A Chara,

Well, where do we start? Since our last newsletter, our Senior Ladies Footballers have become County Champions. The ladies are now officially the best team in the Rebel County! What an achievement! More on this later!
 
There are a number of items to get through in this newsletter but it is important to point out that our club AGM will take place on Monday the 25th of November at 7pm in our clubhouse as notified earlier in the week by the club secretary John Murphy. 

Sunday, the 20th of October will go down in Aghada’s history as a day of unparalleled pride, joy, and sheer emotion. For the first time ever, our club captured the Senior Ladies Football County Championship title, an achievement that will forever be etched into the fabric of CLG Áth Fhada. Facing a determined Éire Óg side in a windswept MTU Stadium, the match was a nail-biter from start to finish. The huge Aghada crowd were treated to a County Final for the ages. Both teams looked like they had won and lost the contest on numerous occasions. The range of emotions during the match for players, management, and supporters was unbelievable. Joy, to agony and joy again! After a gruelling 80 plus minutes of play, both teams stood level, forcing a dramatic finish that saw Aghada holding their nerve in a nerve-wracking 25 metre free-kick shootout. 

Aghada kicked first in the shoot out with Sarah Leahy splitting the posts confidently to send the girls from the East into a crucial lead. Éire Óg’s first attempt was unsuccessful and Aghada had the chance to double their lead. Up stepped Hannah Looney who made no mistake and put the pressure straight back on our opponents. To their credit, they confidently scored their next free kick. They say nerves are huge in a final, but next we had 18 year old Bríanna Smith step up to take the next free and clipped over her effort with precision straight between the posts. Pressure is for tyres as they say! Éire Óg ended up missing the next free so Aghada knew all they had to do now was to score any one of the next two free kicks to become champions. It was Roisin Phelan, our fearless captain, who sealed the victory, her free sailing flawlessly between the posts. The crowd erupted—cheers, tears, hugs, and sheer elation spilled out as years of hard work, commitment, and dreams were realised in that one heart-stopping moment. Supporters and families flooded the pitch, embracing the players and management, united in celebration of a historic achievement for our small parish.

The Aghada faithful were out in force, and their presence was felt throughout the game. From the first whistle to the last, the energy was electric, with everyone hoping to witness history. And history they did. When that final whistle blew and the realisation set in, the scenes on the pitch were nothing short of emotional. Players, coaches, supporters—everyone was swept up in the moment. There were smiles, tears, and hugs, emotions running deep for a club that had waited so long for this day. Eventually, after a few renditions of Caledonia, the cup was presented to our Captain Roisin Phelan by Cork LGFA chairperson Marian Crowley. Roisin gave a fantastic speech and thanked all the players and management for their commitment during the year. As Roisin handed back the microphone, there was still time for one more rendition of our adopted song, Caledonia. As she did in the free taking, Hannah Looney stepped up to send the Aghada faithful into delirium! 

On a day of such magnitude for our club, it is important to recognise all the people who made this special day a reality. Firstly, our amazing players, ALL 41 of them! Their dedication, commitment and effort throughout the season has been second to none. They are a credit to the club and will forever be remembered for bringing the first ever senior county back to our parish. Every good team needs a capable management team and by god, our senior ladies footballers definitely had that! The management team was big and led by Bainisteoir Eric Smith. The Blackrock native who is certainly one of our own now, took over the reins three years ago with one goal of winning the senior county. On Sunday, he did just that! To realise this goal, he assembled a top class backroom team. Team coach is Eoin O’Neill. Eoin has achieved many great things with Aghada and Cork in the past but Sunday's triumph must be close to one of his greatest achievements. He had the team coached expertly and his knowledge of the game was key in the final moments of Sunday's contest. Eoin was joined by Cathal Cronin, Vince Rohan, Ger Looney and Richard Good as team selectors. A key aspect to our performance all year was our team's fitness levels. This was down to Denis O’Learys expert S&C training regime all season. Not only did Denis do the fitness training, but he also was the teams maesouse/first aider all year making him an incredible asset to the team. Our FLO’s all year were Sheila Lenihan and Áine Cronin and they did a fantastic job managing all the vital jobs behind the scenes. A special mention must go to both Cathal and Áine who were in charge of logistics with the team also and did a wonderful job at this. Brian Walsh is the teams stats man and did a great job providing real time information to the management team during matches. John O’Connor is the teams Video analyst, Jennifer Hayes is the teams psychologist and Tomás Sayers was the opposition teams analyst. It's safe to say that this team management was close to an inter-county setup and credit must go to Eric for assembling such an impressive team of people!

Once the celebrations concluded in the dressing room it was time to head for Aghada! The journey home to Aghada was one for the ages. Starting from Jacko’s bar, the team began the victory parade back to the parish, but the real magic began when they reached Barnard Cross. Fireworks burst into the night sky, lighting the way for our champions and setting the perfect tone for the week of celebrations to follow. The welcome at the club grounds was nothing short of spectacular—supporters packed into the car park, applauding the heroes of the hour as they arrived to a chorus of cheers.

Inside the clubhouse, the celebrations continued as the history makers mingled with young supporters, inspiring the next generation of Aghada footballers. Speeches followed, and the pride felt by the community was palpable. Club chairperson Anthony Connolly spoke of the incredible achievement, with ladies football chairperson Sheila Lenihan, team manager Eric Smith, and captain Roisin Phelan sharing their thoughts on this landmark victory. Finally, club president John Motherway reminded everyone of the significance of this triumph. Since our clubs foundation, Aghada had dreamed of a day like this, and now, we are officially Cork’s Senior Ladies Football Champions. This all means, we are officially the best team in the rebel county!

For those who have been part of the club’s long history and for those who have only recently joined the ranks, this victory means everything. It’s a culmination of years of dedication, the embodiment of community spirit, and a testament to what hard work and belief can achieve. After becoming a One Club just two years ago, this championship win is more than just a trophy—it’s a symbol of how far we’ve come and the bright future that lies ahead.

Over the last few weeks, the celebrations have continued across the parish. Players and management have visited local schools, inspiring young boys and girls who now see firsthand what’s possible when you represent Aghada with pride. These ladies are fantastic role models for all our young players in our community. The celebrations may have begun a few weeks ago, but the joy is still rippling through the community and rightly so!

For our club, this is more than a victory—it’s history in the making. We are now the best team in Cork, and after such a long wait, that is something truly worth celebrating!

Sunday, the 20th was special for a number of reasons. On the same day that our ladies captured their senior title in MTU, over in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, many of our club members were doing the exact same thing with the Imokilly hurlers. The team had a fantastic win over Sarsfields in a truly dominant display which ensured they captured the Cork senior hurling title. This is a huge achievement and we are thrilled to have so many club members involved. Well done to Willie Leahy, Michael Russell, Mark McCarthy & Charlie Terry who all proudly represented the Candystripes. Congratulations to Aidan Kelleher who was a team selector, Denis O’Leary who was the teams strength and conditioning coach and Dr. Diarmuid Mulcahy who was the team doctor. We are all very proud of ye in Aghada lads!

Most of our Juvenile GAA teams have ended their season at this stage and it was fantastic to see so many players representing the club in both hurling and football again this year. Seeing our young players wearing the green of Aghada and playing both hurling and football proudly is something that would really fill you with great pride. A special mention must go to our U16 lads who have excelled in both codes in 2024. Reaching both hurling and football divisional finals and also reaching the hurling county final. Unfortunately, the lads came up short against a strong Cloughduv side last Saturday night but have had a fantastic season and their victory over St. Colmans in the East Cork Hurling Final is certainly a big highlight. Some teams are still in action and the best of luck to all these players and mentors in their remaining matches! Thank you to all the mentors who volunteered their time all year with our teams along with our juvenile committee who did great work during the year!

Our U21 hurling and football teams are still very much in championship action. Our U21 hurlers have topped their championship group after wins over Castlelyons and Fr. O’Neill’s. The lads were also down to play St. Catherines but unfortunately, our opponents were not in a position to field against us so we were awarded the points for this game. Now, we await the completion of the other groups which may take a while with some of the other teams in contention in other adult competitions. This will hold up the competition and with a county competition also to be played, one would wonder why the U21 East Cork hurling championship wasn't played as a straight knockout competition, especially given the time of year! Regardless, we are delighted to be awaiting our opponents in the semi final of the competition and here's hoping we can add more silverware here before the end of the year!

Our U21 Footballers are currently patiently waiting on an update as to when their County Quarter Final will take place against Ballinora. This game is being held up as Ballinora are currently still involved in the Junior A Hurling competition. Regardless, the lads are preparing well and have trained hard over the last few weeks and are eagerly awaiting the game! 

Our Junior C Footballers are in a similar position to our U21 teams as they await a date for their East Cork Final. The team had a great victory over Ballinacurra in Ballinacurra on Saturday. The lads played a lovely brand of football and got some great scores with a great mix of youth and experience. Well done to all involved. The Junior C’s face Fr. O’Neill’s in the final with a date TBC depending on O’Neill’s involvement in the Junior B Hurling Championship. 

So, in summary, there are plenty of championship matches to look forward to this winter. The fixtures dates might be up in the air but it is a great problem to have big matches to fix in November! Keep an eye on social media for updates on these matches!

Last Sunday, our club had the privilege of hosting the AIB LGFA Munster Semi Final. There was an unbelievable atmosphere in our club grounds on the day with an absolutely huge crowd turning up on the day. Our county champions played fantastic and looked on their way to victory right up to the final few minutes but unfortunately Comeragh Rangers struck for a late goal and a couple of points to grab victory by a single point. This was obviously heartbreaking for our girls but does not take anything away from their historic achievement of winning the club's first senior county a few weeks ago! If anything, knowing these girls, it will give them even more fuel to go on and try to do even better next year!

Thanks to everyone who turned out to support the team all year. The girls really appreciated it! Thanks also to everyone who volunteered at the big game on Sunday. Your efforts don’t go unnoticed. 

We were delighted to host the East Cork Football Final a few weeks ago. A big crowd turned up to see Castlemartyr take on Carrigtwohill in the game. Castlemartyr won out by a point in the end after a great game. It was fitting that they would win the game in their centenary year! Both teams, along with Comeragh Rangers in the ladies match on Sunday commented on how impressive our club grounds are in Rostellan. Perhaps, something we take for granted sometimes! Thanks to everyone who helped out with stewarding on the day and also congratulations to Willie Wallis who was the referee for the big game. A great honour for Willie and his family!

Congratulations to Alex Casey who scooped first prize in October's Rebels Bounty draw. Alex won a staggering TWENTY THOUSAND EURO! Well done also to Una Cashman who won €500 in the draw. Thanks to everyone who supports our club by purchasing one of these tickets and happy spending to Alex and Una on their lucky wins!

Healthy Ireland and Cork County Council are hosting a positive mental health talk on Thursday the 7th of November at 7pm in our clubhouse in Rostellan. This talk is suitable for everyone aged 16 or over. It promises to be a very interesting evening with great speakers lined up so why not pop down.

Finally, would you like to learn more about coaching? Well, why not take a trip to Croke Park on the 23rd of November. Click on the following link with details on the upcoming national coaching conference along with ticket information: https://www.universe.com/events/national-coaching-conference-2024-tickets-SWDRJ0 

Well, that’s it for today. As the evenings close in, we still have some great games to look forward to. Keep an eye on social media for updates on these!

Slán,