U21 HURLERS DEFEATED

Last Saturday evening, September 27th, our U21 hurlers made the short commute to Ballyhooly to contest Liscarroll/Churchtown Gaels in the Quarter-Final of the Country Clean Recycling U21 B Hurling Championship. In a content which the western divisional side led from the start, two early goals conceded by Kilworth were regrettably imperative to the Gaels overall success in this fast paced encounter. Kilworth, who unfortunately had some notable key absentees from the squad through injury battled extremely hard throughout the hour and whilst they were solid displays of hurling by numerous individuals they were unable to keep up with the green, white, & gold coloured side as they emerged victors on a 4 point margin which brought the curtain down on the 2025 playing season for the club. Full time score: Kilworth 0-15, Liscarroll/Churchtown Gaels 2-13.

Team & Scorers: Denis Riordan, Sean Moriarty, Gearoid Carey, Sean Murphy, Brian Dunne 0-01, Sean Óg Kenneally, Ronan Fenton, Michael Lenihan, Darragh Sheehan, Darragh Gill, Sean O’Flynn 0-02, Ben Carey, Aaron Browne 0-01, Liam Óg Hegarty 0-11 (0-06-f, 1-65”), & Patrick Kenny. Substitutes: Sean Flynn, Cian O’Regan, & Sam Beecher.

1980 & 1985 REUNION

Tomorrow night, Friday October 3rd, a get together is being held at the Village Inn Kilworth, to celebrate both the historic 1980 & 1985 Kilworth hurling and football teams. Briefly recapping these momentous events, the hurlers of 1980 reclaimed the North Cork Junior A championship title after a nine year lapse beating Castletownroche (who were going for three titles in a row) before going on to contest the county final against Newcestown but unfortunately came up three points short in a thrilling encounter at Páirc Úi Chaoimh, whilst the footballers of 1985 celebrate their 40 year anniversary of claiming the North Cork Junior B league and championship double against Fermoy and Liscarroll respectively. Also runners-up in the county final to Duhallow’s Kilbrin, this Kilworth array of players contested seventeen football games in all throughout the season with their only defeat coming in the county final at Mallow which is a tremendous achievement in itself. Please spread the word to everyone of this upcoming event!

POWER UP YOUR MIND WORKSHOP

Kilworth GAA, Camogie & LGFA clubs are proudly hosting a public workshop initiative in conjunction with Healthy Ireland & Cork County Council on Thursday evening October 16th at the Community Hall, Chapel Road, Kilworth, P61 N295 from 7pm to 9pm. This event, for over 16’s, is completely free of charge and is open to the public to attend and includes guest speakers such as All-Star & All-Ireland winning Cork hurler Niall McCarthy on Resilience, Nutritional Therapist Jen O’Callaghan on Performance Nutrition, and Senior Psychologist Dr. Ant Kiernan on Stress Management all who are dedicated to nurture your mental well-being. Our enlightening lineup of speakers will explore the pillars of positive mental health, offering insights into cultivating a resilient mindset, understanding the impact of nutrition on mental strength, and harnessing the power of resilience to take on life’s challenges head on. Please spread the word and support this highly sought after event!

THANK YOU

The club together with the players and their respective management teams would like to express their appreciation and gratitude to Ena Lane for all her assistance during the season washing and immaculately preparing the jerseys for each fixture, to club health & wellbeing and medical officer Deirdre Kenneally for the countless hours which she voluntary gave in all-weather fronts looking after all individuals, to Sean & Caroline O’Brien of Kilally Stables for providing refreshments throughout the year, and finally to Jamie Wheeler who provided physio to the players whenever called upon. All this effort and hard work does not go unnoticed for which the club are extremely grateful. Míle Buíochas!

WEEKLY CLUB LOTTO 

There was no winner of last week’s lotto jackpot of €17,200 held on Monday September 22nd, the numbers drawn were: 01, 05, 21 & 24. The lucky dip winner of €50 was Kelly Condon c/o Online. The lucky dip winners of €25 each were Andy McGrath c/o Yearly, Kathleen Beecher c/o Sheila O’Brien, & Bridget Cotter c/o Centra. The jackpot prize on Monday September 29th is €17,400.

Tickets cost just €2 each or three lines for €5 and they are available online, in the local business outlets or from your usual local sellers. As always, we would like to thank you for your ongoing support.

MAIN CLUB SPONSORS: Mike Walsh Pharmacy, The Village Inn, Aherne’s Pub, KDC Ltd., Kilally Stables, Mitchelstown Dental Clinic, Joe & Trish Bonner, and Centra Kilworth.

THROWBACK THURSDAY 

This throwback rewinds the clock back 40 years to 1985 as the Kilworth Junior B footballers hit the big time and reached the County Junior B football championship final for the very first time. Kilworth competed strongly in both codes throughout the season, however, following a 3 point defeat in the replayed North Cork Junior A hurling final to Clyda Rovers on a scoreline of 1-9 to 1-6, which coincidently was the Mourneabbey clubs first ever North Cork hurling success, all efforts were made to make amends in the Junior B football decider against Liscarroll which Kilworth had also qualified for.

On the road to the North Cork (number one) football championship final Kilworth overcame the challenges of Two Pot House (Hazlewood) 1-8 to 0-5 in the 1st round on Sunday May 26th at Shanballymore followed by Abbey Rovers (Castletownroche) 1-11 to 0-9 in the semi-final on Saturday July 27th at Kildorrery. Liscarroll provided the opposition for the North Cork final which was played at Killavullen on September 25th with Kilworth coming out on top following a very testing hour on a final scoreline of 1-8 to 0-6 giving the “Brennan from the Moore” side their 4th North Cork victory at this grade.

Reports from the game state that whilst the Kilworth defence was under constant pressure they never once fumbled with goal-line clearances and last ditch tackles the order of the day. Goalkeeper John Joe Shanahan (R.I.P.) brilliantly stopped a first half penalty and after playing against the wind the half time scoreline read just two points apiece with Jim McCarthy and Pat Greehy on the dispensing end for the red and white coloured side. Kilworth however excelled upon the restart through a Kevin McCarthy point which was soon followed by an inspiring goal from Pat Greehy after a probing ball sent in from midfielder Jim McCarthy was flicked on by John Kenny to Greehy who had plenty time and space to kick the ball into the back of the Liscarroll net. Gerard Carey (R.I.P.) immediately added another point which sent Kilworth five points clear before Liscarroll clawed it back to three, but with further kicks from Jim McCarthy, Pat Greehy, Ger Carey and Ger Griffin (commonly known as the famous “Two-Four” since the 1981 victory over Ballyhooly) all sailing between the uprights before the full time whistle sounded, Kilworth ended the game worthy winners having not conceded any goal in the year’s North Cork championship. After the match jubilant Kilworth Captain and sharpshooter Ger Griffin received the trophy on behalf of his teammates with rumours of the celebrations extending into the early hours of Monday morning at a certain midfielders local establishment!

Having annexed North Cork, Kilworth received a bye in the 1st round of the county series and faced Shanagarry club, Russell Rovers, in the county semi-final which was played as part of a double header at Castlelyons on Sunday October 6th. The East Cork standard-bearers got a second bite at the cherry in this first class encounter as they scored a very late point to force a draw and send the game to a replay, however Kilworth didn’t leave this effect their appetite for success as they came out on top by 2 points in the replay seven days later which was again played at Castlelyons.

After two titanic struggles against their Imokilly counterparts, Kilworth made history by gaining their place in a football County Final of any grade since the formation of the club in 1928 with Duhallow’s Kilbrin providing the opposition in the finale. These two clubs who were better known for their hurling prowess both fancied their chances, but most divisional Gaels felt Kilworth who were remarkably unbeaten in all their big ball outings this season had the upper hand. Contested at Bishop Casey Memorial Park Mallow, Kilbrin (which is also the birthplace of Archbishop Dr. Croke), unfortunately came out on top in this decider by the narrowest of margins ending the fairytale year for this vibrant Kilworth contingent of players.

However, Kilworth’s season was still not over as there was the matter of the divisional league final up for grabs, and on Sunday December 29th Kilworth contested local neighbours Fermoy in a keenly contested decider coming out on top 1 point winners on a final scoreline of 1-7 to 2-3 at a well-kept Ballygiblin venue. This contest was much more than to decide the destination of the league title as it was also the meeting of the number one and two championship winners, and the difference between the sides at the end was Kilworth’s ability to attack and make much better use of the opportunities that came their way.

Leading by 3 points with time almost up Fermoy were awarded a controversial penalty which they duly converted to level proceedings. From the resulting kickout the ball broke to Jim McCarthy who solod a whopping 60 yards up-field before passing to Pat Greehy who was subsequently fouled leaving the pressure of a match winning free on the young shoulders of John Gallagher who was told he had to score direct. Displaying his maturity John cooly tapped the ball over the bar to bring the curtain down on a famous victory leaving Kilworth the undisputed 1985 North Cork Junior B League and Championship winners. Enroute to the league final Kilworth overcome Mallow in their semi-final encounter, after topping their group with victories over every team along the way which included Araglen, Ballyhooly, Mitchelstown, Glanworth, Grange, Fermoy, Killavullen, Kildorrery, and Doneraile.

Overall this array of players who were overseen on the sidelines by Mick Twomey, Paddy Whelan, & Lar Sheehan (R.I.P.) who was a club Vice President and also included club officers namely secretary and wing back Tom Twomey, PRO and corner forward Pat Greehy, & registrar/insurance officer and corner back Mossy McNamara, contested seventeen football games in all throughout the season with their only defeat coming in the county final at Mallow which was a tremendous achievement in itself. It must also be noted that this Kilworth team had plenty of youth on their side throughout the season which included many U21 players who had also qualified for their respective North Cork final but unfortunately went under to Milford on a scoreline of 2-8 to 0-4. Coincidentally at this level, local Kilworth businessman Peter McCarthy (R.I.P.) (who was an ex-Milford man) had recently donated a new trophy to the North Cork board for this competition and as luck would have it, he was obliged to present the North Cork U21 Cup to the Milford winning Captain!

Pictured are the Kilworth Junior B Footballers who defeated Liscarroll in the North Cork Championship Final at Killavullen on Sunday September 25th, 1985.

KILWORTH JUVENILE GAA CLUB NOTES

U11 Hurling

The U11 hurlers made the short journey to Fermoy on Saturday morning to take part in the annual Tom Grumbridge Memorial Tournament. We took on a strong Fermoy side in our opening game and played very well in the first half to go in on level terms. After the break however Fermoy got the upper hand to run out deserving winners. 

Our second game was against St. Dominics. Another very close first half saw the lead change hands on several occasions with St. Dominics leading by a goal at the half time whistle. The play was very even again after the break with the sides still on level terms entering the final 5 minutes. Unfortunately, a disallowed goal for our side was followed by 3 St. Dominics points to see them take the win.

The format of the competition saw all sides qualify for a final with our boys facing up against Kiltha Óg in the Div.3 decider. We played our best hurling of the morning in this game. Noah was excellent in goals, and our backs were very solid. We managed to get on top at midfield, and our forwards took their opportunities when they arrived which saw us over the line. After the game captain Luke McCrea, who led by example all morning, accepted the shield on behalf of his teammates. Thanks again to Fermoy for the invite to what was a great morning’s hurling.

Next up for the U11's is a home football tie against Youghal this coming Sunday morning.

Pictured is Captain Luke McCrea receiving the Div.3 Shield after the U11 Hurling win in Fermoy last Saturday morning.

UPCOMING JUVENILE FIXTURE

Saturday, October 04th; Fe12 Hurling League Finals V Liscarroll/Churchtown Gaels in Doneraile at 12.30pm.