INTERMEDIATE FOOTBALLERS IN ACTION THIS SATURDAY

Its this time of the year again when our teams swing into C/ship action and for us it is the first round of the Co IFC when our opponents will be Glanworth and these two teams will clash at the Castletownroche venue on this Saturday evening May 5th at 7pm.

This should provide followers of both sides with plenty of thrills and entertainment, the clubs met each other recently in the U21AFBC final which Glanworth won following a bout of extra time. The Intermediate teams met each other in the C/ship last year which was played in Kilworth and Fermoy won that day, the fact that Saturday’s game is only a preliminary round game will not enter the minds of either side as both teams will be anxious to secure their place in the third round draw when this happens later in the year and which is the prize for victory on Saturday, however all will not be lost for the losers who will have to face a showdown with Killavullen who lost last weekend to Grenagh.

If current league form is any guide, but it is usually not so, then Glanworth would be entitled to slight favouritism, they have won all their games so far while our team have won three but lost their two opening games to Youghal and Cloyne, However the team has pulled together very well since those early outings and are at present displaying a nice vein of good form, hopefully that will manifest itself on Saturday evening and that we will come home happy.

Wishing the team and its management the best of luck on Saturday and appealing to all our followers to attend in strength. Here’s hoping too that some of our more recent injuries will have healed up by Saturday

JUNIORS WELL BEATEN

Our junior footballers put up a very disappointing show against Mitchelstown in Kilworth last Friday night in the Divisional c/ship. There were a few positives which could be taken from this game, most of these concerned the displays of some players of whom it was said that they were in line for staring places on this Saturday night. I hope that the selectors took careful note, there were a few good displays most notably by minor defender Peter Murphy, Brian O’Sullivan too showed a welcome return to his best at the football game,while Paudie Shanahan also put in a good hours work as did Brian O’Callaghan,

The junior team lined out as follows Rory Clancy, Conor O Kane Capt, Dave Conran, Brian O’Callaghan, Peter Murphy, Brian O’Sullivan, Kieran Morrison, Paudie Shanahan, Rory O’Hagan 0-2, Padraig de Roiste, Alan O’Callaghan, Arlen Ahern 0-2, Garry O’Callaghan 0-1, Trevor Grumbridge 0-1 and Nigel Lardner, Subs used Josh Pyne, Padraig Pratt. We are not out of this competition yet,

MINOR HURLING

With the current emphasis being on football for the recent past our hurlers have not seen much action, all this will probably change after this weekend as Denis Ring will want to see his side in action again very soon. This situation also affected the minor hurlers who played Carrigtwohill in Fermoy last week and as result they were on the wrong side of a 0-8 to 1-7 scoreline, again injuries are taking their toll on this side this year, hopefully this situation will ease in the near future. The minors are going to get plenty matches soon as they are going to take part in the County Non Exam League over the next few weeks,

CAR DRAW

Congrats to all our lucky representatives who were in the Cavanagh’s of Fermoy Car Draw at Cavanagh’s of Cork Road on last Friday night. Our five ticket holders who reached the final drawing of the cash plus two cars draw on last Friday night were M/s Mary Barry Donnellan, M/s Kathleen Coleman, Lismore, Fionain O’Brien, Michael Condon and M/s Breeda Brennan, each of our contestants won €100 each, The cars were won by Maria Roche Kildorrery and Willie Burke Youghal, the winning tickets were sold by the Glanworth and Sars clubs respectively. Congrats to them.

In congratulating all the winners on the night, I will, on behalf of our club especially thank Seanie Barry, his staff members Conor O’Keeffe, Brian Carey and Aidan O’Mahony on a job very well carried out and on putting on a very entertaining night for the large crowd which turned up for the occasion. No amount of thanks would be sufficient without mention of the man himself Mr Tom Cavanagh who has been extremely generous to the Gaels of Avondhu for a long number of years, Imokilly Division was drafted into the Avondhu League in 2011 and no doubt this has added greatly to the quality and quantity of the games played by all our players. I would also wish to sincerely thank all who supported our club in this draw over the past few months; your efforts are really appreciated.

MEMBERSHIP FEES OVERDUE

I am reminded by our Registrar Pat O’Brien that some membership fees are still outstanding as we enter the month of May. Please attend to this important duty straight away if possible.

LOTTO DRAW

The Lotto Jackpot is still standing at E20, 000 Last week’s numbers were 9, 10, 16, 34, Lucky Dip winners were Feehan Family c/o Brian Shinnick Mick Dempsey c/o The Long Bar, Trevor Grumbridge c/o Juvenile Club, Michael Cloney c/o Tom O’Brien Junr, Sinead Keohane c/o Sean Keohane,

The draw returns to the Clubhouse this week where the Jackpot will remain at E20, 000 until it is won, on behalf of our club I wish say a sincere thank you to all who continue to support our draw each week, your efforts are greatly appreciated.

You can also play this LOTTO online at www.fermoygaa.com

The following is a list of some coming club fixtures; Sat May 5th IFC v Glanworth at Castletownroche 7.pm

IHL Div 3 Fermoy v Eire Og in Fermoy on May 13th tbc,

Division Two HL Ballyhea v Fermoy at Ballyhea 9/5/12, 7.30pm

JUNIOR A FOOTBALL TEAM FACE CHAMPIONS IN KILWORTH ON FRI EVENING.

CLUB MEMBERSHIP FEES OVERDUE

On this Friday evening at 6.45 pm our junior A football team will take the field in Kilworth where they will be the first to test holders Mitchelstown’s ability to defend their North Cork crown which they won so convincingly in 2011. How will our second xv fare out in this match? On present league form shown in Division Two of the Cavanagh’s sponsored league, we do not stand a great chance, we have lost at least three of our five games to date, but it must be said that we have never had our strongest available selection of players for all of these games, this will not happen either on Friday but at least all those who standing will be there and we will be hoping that they will give the Black and Reds a right good game and maybe hopefully even surprise them. Traditionally both sides give of their best against each other and if this tradition survives on Friday evening then patrons are in for a great encounter,

I hope that our faithful band of followers will again travel out to Kilworth please note the early start 6.45pm. This is to facilitate the final Drawing of the Car prizes at Cavanagh’s inCork Road at 8.15pm on the same evening to which all are welcome to attend

CAR DRAW QUALIFIERS

The final draw for the “Win the League win the Car” draw will take place at Cavanagh’s in Cork Road on this Friday evening at 8.15pm. This promises to be a great evening even if you are not one of the thirty contestants taking part. Comedy, Music and craic will be accompanied by live refreshments to suit all tastes, before the names of the lucky winners are emerging from the draw drum. The sold tickets of each of last year’s league winning sides (6 in all) were placed in separate drums for each club, a member of an opposing club then drew out five tickets from each club draw drum and those luck winners are those who will be in the main draw drum on Friday for the very exciting purpose of deciding who eventually gets the major prizes, last year it was those last standing who eventually decided the winner, but prior to this situation there is a very generous amount of cash prizes to be given away on the night also so that every name in the drum is a guaranteed winner on the night.

The five people who represent our club in the draw are M/s Mary Barry Donnellan, M/s Breeda Brennan, Michael Condon, Fionain O’Brien and M/s Kathleen Coleman (Lismore). Congratulations to each of them and on behalf of our club may I wish each of them the very best of luck in their efforts on Friday night. May I also take the opportunity of thanking all those people both locally and from far and wide who supported our club by purchasing tickets in the draw over the past few months, I can tell you that our club really appreciate all the efforts made in promoting the draw as a club fundraiser, it was a very successful venture indeed thanks again to all who helped in any way towards it.

WIN OVER KANTURK

Our Intermediate footballers are finding a nice vein of form right now, on lat Sunday evening they claimed their third league win in a row following a very interesting and entertaining game against Kanturk in their Division Four league clash in Fermoy.

Fermoy began very well with the Kanturk goal keeper dropping a high ball into his own net from virtually his first touch of the ball, that unfortunate goal was the difference between the sides at the finish of what was an extraordinary game in some ways, Our side played some great traditional football for fully forty minutes after which they led on the scoreboard by 2-12 to 1-5, then for some reason, they seemed to lose their grip on things and Kanturk were quick to seize their opportunities, two quick goals, both unstoppable shots which gave Ivan O’Callaghan in the Fermoy goal no chance whatsoever, saw the Duhallow side sweep back into contention and for the last quarter they staged a great comeback which nearly paid off but for the fact that our lads recovered their grip on affairs especially in defence and our forwards got back into their stride in the last few minutes when Alan O’Connor crashed home a great goal and points from Jas Campion and Kieran Morrison put us safely back in front once again.

This was a very good performance by the team which will surely please Paul Donnellan and his selectors as they prepare for the coming C/ship game v Glanworth in Castletownroche on weekend of May 6th. We still have a number of players on the injured list, one of them Kieran Morrison has thankfully recovered from his knee injury, but players like Mark O’Flynn, Ronan O’Callaghan, Seanie Shanahan, Kieran Dorgan, the Brennan brothers Ian and Martin, Michael Pyne and more recently James O’Sullivan are still major concerns within the club.

Division Two FL

Our Division Two football team collected two league points at the expense of Kilshannig in Fermoy last weekend, the final score read Fermoy 5-11 Kilshannig 3-11, Our lads lead almost from the start at the interval we led by 2-11 to 1-2, the second half saw a relaxed approach punished by a very spirited Kilshannig display and by the 55th minute the Kilshannig side had reduced the margin to just two points but a late rally by Fermoy just succeeded in saving the day with two goals in the closing minutes sealing the points on offer for the home side,

CLUB MEMBERSHIP OVERDUE

Our Club Registrar Pat O’Brien has asked me to draw attention to the fact that quite a few of our members have not yet renewed their club membership fees for this year. Pat is appealing to all players especially and indeed to all who intend to renew his/her membership to do so immediately. Pat can be contacted on 087/6650663 but please do so this week.

LOTTO JACKPOT E20, 000 STILL STANDING

The Club’s Weekly Lotto Jackpot is still standing at E20, 000 after last week’s draw at the Clubhouse where the numbers drawn were 2, 12, 19, 21, Lucky Dip winners of E40 each were Kim Quirke c/o Kevin Cronin, Philip Lonergan c/o Kerins Bar, Liz and Mick Dolan c/o Ml Dolan, Ber Barry c/o Kerins Bar, Edel Colbert c/o Brian Shinnick,

This week the Jackpot will again be worth E20, 000 when the draw takes place in The Long Bar, As usual our sincere thanks to all for your continued support for this draw. Remember you can also play this Lotto online at www.fermoygaa.com

MINOR HURLING

Minor hurling League game in Fermoy on this Thursday night; all players assemble in Pitch at 6.30pm for match at 7.30pm.

SUMMER CAMP:

The date for the annual Fermoy Juvenile GAA Summer Camp has been set for the week commencing July 16 next.

Forms will be distributed through the schools over the next couple of weeks.

Forms will also be available through team managers.

Please put this date in your diary – and remember that this is one of the most popular events staged by the club so early booking is vital.

We will also be asking all mentors and parents to please support the week in any way they can.

TOM MCCARTHY CUP:

The Annual U-12 Hurling Tom McCarthy Cup will be held again this year.

The tournament has been set for Fermoy on Sunday June 17 next.

Details will follow in a forthcoming column.

U-6/7/8:

Last Saturday morning in St Colmans saw the first round of the Supermacs sponsored Gaelic games mini leagues.

We had over 50 players togged out ready to show off their recently learnt skills.

The competition is a mixture of football and hurling starting with the first quarter of football followed by two quarters of hurling and rounded off by the final quarter of football.

We have an U-8 section and an U-6 section and the games were played in a great spirit with all the players trying hard.

The teams lined out as follows: Ulster – Tiernan Mahon, Dylan O’Sullivan, Emmet Hogan, John Lonergan, Darragh Carroll, Xander Lee Nugent, Ruairi McGrath, Nathan Howard and Daniel O’Sullivan with (mentors) Philip Hogan, Dave Lonergan and Gary Mahon; Connaught – Laim Cronin, Jay Whelan, James O’Brien, Liam O’Brien, Cathal Murphy, Cuan Kearney, Noah Carr, Niall Cloney, Daire O’Brien and (mentors) Kieran Kearney and Don Murphy; Leinster – Colm Carroll, Mark Newell, Cormac Fleming, Cathal Creed, Adam Toher, Michael CJ Fallon, Noah Sherwood, Lee Walsh, John Scanlon and Gearoid O’Connell with (mentors) Paul Cloney, Danny O’Connell and Ciaran Carroll; Munster – Cory Ryan, Calvin O’Sullivan, Brendan Daly, Scott Morrisson, Jack Murray, Cillian Bratchford, Philip Flynn, Shane Coughlan, Cillian Fitzgerald, Ryan O’Mahony, Culann O’Connell and (mentors) Arthur Coughlan and Declan O’Flynn.

In the U-6 section we had two teams of mini super heroes and these teams lined out as follows: Power Rangers – Sam Twomey, Christopher Ring, Ryan Slattery, Luca Cy Fitzgerald, Leo Lynch, Padraig O’Toole, Donogh McGrath and (mentors) Kevin Ring, Eamon McGrath and Pat O’Toole. Ninjas – Fionn Lardner, Brendan O’Callaghan, Jack Browne, John O’Keeffe, Frankie Dewhurst, Minghal Keating and (mentors) Paul Lardner and Brendan O’Callaghan.

The next round of games will take place this Thursday (April 26) at 7pm in St Colmans, please note change of time and on Saturday morning (April 28) at 10 am also in St Colmans.

The good news for any  players who missed out last Saturday is that the transfer window is still open and they are welcome to come along Thursday or Saturday where you will be guaranteed a game.

The usual rules apply bring correct clothing, hurley and helmet if you have them, shin guards are advised also.

The U-6s do not need to bring hurleys as we are after acquiring hurleys with rubber bas for them.

If you know of any players who might be interested let them know that Saturday morning and Thursday evening is the place to be to be guaranteed a match.

U-9:

I would like to thank Noel Crowley who helped us out with the U-9s football training last Thursday evening.

Noel’s expertise on football skills training was very welcome from both the mentors and the U-9 boys.

Our training times are as usual with Thursday evenings between 6.30 p.m and 7.30 p.m for football and Saturday mornings between 10 a.m and 11 a.m for hurling in St. Colman’s pitches.

All U-9 children are welcome to attend where they will receive a warm welcome and if any of the dads or mams would like to help us out with our training sessions, we would be delighted.

You do not need to be an expert in football or hurling skills to help us out, we just need a commitment from you to help supervise the children and help out with basic ball skills.

Again a reminder to bring the correct training gear, a drink of water and €2 towards the cost of the pitch.

U-10:

We had hurling training on last Thursday night in St. Colman’s.

We had a great turnout on the night and well done to all the boys.

On Saturday morning we had football training because we had a football match on Sunday.

We would like to thank Noel Crowley and Kevin O Callaghan for sharing their expertise with us on Thursday night and Saturday morning - it was very much appreciated by the U-10 mentors and the boys really learned a lot.

This was very evident on Sunday when we played two football matches against Bandon in our main pitch.

The boys put on a brilliant display of football and we were all very proud of them.

Thank you to Pat O Brien, Gerry Galvin and their team for having the pitches ready.  Thanks to the U-9s who helped us out with numbers on the day. Thanks boys.

We will have training on Thursday night in St. Colman’s and we will train as usual on Saturday morning as well. See you all Thursday.

U-11:

Hurling training this Saturday morning (April 28) at 10.45 am in the main GAA Pitch.

Football training next Wednesday night (May 2) at 6.45pm in the main GAA pitch.

Please note that it is essential for the proper organisation of training that each player is on time, brings hurley and a helmet a bottle of water and €2 to cover training cost.

We will be having both football and hurling matches coming up in the next few weeks so watch this space for further information.

U-12:

We were due to play Killavullen in the North Cork hurling league in Killavullen on Wednesday night.

We will have a full report in next week’s column.

The lads are now slowly switching their focus to hurling – but have been exceptionally busy over recent weeks in helping support the two U-13 squads.

Attendance at training on Monday and Wednesday nights is vital as we have upcoming league matches now coming thick and fast.

U-13:

Fermoy 0-3 Glanmire 5-8:

Last Saturday night we squared up to Glanmire in an U-13B Gaelic football challenge.

This was always going to be a tough encounter given Glanmire’s strength in depth and the quality football sides they have been producing of late.

It didn’t help that conditions in Fermoy were absolutely miserable on the night – with players at one point having to brave showers of sleet and hail which sent parents and fans scurrying for the shelter of the stand.

From the minute the whistle blew, Glanmire were firing on all cylinders and Fermoy were desperately trying to get a foothold in the match.

Two quick goals gave the city side a commanding lead that they were never to relinquish until the final whistle.

By halftime, Fermoy were already down by 4-4 to 0-0 – but, in fairness to the lads in black and amber, they never stop trying and, in the second half, managed to finally break upfield to take a couple of scores.

The lads ran their hearts out to bring the game to a Glanmire outfit which was not only physically strong but also very skilful and adept at playing the ball into open space.

Special mention to Jack O’Donnell, Jack Caplice, James Molloy, Sean Holland and Liam Harty for stand-out performances on the night.

All Fermoy players present on the night got a run-out – and that is the primary purpose of these matches.

Our thanks to Gary Mahon for refereeing and for braving the inclement conditions when it would have been a lot easier to be beside a warm fire.

Fermoy: Colm Dorgan, Eddie Joyce, Jack Caplice, James Hussey, JJ Hickey, Liam Harty, Sean Holland, David Lardner, Greg Lardner, James Molloy, Luke Aherne, Sean McCarthy, Jack O'Donnell, Shane Hurley, David Mulcahy, Daniel Regan and Michael O’Brien.

Thanks to Mathew Lynch for helping out.

Fermoy 2-5 Thomas Russells 3-10:

What a cracking match it proved to be last Monday evening (April 23) as we faced Thomas Russells in the North Cork Gaelic football league.

The evening was cold but thankfully stayed dry as both sides laid on a feast of open, attacking football.

Thomas Russells settled fastest and opened up an early lead with some fine scores. The Fermoy lads perhaps showed a little too much respect for the visitors and it wasn’t until Fermoy scored a great breakaway goal that they finally realised they were very much in this match.

It was all square at half-time and, 15 minutes into the second half, it looked like the black-and-amber could pull off a famous win thanks to a superb David Lardner goal and some great outfield points.

There were superb performances from David and Greg Lardner while Sean McCarthy had his best match of the season so far and was outstanding in his reading of the play.

They were ably supported by James Molloy, Jack O’Donnell, JJ Hickey, Sean Holland and Jack Caplice with Josh Shanahan very assured in goal.

Unfortunately, as Fermoy pressed for a decisive score, they were hit on the break by a Thomas Russell goal which brought them back to within two points of the home side and the momentum decisively shifted.

Russells scored another goal and tagged on some insurance points as Fermoy’s enormous efforts finally began to tell in terms of tired legs in the closing 10 minutes.

But it was one of the best performances by the lads this season with a display rich in heart, effort, skill and team-work.

Our thanks to Thomas Russells for a match played in great spirit with enormous skill shown by both sides.

Special thanks to mentors Bosco Creed, Paul Lardner and Mattie O'Callaghan for having the lads ably marshalled from the sideline.

Fermoy: Colm Dorgan, Eddie Joyce, Jack Caplice, James Hussey, JJ Hickey, Keith Flynn, Liam Harty, Sean Holland, Jack Dowling, David Lardner, Greg Lardner, James Molloy, Luke Aherne, Ralph Riegel, Sean McCarthy, Jack O'Donnell, Shane Hurley, David Mulcahy, Josh Shanahan, Daniel Regan and Michael O’Brien.

Training continues as normal and attendance is vital.

U-14:

Fermoy 8-8 Erins Own 2-3:

Our U-14 hurlers were at home against Erins Own in Round 2 of the Feile qualifiers on Saturday (April 15).

Fermoy tore into their opponents and really and truly the match was over as a contest at half time.

The lads have to be complimented in the way they maintained their intensity in the second half and ran out comfortable winners on a scoreline of 8-8 to 2-3.

The continuing improvement in skill and teamwork was very evident - great display boys!

Fermoy 3-6 Ballygiblin 2-12:

We travelled to Ballygiblin last Friday night (April 20) to play the Feile quarter final against the host team who had accounted for Glen Rovers in the previous round.

This turned out to be a classic game of hurling which ebbed and flowed and the result was in the melting pot right to the end.

Fermoy went into an early lead by virtue of a well taken goal but proceeded to defend brilliantly against a physically bigger Ballygiblin side.

The teams were level at half time after which Fermoy started to play their best hurling and went into a four point lead with a superbly taken goal.

We conceded a few soft scores which put us seven points in arrears but our lads upped their game again and scored a goal and a point to leave just three between the sides with five minutes to go.

Despite intense Fermoy pressure, Ballygiblin survived the onslaught to win on a scoreline of 2-12 to 3-6.

The Fermoy boys should be very proud of their performance and are a team coming on in leaps and bounds.

We should now look forward to the remainder of the league and the championship with plenty of confidence if the team continue to put in the hard work.

Fermoy panel: Dale Dawson, Dara McCarthy, Cillian Lynch, Sean Holland, Ryan Sargent, Jack Gallagher, Adam Creed, Ross O’Sullivan, Ronan Morrison, Robert Broderick, Colm Hurley, David O’Callaghan, Darragh Scott, Conor de Roiste, Shane O’Keeffe, Matthew Walsh, Sean Harnett, Gavin Morrison, Liam Harty, Shane Buttimer, Conor O’Driscoll, Ross O’Brien and JJ Hickey.

Attendance at training is vital. Please liaise with the mentors over upcoming matches and travel arrangements.

U-16:

On the hurling side we will have kicked off our first two sessions of the season by the time this report goes to print and are building up steam nicely ahead of our up and coming first league fixture to be announced very soon.

Keep an eye on these notes for further updates and information.

MEMBERSHIP:

Membership forms for the 2012 season will be distributed shortly for all age groups.

Please note that, for the coming year, the membership rate is €20 per juvenile and €50 per adult. Family memberships are also available.