Louth GAA club | Division One round-up

St Joseph's 4-18 St Patrick's 0-12

St Joseph's booked their place in the Louth GAA Cardinal O’Donnell Cup Final, and for only the second time ever, thanks to victory over St Patrick's in Cluskey Park on Friday evening.

It certainly represents a great achievement for a side in their first season back in the top flight after a 20-year absence. After Pearse Grimes Murphy opened the scoring, the early exchanges of the game were nip and tuck.

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Alan Quigley was also on target for the hosts during that spell while Jack Murphy (2p) and Micheal O’Shaughnessy were on the mark at the other end as the first quarter ended level at five points apiece.

The second quarter was a different story as the Joes upped the pace as Conall Smyth, Oisin McGuinness (penalty) and Alan Quigley scored goals in quick succession to see their team lead by 3-9 to 0-6 at the break.

The Joes didn’t show any signs of slowing down after the break as Quigley was again among the points, while Grimes Murphy burst through to add a fourth goal and keep his side firmly in control.

The visitors continued to battle and saw Cillian Keenan, Darren Connor and Rory Duffy (2p) add to their tally.

However, in the end, the Joes cruised home with Craig Doherty, Oisin McGuinness and Ben Collier all finding their range to ensure their side can look forward to a meeting with St Mochtas in the decider.

St Josephs: Adam Cassidy; Ciaran Johnston, David Kieran, Rian Devlin; Michael O’Brien, Cormac McKeown, Ben McKeown; Gabriel Bell, Oisin McGuinness 1-3; Jack Mulligan 0-1, Craig Doherty 0-2, Pearse Grimes Murphy 1-2; Alan Quigley 1-8 (2x2p), Ben Collier 0-2, Conall Smyth 1-0.

Subs: Aidan Kieran for J Mulligan, Evan McEnteggart for C Smyth, Alan Lynch for C McKeown. 

St Patricks: Martin McEneaney; James McGeown, Rory Duffy 0-2 (2p), Kevin Toner; Conor Grogan, Micheal O’Shaughnessy 0-2, Darren Connor 0-1; Tom McCann, Padraig Duffy; Sean Fearon, Joe Connor 0-2, Jack Murphy 0-4 (2p); Cillian White 0-1, Cillian Keenan, Ruairi Traynor.

Subs: Daniel Tumulty for C White, Ross Murphy for K Toner, Stephen Toner for M O’Shaughnessy, Patrick Keenan for R Traynor, Josh Murphy for C Keenan.

(John O'Neill Sand and Gravel Louth Division One League table)

Dreadnots 3-11 Nh Mairtin 0-17

Dreadnots recovered from a slow start to claim an impressive victory over Nh Mairtin at Clogherhead on Friday evening.

The visitors made a very bright start and with scores from Darragh Dorian, Daire McDonnell and Sam Mulroy, they led by 0-6 to no score at the end of the first quarter.

Anthony Williams finally got the hosts off the mark with a point, and straight from the restart, Craig Shevlin found the net to get his side right back in the game.

Although the Jocks went five clear when Tom Gray landed a point on 24 minutes, the Dreadnots responded with a James Califf goal and levelled with a Darragh Shevlin two-pointer to make it 2-5 to 0-11 at the break.

The teams traded scores at the start of the second half before points from Dean Hyland and Sam Reilly had the Clogher men ahead for the first time at 2-9 to 0-14 on 48 minutes.

A Jay Hughes goal gave the Dreadnots breathing space, and although the Mairtins battled back with scores from Darragh Dorian and Craig Callanan, the hosts held out for a three-point win.

Dreadnots: Adam Cassidy; Ciaran Caffrey, Callum Skinnader, Barry Faulkner; Alex Aspell, Anthony Williams 0-1, Conor Faulkner; Darragh Shevlin 0-2, Ciaran Cunningham; Ciaran Finnegan 0-2, Sam Reilly 0-1, Conor Clarke; James Califf 1-0, Donnacha Hodgins, Craig Shevlin 1-3.

Subs: Cian McEvoy for D Shevlin, Donnacha Skinnader for A Aspell, Dean Hyland 0-2 for C Cunningham, Conor Shevlin for C Clarke, Jay Hughes 1-0 for D Hodgins.

Nh Mairtin: Joe Gordon; Mark Whelan, Shane Morgan, Conor Healy; Craig Callanan 0-1, Sean Healy, Evan Whelan 0-1; Joe McGrane 0-1, Adam Booth; Darragh Dorian 0-6, Sam Mulroy 0-2, Wayne Campbell; Tom Gray 0-4, Val Leddy, Daire O’Donnell 0-2.

(John O'Neill Sand and Gravel Louth Division One League fixtures)

St Mochtas 4-9 St Mary's 2-5

St Mochtas maintained their good run of form with a victory over St Mary's on Saturday night, as they now look forward to a Cardinal O’Donnell Cup Final meeting with St Joseph's.

The Louth Village side consolidated their position at the top of the Division 1A table with a confidence-boosting win in Ardee, with the foundations for success being laid in a first half which saw them score all four goals.

Although the Ardee men can look forward to bringing back some of their big hitters for the championship, they may have some slight concerns about the fact that they have now shipped ten goals in their last two games.

Liam O’Flaherty claimed two goals in the opening half while Gerry Garland and Cormac Smyth found the net to give their side a healthy 4-5 to 1-2 lead at half time. Calum Noade claimed a goal for the Marys to give them some hope.

The scoring rate dropped in the second half, but the Marys were never really in a position to threaten a comeback despite adding a second goal through Conor Gillespie.

The Mochtas were always in control and eased to victory on a night when Ciaran and Declan Byrne contributed three points apiece.

St Mochtas: Daire O’Shea; Owen Lennon, David Lennon, Conor Mc Kenna; Craig Lennon, Ben Goss Kieran, Conor Garland; Decky Byrne 0-3, Gerry Garland 1-1; Dylan Farrell, Casey Byrne 0-3 (2p), Jamie Farrell 0-1; Liam O’Flaherty 2-0, Cormac Smyth 1-1, Darren McMahon.

Subs: Daniel Craven for C Garland, Andrew English for O Lennon, Liam Lawlor for C McKenna, Andrew Lennon for C Lennon, Dara Quinn for C Byrne.

St Mary's: James McGillick; Conor Keenan, Evan Malone, Noah Coyle; Tadhg McDonnell, Eimhin Keenan, Carl Gillespie 0-2; Robbie Leavy, Brian Talty; Andy Murphy, Conor Gillespie 1-2, Calum Noade 1-0; Adam Gillespie, Daire 0-1, Tom Jackson.

Subs: RJ Callaghan for R Leavy, Flynn Markey for A. Murphy, Luke Keenan for C Noade, Fionn Coyle for E Malone.

Newtown Blues 1-16 Sean O’Mahonys 0-13

Newtown Blues maintained their winning run in Division 1B when they defeated Sean O’Mahonys in Dundalk on Thursday night.

The Drogheda men now have three wins and a draw in phase two of the league and look to be in fine form heading into the championship.

It was another disappointing night for the hosts as they ended the weekend just a point ahead of St Fechins ahead of the teams’ meeting in the final round of games.

On a night when both Terry Kelly and Aaron Mackin landed five points, it was looking good for the O’Mahonys at the break as they opened up a 0-11 to 0-7 advantage.

However, the Blues turned things around in the second half as a goal from Eoin McCoy, along with important contributions from Ciaran Downey and Jamie Farrell, saw them secure a comfortable win.

Newtown Blues: Johnny McDonnell; Luke Brannigan, Aidan O’Brien, Joe Harte; Jack Healy 0-1, Emmet Carolan, Iollan Farrell 0-1; Brian Kermode, Ciaran Downey 0-6; Alan Connor, Conor Moore 0-1, Lorcan McQuillan; Jamie Kelly 0-4, Eoin McCoy 1-1, Niall Devlin 0-2.

Subs: Sean Doherty for A O’Brien, Daire Nally for L McQuillan

Sean O'Mahony's: Kevin Brennan, Gerard Redmond, Ciaran Jameson, Conor Mackin; Sean Cassidy, Aaron Boyle 0-2, Conor Finnegan; Conor Martin, Kyle Carroll; Junior Shotayo, Thomas Rice 0-1, Aaron Mackin 0-5; Conor McGailey, Terry Kelly 0-5, Chris O’Neill.

Subs: John O’Brien for C McGailey, Gary Colleary for G Redmond.

Hunterstown Rovers 0-15 St Fechins 0-15

St Fechins face a battle for survival in their final game of the season against Sean O’Mahonys after being held to a draw at Hunterstown on Saturday night.

Late scores from Danny Burnell and Colm Hackett salvaged a draw for the visitors, but it was Hunterstown who were the happier side as the point secured their Division 1 status for another year.

Midfielder Hackett opened the scoring straight from the throw-in with a point from play, but Hunterstown responded swiftly with two points of their own.

Fechins struggled early, with two efforts going wide and two more falling short, while the home side extended their lead to three points by the first quarter.

Ronan Holcroft drew Fechins level with a pair of points—one from a placed ball—but Hunterstown quickly regained control, hitting two two-pointers in quick succession.

Further scores from Holcroft and Aaron McGlew closed the gap, but Hunterstown cancelled them out before the break to go in with a 0-9 to 0-5 lead.

Lee Grifferty kicked Fechins’ only two-pointer of the game just after the restart, followed by another point from Ronan Holcroft.

However, Hunterstown kept their noses in front with a trio of frees from Ryan Burns. The sides exchanged points steadily, with the match tied at 0-13 apiece heading into the final 10 minutes.

Hunterstown edged ahead with two more points, but Fechins dug deep. A Danny Burnell free and a final score from Colm Hackett saw the visitors earn a draw at the final whistle.

St Fechins now face a must-win showdown next Friday against fellow strugglers Sean O’Mahonys in what promises to be a high-stakes, winner-takes-all clash.

St Fechins: Kyle Meegan; Niall McCabe, Paddy Keane, Ciaran McGinty; Evan Kelly, Share Reilly, Danny Burnell 0-2; Colm Hackett 0-2, Dan Reilly; John O’Connell, Lee Grifferty 0-2 (2p), Colm O’Neill 0-1; Ronan Holcroft 0-6, Evan Dolan, Aaron McGlew 0-2.

Subs: John Woods for E Kelly, Joe Corrigan for D Reilly, Evan McCluskey for P Keane, Matthew Flanagan for C McGinty.

Hunterstown Rovers: Donovan Sheridan;  ⁠Adam O’Reily, ⁠Shane Halpenny, ⁠Euan Woodlock; ⁠Colm Murphy, ⁠Paddy Taaffe, ⁠Daithi Carroll; ⁠Marc Ward, ⁠Jason Monaghan 0-6 (2 x 2p); ⁠Tony McKenna 0-1, ⁠David Finn 0-2 (2p), ⁠Glen Mathews 0-1; ⁠Ciaran Russell, ⁠Ryan Ward, ⁠Ryan Burns 0-4 (2p).

Subs: Paul Carrie 0-1 for E Woodlock, Oran Martin for M Ward, Cian Mathews for G Mathews.

Geraldines 1-13 Cooley Kickhams 1-10

Geraldines returned home from Fr McEvoy Park on Saturday night with a precious three points thanks to a three-point win over hosts Cooley Kickhams.

The victory means the Gers move four points clear of bottom team St Fechins and three ahead of Sean O’Mahony’s side in the final round of fixtures, meaning that their Division 1 status is secure for another year.

It was Cooley who made the brighter start as they had two points on the board before Michael Rogers opened the visitors’ account.

At the end of the first quarter, the peninsula side found themselves 0-5 to 0-2 to the good, but that lead was wiped out when Rogers found the net from a penalty in the final minute of the half to level the game.

Boosted by the goal, the Gers started the second half in blistering fashion as Danny Nordone (2) and Jack Traynor had the Gers three clear before Rogers landed a two-point free.

The hosts battled their way back into the game, and a goal from Mickey Rafferty on 47 minutes saw the gap back to just a single point, while two quick-fire scores saw them regain the lead at 1-9 to 1-8.

However, the Geraldines didn’t panic and got back in front thanks to Traynor and David O’Connell before a Rogers two-pointer and a late Matt Corcoran point sealed victory.

Geraldines: Cian O’Donoghue; John McCrohan, Dara O Gradaigh, Paul Clarke; Jack McGailey, Dan Corcoran, Neil Gartlan; Thomas McNamara, Michael Rogers 1-6; Jack Traynor 0-2, Brian Cafferty 0-1, David O’Connell 0-1; Shane Soraghan, Danny Nordone 0-2, Brian Devlin.

Subs: Matt Corcoran 0-1 for S Soraghan, James Craven for P Clarke.

Cooley Kickhams: Niall Brady; Niall Morgan (0-1), Dean McGreehan, Ian Arnold; Gerry Malone (0-1), Darren Marks, James O’Reilly (0-1); Richard Brennan, Fearghal Malone; Fionn O’Reilly, Michael Carron, Gerard Hanlon; Cian Connor (0-3), Jason Brady (0-1), Mickey Rafferty (1-3).

Subs: James Loughran for R Brennan, Sean Hoey for J O’Reilly, Daire McDaid for D Marks, Brian Boyle for M Carron, Thomas McCarragher for F O’Reilly.