CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE FOR JUNIOR FOOTBALLERS
Last Sunday morning, October 18th, our Junior footballers travelled to Castletownroche to contest Doneraile in the final of the Walsh’s Pharmacy sponsored JB1 Football Championship. Great credit must go to the Castletownroche club, who had both the venue and playing surface presented in excellent condition for this showpiece decider. Having amassed an impressive, combined tally of 15-46 on their journey to the final, Kilworth entered this contest in confident form and wasted little time in stamping their authority on proceedings.
From the throw-in, Kilworth hit the ground running and quickly established control of the game with two early goals from full-forward Brian Sheehan helping propel Kilworth into a commanding 2-03 to 0-00 lead after just eleven minutes played. However, Doneraile to their credit, refused to be overawed by the scoreboard and responded with four unanswered points to reduce the deficit to five points by the midway stage of the half. Leo Coffey then registered his second point of the contest which briefly steading Kilworth’s momentum, but Doneraile continued to battle strongly and added three more scores to keep themselves firmly in contention. However, two consecutive points from Eoin Carey and Brian Sheehan ensured Kilworth maintained a five-point cushion as the sides headed for the dressing rooms, leading 2-06 to 0-07 at half-time.
The opening stages of the second half however belonged to Doneraile, as they showed tremendous determination and resilience to outscore Kilworth by six points to two during a dominant spell and, with just ten minutes remaining, they had reduced the gap to a mere one point between the sides. With momentum now seemingly swinging in Doneraile’s favour, Kilworth were forced to dig deep and demonstrate the character that had carried them to the final. Scores from substitute Olann McCarthy-O’Donoghue, Brian Sheehan, and Eoin Carey steadied the ship and restored daylight between the sides as Kilworth managed the closing stages intelligently and saw out the contest to claim a deserved 2-13 to 0-14 victory at the final whistle.
This win completed a memorable North Cork League and Championship double for Kilworth whilst also securing the club’s eighth Avondhu Junior Football Championship title, capping off a hugely successful campaign. Attention now turns to the next challenge, with Kilworth set to face Mitchelstown in the Junior B1 v Junior B2 Play-Off, scheduled for the coming weekend.
Following the game, Michael Davern, Vice-Chairperson of the Avondhu GAA board, firstly presented Kilworth’s center-forward Eoin Carey with his well-deserved Transeuro sponsored Player-Of-The-Match award before presenting the Michael Curry Perpetual Cup in the presence of members of the Curry family to the victorious Kilworth captain Michael Gowen. In his acceptance speech, Michael extended his gratitude to Castletownroche GAA for the excellent condition of both the pitch and facilities, referee Alec Morrissey and his officials for their stewardship of the final, the Kilworth players and management team of Tim, Paul, Sean, and Fergus, team medic Deirdre, competition sponsor Walsh’s Pharmacy, as well as the club’s loyal sponsors and supporters. He also acknowledged Doneraile for their sporting contribution to what was an entertaining and highly competitive final.
Team & scorers: Killian Heggtveitt, Michael Gowen (Captain), Kieran Lane, Gearoid Carey, Sean Murphy, Sean Shanahan, David Twomey, Eoin McGrath, Jeremy Saich, Jamie Sheehan, Eoin Carey 0-05 (4-f), Leo Coffey 0-02, Michael Sheehan 0-01, Brian Sheehan 2-04 (2-f), & Liam Óg Hegarty. Substitutes used: Pierce Riordan, Olann McCarthy-O’Donoghue 0-01, & Luke Carey.

1996 U21 FOOTBALL REUNION
Tomorrow evening, Friday October 23rd, a reunion is being held at the Village Inn Kilworth, as members of the historic Kilworth U21 football team of 1996 gather to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their North Cork U21 “A” Football Championship triumph.
Dubbed locally as the “13 Days of Spring”, this championship campaign was played over three successive weekends in April and saw Kilworth complete a remarkable hat-trick of victories over the division’s three towns; Fermoy, Mallow, and finally Mitchelstown. Those memorable performances secured Kilworth’s first-ever North Cork U21 “A” Football Championship title, a feat that remains unmatched in the club’s history at this grade.
Three decades on, players, management, supporters, and friends are coming together to relive the memories and celebrate a team that etched its name into Kilworth GAA folklore. Please spread the word of this upcoming event!

WEEKLY CLUB LOTTO RESULTS
There was no winner of last week’s lotto jackpot of €2,400 held on Monday October 12th. The numbers drawn were: 01, 16, 19, & 27. The lucky dip winner of €50 was The O’Keeffe Girls c/o Michelle O’Keeffe. The lucky dip winners of €25 each were Gavin McCarthy c/o Michelle O’Keeffe, Katie Prendiville c/o Online, and Kelly Condon c/o Online. The jackpot prize on Monday October 19th is €2,600.
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. Míle Buíochas.

DATE FOR DIARY
This year’s club Annual General Meeting will take place on Monday evening, November 30th in the clubhouse meeting room at 8pm sharp. We hope to see a large attendance on the night so please spread the word.

UPCOMING FIXTURES
Tomorrow, Friday October 23rd; Junior B1 V Junior B2 Football Playoff, Kilworth V Mitchelstown, in Ballyhooly at 7.30pm.
Country Clean Recycling U21 B Hurling Championship Final, Kilworth V Ballycastle Gaels, date TBC.
Please keep a watchful eye on club social media platforms for fixture updates etc.

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.