelstown’s Blackthorns in the Divisional final played in Kilworth, it took a back fisted goal from Mick Dolan in the dying seconds of the game to pull Fermoy through on the night.

There was a good story to tell of the lead up to the free which led to Dolan’s goal but as they say “sin Sceal eile”. The team went on to reach the Co final that year in which they met Nemo Rangers who were emerging as coming club at the time, Fermoy won that game which was played at the UCC grounds, the final score was Fermoy 0-9 Nemo Rangers 1-5, that team included the Scannell brothers Andy and Dan, Ned O’Callaghan, George Landers, Dan Harty (in goal), Noel O’Connor, Johnny Roche from Clondulane and of course Mick Dolan.

The nearest any Fermoy team has come to winning another Co title in this grade was in 1985, when the team under Jimmy Dennigan and Bill Barry reached the Co final (Country section) where they again met and were defeated by Macroom after a day of missed chances for Fermoy. Arthur Coughlan, Trevor Cooney, Michael O’Brien and their colleagues were on that team.

To day’s team has been formed through years of careful nurturing at juvenile level by their mentors at U12, 14 and U16 levels, they are a very talented bunch of players who have trained this year under Michael Hennessy who, unfortunately is not able to be with them as he is on duty with the UN in Chad. Gerry Galvin and Shane Stapleton have taken over the coaching duties in Michael’s absence and there to help them are their fellow selectors Ciaran Carroll, Brendan Hynes and Jim Bartley.

The team has played a lot of games during the year including Minor hurling league and c/ship, most of the team are dual players, however they have not had a competitive match since their semi final win over Carrigaline on September 30th, while their opponents have been active playing both codes since then including their recent semi-final victory over the favourites Castlehaven, this was a great result for them and one that will see them severely test our team on Saturday.

Out team showed great teamwork and skill in their most recent victories on the way to the final, both Nemo Rangers and Carrigaline were amongst the teams most fancied to figure in the final shake up so with their scalps under their belt, the Fermoy lads will not be easily beaten, I just hope that the long wait won’t have knocked the appetite out of them and that some of their key players will have come through uninjured from their hurling activities at club and at school levels over the past few weeks.

Once again I am appealing to our loyal followers once more to come out on Saturday (not the most ideal day) and support the team and wishing the team and the management all the best and hoping we will be celebrating another victory on Saturday evening. See you all in Pairc Ui Chaoimh at 2.30pm.

PS: Be sure to check that this fixture is still as I have called it. With weather conditions times and venues could be changed at this time of year.

FERMOY GAA CLUB NEWS

THE CLUBHOUSE

A warm welcome awaits you at the clubhouse from Carol and Cora. They’ve recently invested in a brand new flat screen TV for your enjoyment. So now you can enjoy the comforts of a draught pint and the big game along with the comforts of your own front room.

Our hurling and football teams can also make use of the Clubhouse for post match analysis and post-mortems. Or perhaps the coaches and trainers would like to review some DVD’s of past matches.

Keep an eye out for Friday Night Poker, Table Quizzes, Disco Nights and many more events throughout the year.

Of course, if you’d like to use the Clubhouse for your special event, please contact one of the lovely ladies who will be glad to help you out. See you there soon.

FERMOY GAA SCHOOLS COACH

QUINNHEALTHCARE SCHOOLS COACHING CORNER BY JOHN DONEGAN

(FERMOY GAA NATIONAL SCHOOLS COACH)

What a difference a week makes to a club. From defeating Clyda in the North Cork Final to going into the county final as underdogs and to deservedly beat a fancied Cloughduv side to earn the title as the best Junior A hurling club in Cork. Congratulations to everyone involved in this historic moment for the club. There seemed to be “super heroes everywhere” this weekend not only the Junior A county champions but also the U10 super hero league commenced last Saturday, October 31^st and even the weather was kind to the heroes with a  very good turn out for round 1 of the league. This Saturday again will see the U10’s in action and also the first round of the U8 league will take place up at the main pitch. Mom and Dads just a reminder to get up to the pitch early and enjoy the games. If that’s not enough for you the Minor lads are playing in the Premier County Final on Saturday, November 7^th at 2.30pm. Good luck to the management and players in what would be an unbelievable achievement. Bring home the cup boys!

Class of the week this week is 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd class Adair.

FERMOY JUVENILE GAA

COUNTY FINAL

Congratulations to the Fermoy junior hurlers on their historic triumph over Cloughduv in the County Final last Sunday.

It was truly a memorable day for Fermoy GAA and it was particularly gratifying to see so many juvenile players there to cheer the lads on despite the dismal weather. That and the large turnout for the victory parade in Fermoy on Sunday night.

So once again, well done to the junior hurlers – and they’re now serving as great examples to our juveniles of what hard-work, dedication to training and team-work can achieve. Well done lads!

U8

Preparations are now underway for our hugely popular Super-Heroes Gaelic football league. If you are born in 2001, 2002 or 2003, then we have just the sport for you. Over the last few weeks your child has benefited from the exciting coaching of Gaelic games given to him by the Fermoy GAA schools coach.

Now is the time to put all that coaching to good use, starting on Saturday, November 7 next at 10am on the main Fermoy GAA pitch. On that day we will organise all the boys into mini-Gaelic football teams of around eight a side and each team will play each other on consecutive Saturdays.

Teams will be devised so that each team has a reasonable chance of winning but regardless of which after the Super league is finished each boy will be presented with exactly the same medal. The emphasis will be on fun not winning!

The matches will conclude each day at around 11.15am and the cost per day will be the same as training - €2 per child. The Super-Heroes league is open to all nationalities and newcomers to GAA are particularly welcome. If you are interested just ring or text  (086) 6069727 with details of your child’s name and date of birth.

Alternatively just arrive on the Saturday, November 7. But to make things easier please register your child first. In the interim, training is every Saturday from 10am to 11.30am for both hurling and football. Newcomers are more than welcome.

U9

Please note that training has now shifted to the earlier time of 6pm and will run until 7pm on both Monday and Wednesday nights. Monday will be for hurling and Wednesday for Gaelic football. The venue has also been changed and we will be training from now on at the Loretto all-weather pitch.

It is very important for players to note that no studs are allowed on this surface – so please only wear ordinary trainers or indoor boots. A tracksuit bottoms is also advisable. Please note as well that from next Saturday, October 31 we will be running our hugely popular O’Crualaoi street league series. Each game will take place on the main Fermoy GAA pitch and will consist of hurling and football on an equal basis.

The Ó Crualaoi street leagues will run over seven weekends with the finals taking place in December.

U10 Ó CRUALAOI SUPERLEAGUES

For next few Saturdays the U10 and U9 boys will pitted against each other in the seven round Ó Crualaoi Superleagues that will involve over 40 players all born between the year 1999 and 2000.

Last Saturday, October 31 saw the opening round of the annual event which is now one of the most popular fixtures on the juvenile calendar. As seems to be the case most years, the boys eagerly look forward to locking horns with their year round teammates in a fun environment. Once again we are extremely grateful to Ó Crualaoí for sponsoring this event which, thanks to their generous backing, has become a fixture on the Fermoy Juvenile GAA calendar.

The opening round saw Ulster beating Munster and Leinster beating Connaught. Next week’s round will see Munster v Connaught and Ulster hosting Leinster. The format each week is similar, each games comprises of four quarters of 12 minutes, quarters one and four are Gaelic football, quarter two is ground hurling and quarter three is normal hurling.

An extra feature this year is the skill competition at the end of the match featuring all players. Last weeks skill was the hurling ground stroke/pull. This coming Saturday’s skill will be the long puck. The action begins at 10:00am sharp so players are asked to report for duty at 09:40am at the main GAA pitch.

The teams are as follows: Connaught - Aaron Llewellyn, Adrian Keohane, Anthony Maguire, Cillian Lynch, Conor Hurley, Conor O'Halloran, Darragh Scott, James Molloy, Josh Shanahan, Liam Harty, Luke Aherne, Mark O'Shea, Oisin Finn, Sean O'Callaghan and John Paul Baker. The team mentors are Darren Flynn, John Molloy and Tim Shanahan.
Leinster - Colm Dorgan, Dale Dawson, Daniel Regan, David Mulcahy, Jack Caplice, Jason Coleman, JJ Hickey, John Wales, Michael O'Brien, Ralph Riegel, Sam Tonks, Seamus O Maolain O Cathain, Seán Holland and Sean McCarthy. The team mentors are Geoff Wales and Ralph Riegel.

Munster – Adam Creed, Cameryn Kelly Morrish, Codí Kelly Morrish, Craig Quinlan, David Lardner, Dean Ryan, Eddie Joyce, Greg Lardner, Jake Ryan, Matthew Lynch, Nathan Collins, Ryan Sargent and Shane Hurley. The team mentors are Bosco Creed and Paul Lardner.

Ulster – Aaron Boyce, Adam Ronan, Colm Hurley, David O’Callaghan, Gary Coleman, Jack O’Donnell, Jack Scannell, James Hussey, Jamie McEvoy, John O’Brien, Pádraig McGrath, Shane O’Keeffe and Tiernan Ryan. The team mentors are John O’Donnell, Barry Scannell and Willie O’Keeffe.

Please note that training has now shifted to the earlier time of 6pm and will run until 7pm on both Monday and Wednesday nights. Monday will be for hurling and Wednesday for Gaelic football. The venue has also been changed and we will be training from now on at the Loretto all-weather pitch.

It is very important for players to note that no studs are allowed on this surface – so please only wear ordinary trainers or indoor boots. A tracksuit bottoms is also advisable.

U12
Players born in 1997 have hurling training on Tuesdays and Fridays in Loreto at 5.50pm. Players born in 1998 have training on Mondays and Wednesdays at 5.50pm.
We hope to run an U-12 hurling tournament on November 7 so watch this space for further details.