Louth GAA club | Division Three League round-up

Wolfe Tones 1-10 Nh Malachi 1-3

Fresh from their Kevin Mullen Shield triumph, Wolfe Tones made a winning start to the Louth GAA Division 3 campaign with victory away to Nh Malachi on Saturday night.

READ NEXT: Louth GAA club | Division Two League round-up

On a tricky night for both teams, it was the Drogheda men who proved the most efficient in front of the posts as a strong second-half performance saw them return home with victory.

It was the Malachis who scored the first goal of the game in the opening period through Conor Nicholson, while Malachy Mackin added a two-pointer. However, the Tones picked off their scores at the other end to go in level at halftime at 1-2 to 0-5.

The second period saw the Drogheda men get on top with Patrick Fanning’s goal putting daylight between the teams.

Dylan Rooney scored the only point of the second period for the Mals on a night when Sean McQuail, Garrett Cooney, Mark Healy, Eoghan Clinton, Johnny Woods and Dwayne Leavy were on target for the winners.

Wolfe Tones: Sean McMahon; Shane Leslie, Niall Smith, Rhys McGovern; Sean McQuail 0-1, Garrett Cooney 0-2, Sam Kelly; Mark Healy 0-1, Eoghan Clinton 0-1; Patrick Fanning 1-1, Davy Bolger, Sean Flanagan; Johnny Woods 0-1, Dwayne Leavy 0-1, Eoghan Brennan 0-2.

Subs: Taidgh Rock, Kevin Brady.

Nh Malachi: Paul Burke; Sean McArdle, Jamie Kelly, Lee McShane; Matty Campbell, Daniel Mulligan, Shea Burns; Iarla McMahon, Malachy Mackin 0-2 (2p); Andre Begley, Joey Hearty, Darren Clarke; Collie Rooney, Conor Nicholson 1-0, Dylan Rooney 0-1.

Subs: Dean Murtagh for C Rooney, Conor Begley for I McMahon, Harry Kirk for J Hearty.

Annaghminnon Rovers 0-15 Sean McDermotts 1-8

Annaghminnon Rovers are off the mark in Division 3 after returning home from Mountrush with a hard-fought four-point win over Sean McDermotts.

Two-pointers were the order of the day for the visitors as they kicked five in total in a game dominated by the weather conditions.

All five came in the opening half as Dwayne Markey (2), Richie Ashfield, Rory Phelan and James O’Connor all raised the orange flag to put their side in control.

The McDermotts failed to trouble the scoreboard, and at the break it was 0-12 to no score in favour of the visitors.

The Seans got into the game in the second half and had two-pointers of their own through Daniel Commins (3) and Matthew Little.

Commins also added a goal following a goalmouth scramble, but Rovers did enough to secure the win as second-half points from Kyle Martin, Phelan and Ashfield saw them over the line.

Annaghminnon Rovers: Shane Grimes; Chris Connolly, Ryan Cash, Tiernan O’Brien; Richie Ashfield 0-4 (2p), Colin Campbell, Fergal Markey; Conor Russell, Dylan McArdle; Aidan Lee Martin, Dwayne Markey 0-5 (2x2p), Tony Brennan; Rory Phelan 0-3 (2p), Kyle Martin 0-1, James O’Connor 0-2 (2p).

Subs: Padraig Corrigan and Ronan McRedmond.

Sean McDermotts: Noel Tuite; Lorcan Donegan, Donnacha McCourt, Patrick Svender; Conor Walsh, Emmet Duffy, Matthew Little 0-2 (2p); Cormac Walsh, Sean McMahon; Ian McDonnell, Daniel Commins 1-6 (3x2p), Luke Hoey; Ian Corbally, Cian Martin, Dean Tuite.

Sub: Lorcan Donegan for P Svender.

Lannleire 1-11 Clan na Gael 1-6

A strong first-half showing helped Lannleire come out on top against Clan na Gael in this Division 3 clash at Dunleer on Saturday.

The Dundalk men travelled for their first game in the league, hoping to banish the disappointment of their Kevin Mullen Shield Final defeat, but it wasn’t to be as the home side prevailed.

Colin Murphy proved the difference between the teams on the night as he chalked up seven points, including two two-pointers, while Darragh Malone chipped in with a goal.

Lannleire were assisted by the elements in the opening period, and the efforts of Murphy and Malone helped them establish a 1-9 to 0-2 lead at halftime.

As expected, Clans had the better of the game in the second half, and a goal from Liam O’Hanlon, along with points from Robbie Curran and Jason Cullen, gave them a fighting chance.

However, the hosts defended well in the closing stages to hold out for victory.

Lannleire: Conor Dunne; Aaron McCardle, Laurence McEntee, Alex Carroll; Paul Doyle 0-1, Mark Grogan, Jack O’Connor; Kyle van Rhijn, Darragh Goodman; Colin Murphy 0-7 (2x2p), Killian Gregory 0-1, Darragh Malone 1-0; Bob Murphy 0-1, Ian Mulroy, Brendan Cassidy 0-1.

Subs: Pierce Hawkins for P Doyle, Brian McGuinness for B Cassidy, Mark Dunne for D Malone.

Clan na Gael: Sean Smyth; Ellis O’Carroll, Lee O’Carroll, Craig Callan; Robbie Curran 0-3, Donal Boyle, Oisin Finn; Gerard Curran, Shay Coleman; Gavin Gaffey, Mark McGeown, Liam O’Hanlon 1-1; Jason Cullen 0-2, Shane Carroll, Mark Newell.

Subs: C Long for O Finn, T Weldon for E O’Carroll, S Coleman for S Carroll.

Glyde Rangers 3-12 Cuchulainn Gaels 0-12

Glyde Rangers started their Division 3 campaign with a trip to Omeath and returned home in good spirits after clinching both points.

Despite the poor conditions, both sides were in good scoring form, but it was a brace of goals from Olin Crosbie and a third from Cormac Lundon that proved the difference between the teams at the final whistle.

The Tallanstown side had the benefit of the wind in the opening period, and they certainly took full advantage.

All three goals came before the break, while points from Crosbie, Aaron Devlin, Oisin Lynch and Tadhg Kellett helped them take a 3-9 to 0-2 lead into the interval.

Cuchulainn Gaels battled well in the second half and added ten points to their tally. However, they needed goals to give themselves any chance, but were denied by a disciplined Glyde backline as the visitors secured a nine-point win.

Glyde Rangers: Oran Matthews; Mark McKeever, Liam Gallagher, Oisin Lynch 0-2; Darren McKeever, Jack McKeever, Gerard Bourton; Adam Sweeney, Sean Devaney; Leigh Byrne, Aaron Devlin 0-2, Killian Scott 0-1; Tadhg Kellett 0-1, Olin Crosbie 2-5, Cormac Lundon 1-1.

Subs: Shane Mullany and Senan Lundun.

Cuchulainn Gaels: Seamus Quigley; James Keenan, Martin Hynes, Euan McArdle; Callum Fearon, Sean Brennan, Rammie Phillips; Larry Brennan, James Sharkey; Cian McDonald, Micheal McCabe, Brendan O’Hagan, Brendan O’Hagan; David Reilly, David McQuaid, Adam Sharkey.

Nh Fionnbarra 2-11 Na Piarsaigh/Blackrock 2-7

Goals from Josh Crosbie and Ciarán Markey helped Nh Fionnbarra make a winning start to their Division 3 campaign with victory at home to Na Piarsaigh Blackrock.

Na Piarsaigh played the first half with the Gale in their favour, but it was the Barrs that got the first score of the game from the boot of Niall McCreesh.

The Dundalk men replied with a two-point effort from Shane Roddy, only for Ciarán Markey to land the next two scores.

The hosts gave themselves a huge boost when Crosbie got in for the first goal of the game to take a four-point lead at the end of the first quarter.

Scores from Jack Murtagh, Markey and Matthew O’Reilly extended the Barrs’ advantage, but late scores from Robert Murphy and Jamie Fealy cut the gap at the break to 1-6 to 0-7.

The Finbarrs made a quick start to the second half with points from Niall McCreesh and Murtagh (2p), followed by a goal from Markey to lead by 2-9 to 0-7 with 13 minutes left to play.

The Naps battled back into the game with goals in quick succession from Calum Smith and Robert Murphy. However, the Barrs steadied themselves in the closing stages with points from Conor Osborne and Murtagh to seal the win.

Naomh Fionnbarra: Fionn Mcquillan; Adam Hanratty, Ronan Callaghan, Adam Kirwan; Máirtín Murphy, Colin McGrane, Sean Boyle; Matthew O’Reilly (0-1), Josh Crosbie (1-0); Conor Osborne (0-1), Ciarán Markey 1-3 (3f), Hugh Osborne; Jack Butterly, Jack Murtagh (0-4,2p), Niall McCreesh (0-2).

Subs: Ciarán Murphy for J Butterly, James Markey for M Murphy, Conor Boyle for C Markey.

Na Piarsaigh/Blackrock: Jordan Mackin; Joe Woods, Darren McElhinney, Stephen McGuinness; Calum Smith 1-0, Michael Woods, Tiernan Rogers; Shane Roddy 0-2, Eoin Farrell; Tommy Muckian, Paul Mallon, Ciaran Murphy; Jamie Fealy 0-1, Matt McLoon, Fionn Tipping.

Subs: Robert Murphy 1-4, Gerard Rice, John Galligan.

St Nicholas 2-6 Westerns 1-5

On a difficult night to play football, the Nicks secured an opening day win in Reaghstown against a battling Westerns team.

With Storm Dave blowing a gale, it was a credit to both teams to be able to hold possession for any length of time.

The visitors had the wind at their backs in the first half and opened the scoring through Leo Quinn, and the lead was doubled by a fine individual point from Dylan Grogan, midway through the half.

Westerns pulled one back with a Killian Crosbie close-range free, but from the resulting kick-out, the impressive Shane Downey returned the Nicks' lead back to two points.

St. Nicholas missed the opportunity to hit the net as a late penalty was saved, before a Paudi Downey free had the gap at 0-4 to 0-1 going into the break.

Playing against the elements in the second half, the Drogheda men had to keep the ball in hand as kick passing was almost impossible.

Good work from Caebhan Housidari and Hayden Quinn found Shane Downey at the edge of the square, who doubled his tally for the day and extended the lead.

A fine two-point free from Crosbie kept the Westerns in touch, but it was Downey again who extended the Nicks' lead as he found the top corner of the Westerns net.

The concession of the goal did nothing to dishearten the home side, who found the net through Emmet Duffy themselves following a scramble in the goalmouth.

The scoreline was tight for the remainder of the half until a Con Sheehan point, and Ross Brady's goal did enough for St. Nicholas to take the two points.

St. Nicholas: Shane Fineagan; Stephen Fineagan, Donal Carr, Aaron Flanagan; Caebhan Housidari, Ruairi Hanlon, Dylan Brogan (0-1); Cian Flynn, Hayden Quinn; Leo Quinn (0-1), Shane Downey (1-2), Sam Reilly; Paudi Downey (0-1), Jamie O'Brien, Con Sheehan (0-1).

Subs: Ross Brady (1-0) for P Downey, Lee Kavanagh for O'Brien, Sean Hoey for L Quinn

Westerns: Peter Shiels; Ciaran Scriven, Adam Duffy, Patrick Kerley; Roan Gallagher, Finn Duffy 0-1, Killian Daly; Cathal Kennedy 0-1, Matthew Kane; PJ Marron, Anthony Durnin, Emmet Smith 1-0; Killian Crosbie 0-3 (2p), Ryan Duffy 0-1, Aidan McGarrell.

Sub: Jack McEvoy for A McGarrell.

O’Connell’s 8-13 Dowdallshill 0-2

O’Connell’s started their league campaign with a visit to Dowdallshill in a repeat of the opening game of the 2025 season for both teams.

In horrendous conditions, O’Connell’s GFC dominated right from the first whistle, with Niall Conlon getting some early scores on the board to put O’Connell’s 0-3 to no score ahead after the opening ten minutes.

O’Connell’s found the back of the net for the first time when captain Justin Cooney broke through on goal to put the visitors six points ahead, before points from Robert Quigley, two from Jackie Agnew, Niall Conlon and Rian McKeever put O’Connell’s ahead 1-8 to no score after 20 minutes of play.

Niall Conlon found the back of the net for his first goal of the day before adding another point to his tally, while Jackie Agnew found O’Connell’s third goal of the game shortly after.

Justin Cooney added another point before the break to leave the scores at 3-10 to no score at half-time.

The second half started perfectly for O’Connell’s, with five unanswered goals in the space of ten minutes from Jackie Agnew, Niall Conlon, Bernard Osborne, Justin Cooney and Dalton O’Brien putting any doubt of the result to bed.

Dowdallshill struck their first point of the game soon after through Cathal Byrne before three more points from Jackie Agnew finished off the O’Connell’s scoring for the day, with one final point from Byrne for the home side. 

O’Connell’s: Dylan Smith, Nathan Carragher, James Walsh, Adam Flynn, Alan McGovern, Conor Culligan, Joshua Horwell, Cailum Woods, Sean Cairns, Cathal O’Brien, Justin Cooney (2-1), Rian McKeever (0-1), Jackie Agnew (2-5), Niall Conlon (2-5), Robert Quigley (0-1).

Subs: Conall Clerkin for R. Quigley, Bernard Osborne (1-0) for C. O’Brien, Dalton O’Brien (1-0) for J. Horwell, Matthew Raleigh for N. Conlon, Jay Conlon for R. McKeever.

Dowdallshill: Chris Mullen; Tommy Craig, Kenneth Edu, Eddie Lapinsks; Feilim O’Callaghan, Ray Campbell, Keenan McGavish; Paul Flynn, Donal Magennis; Stephen Traynor, Cathal Byrne 0-2, Stephen King; Conor Thatcher, Thomas McKenny, Emmet O’Brien.

Subs: Justin Halley, Stephen Murray, Ciaran Finnegan.