A Chara,

I hope everyone had a good week and is eagerly awaiting our full schedule of championship matches that we have ahead of us over the next few days.

Last Weekend's Intermediate A Hurling Championship:

Well, we begin with our intermediate hurlers who had a very tough game against Aghabullogue in Páirc Uí Rinn last Sunday afternoon in the first round of the Co-Op Superstores Intermediate A Hurling Championship. This game was incredibly tight throughout with both teams fighting for every single inch. The Aghada side had a very youthful look to it with an average age of just 22 in defence. The early stages were nip and tuck, with Darragh Ryan, Rory Slye, Fionn O'Connor and Noah Devoy all getting a number of early possessions. Donagh Collins and Rory O'Connell were battling hard in midfield and were ably backed up by their defensive colleagues Kyle O'Shea and Scott Whyte. Aghabullogue looked to be pulling away shortly before half time when they went four points up and the short whistle was fast approaching. However, if there was ever a perfect time for Pearse O'Neill to use his football skills in a hurling match it was here. A high ball dropped into the square with the ball somehow ending up lodged in Pearse's armpit! The Lahard man manged to give a beauty of a foot pass to Mark McCarthy who buried his unstoppable shot into the top corner of the Aghabullogue net. This gave our lads a great energy boost and we ended up going in at half time only a point in arrears with a slight breeze at our backs for the second period.

Aghabullogie struck for the first point of the second half but our men in green responded brilliantly through a Willie Leahy free. Unfortunately, straight from the resultant puckout, Aghabullogue went up the field to score a sucker punch of a goal and we trailed by four at this stage. Ciaran O'Shea was having a fine game in the Aghada goal and a few precise puckouts allowed his teammates to set up much needed attacks. Eventually, a couple of Willie Leahy frees did reduce the gap momentarily but in truth our opponents always seemed able to keep us at arm's length where they continued to lead by three points. A marvellous individual point from play by full back Jack Norris seemed to give the crowd great hope of an Aghada fightback in the final ten minutes but it was Aghabullogue who seemed to push on. With six minutes left on the clock, our opponents went into a five-point lead which looked rather big at this stage and everyone in the crowd was confident Aghada needed a goal now to have any chance of mounting a comeback. Our lads went on the charge for that goal but the Aghabullohue defence were proving very difficult to break down.

The message was fed in from the line that we should take our points and hope there was enough time on the clock to get something from the game. This is exactly what we did. First up was Charlie Terry with a quality point from play. This was followed swiftly by a Willie Leahy free after he had been fouled himself after gathering a 50-50 ball. Aghada had rolled the bench at this stage with Aaron Kearns, Ronan Murphy, Jamie O'Hanlon and Eoin Motherway all making key contributions as fresh legs were seemingly key to the Aghada resurgence. Two of these subs, Ronan and Jamie combined brilliantly as we fought to close the gap when Ronan fed Jamie with a delicious pass on the Aghabullogue 21 metre line only for Jamie's rocket of a shot to be batted away by the Aghabullogue keeper. It looked at this stage that that might be that. We were a goal down and the clock was in the red. To our lad's credit though they kept battling. Jamie hit a good point from play which was followed by another Willie free to leave the deficit at a minimum with thirty-two minutes played in the second half. Aghada knew they had to win the next puckout and that's exactly what they did through a combination of Aaron Kearns, Eoin Motherway and Charlie Terry. The ball was worked up the field and fell to the one man you would want it to fall to... Willie Leahy. Once possession was secured, Willie struck a fabulous effort over his shoulder straight between the uprights to send the Aghada crowd wild. That would surely be the final act we all thought. We were wrong as the referee who had a good game allowed one final attack. Our opponents won this vital ball and fed it into their dangerous corner forward who had caused us problems all day long. However, Ed Leahy was on hand to cut out the attack with the final whistle sounding soon after. The spoils were shared with Aghada certainly the happier of both teams leaving Páirc Uí Rinn on Sunday evening having trailed by five with a few minutes to go. Best on the day for Aghada were Fionn O'Connor who was deployed in a deeper sweeper role, Pearse O'Neill who was a constant threat in the centre forward position and man of the match Willie Leahy who was particularly excellent in the second half. Well done to the whole team and management on a good opening result. Onwards and upwards to our next group game Vs Lisgoold in Dungourney on tomorrow Saturday at 3pm. Further details below.

All Ireland Camogie Champions - Cork:

Congratulations to Ali Smith, Aoife Healy, Hannah Looney, Amy O'Connor and the Cork Senior Camogie team who won the All-Ireland Camogie title in Croke Park on Sunday evening. Cork gave a breathtaking display of skill and desire to capture the O'Duffy Cup after dispatching their opponents Waterford with ease on the day. This was no easy feat as Waterford had beaten Cork earlier on in the year in the Páirc in the Munster Championship. Aoife and Hannah gave outstanding defence displays in the game with Hannah driving forward with the sliotar and starting numerous rebel attacks. Aoife Healy was given the daunting task of marshalling Waterford sharp shooter and playmaker Beth Carton. It's safe to say Aoife did an excellent job at this and is a huge reason Cork dominated the game. Ali didn't feature in this game but played a vital role all year in the Cork charge for the All-Ireland title. Ali came on in numerous games and poached some impressive scores along the way. Of course, there was one woman who stole the show and that was Captain Amy O'Connor who scored one of the fastest hat tricks ever inside three minutes early in the second half. Amy finished the game with a huge 3-7. The final whistle sounded around half six on Sunday which led to huge celebrations on the field of play. Amy also gave a fantastic speech on the steps of the Hogan after collecting the O'Duffy Cup. There were wild celebrations when the cup arrived back on Leeside on Monday evening with a big crowd greeting the team on the South Mall. Thanks to Vera Terry who captured some great photos all weekend and organised a bus to the match on Sunday from Aghada. Congratulations to all involved in the Cork Camogie victory. You may have seen something shiny on the River Lee on Wednesday afternoon. Well, that was our own Hannah Looney rowing the O'Duffy Cup down the Lee. No doubt the celebrations are still in full swing so make sure ye all enjoy every second!

Intermediate A Hurling Championship Vs Lisgoold:

Tomorrow Saturday, our intermediate hurlers are in action for a second week in a row when they face Lisgoold in the second group game of the Co Op Superstores Intermediate A Hurling Championship at 3pm in Dungourney. This group is incredibly tight as every team has one point on the board after two draws in the opening round last weekend. This places even more importance on tomorrows fixture so please make every effort to come out and roar on the lads in this crucial game. Tickets for this game are only available ONLINE and no tickets will be available in Dungourney on the day. Click here to buy your ticket now: Buy Now

Junior B Hurling Championship:

Our Junior B Hurlers play the first round of their championship campaign on Sunday at noon in Aghavine against Killeagh. This will be a tough game for our lads so please do make the effort to travel to support the team and management. Tickets for this one are cash only available at the gate on the day.

Junior Ladies Football County Final:

Our Junior Ladies Footballers have qualified for the County Final on Monday night at 7:15pm in MTU Cork (Formally CIT). This is a fantastic achievement for the girls as they won the second grade of this competition last year. They play a very impressive St.Vals team in the final so will need a huge support on the night. Please do make the trip to MTU on Monday to roar our girls over the line. Be sure to wear the green and white on the night!!!

Best of luck to Captain Eimear Cronin and to all involved.

Lotto:

Our club lotto now stands at €9,000. Get your ticket online at aghadagaa.com or in any of the outlets listed below.

New Referee Course:

Please see the attached note from Imokilly secretary Patrick Mulcahy on a course being ran in Páirc Uí Chaoimh for new referees:

We are always looking for referees for our games within our division and county to join the current panel of 260 referees who take charge of over 13,000 games across the county.

Cork GAA and the Referees committee will be running a course for new referees for the Imokilly division in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Thursday 14th and 21st of September. (Attendees must attend both nights)

For more information, or to register your name for the course, please check out https://gaacork.ie/referees/

That's it for today. A feast of Gaelic Games to look forward to over the next couple of days. Please make every effort to support our teams over the weekend. Don't forget to wear the club colours.

Slán,

Uinsíonn Ó Ruacháin

Oifigeach Caidreamh Poiblí

Vince Rohan - PRO

Aghada GAA, Camogie & Ladies Football Club

Ár nDícheall Go Deo

Website for most up to date fixtures news and results -http://www.aghadagaa.com/