GAA Talk

In the chase for the first of the hurling titles down in the lower ranks there were wins for Kildare, Carlow, Kerry and Down on the opening day of the Christy Ring Cup.

Kerry 3-11 Mayo 1-16

Kerry overcame Mayo by 3-11 to 1-16 in a thrilling Christy Ring Cup clash in Tralee on Saturday

John Mike Dooley sent Kerry into an early lead when he blasted the ball to the roof of the net after just four minutes.

Mayo hit back with two points, but the Kingdom extended their lead after 14 minutes when debutant Evan Sweeney pointed to make it 1-1 to 0-3.

However, Kerry were lucky when a minute previously Adrian Freeman had struck a post. David Dowling, the Kilkenny native playing full-forward for the Westerners, then struck two points in a row to further reduce the deficit.

The home side struck back for another goal, James McCarthy pulling on a Brick sideline ball to fire to the back of the net.

Derek McDonald and Freeman hit back for Mayo with a point each from play before Brick and Sean Young were on the mark for Kerry.

Brick had by now found his range and he fired over a ’65 and a free to give Kerry a 2-5 to 0-9 lead at the break.

Young grabbed Kerry’s third goal after the inter interval, and at one point the Kingdom led by five points.

Points from McDonald, Stephen Broderick and Keith Higgins, the dual star, pegged Kerry back again before a Young point extended the lead back to two again.

With just a minute left, Mayo struck for a vital goal and it was midfielder Broderick who fired to the back of the net to set up a grandstand finish.

Despite Mayo being in the ascendancy, it was Kerry who pushed on in the dying minutes and won the game with two late points.

Down 3-20 Derry 1-22

Down had four points to spare over Derry in a high-quality Christy Ring Cup clash played at Newry on Saturday.

Sam Dodds managed the quite unbelievable feat of scoring 0-16 for Derry and still ended up on the losing team.

But goals win games, and it was Down who had the goal-scoring aces in Eoin Clarke, who fired home after 16 minutes, Gareth Johnson and Ally Higgins late on.

Down had led 1-13 to 0-10 at the break and after ‘Magic’ Johnson goaled after four minutes of the second half, his side led by nine points.

Derry hit back with four points on the bounce but Higgins was on hand to fire home a late goal after doubling on a placed ball that ended the game as a contest, especially after Clarke and Simon Wilson added late insurance scores.V

Isn’t it great!  Summer has come and the shadow boxing that was the football and hurling leagues and subsidary competitions during the winter and spring gives way to the real thing!  It’s that time of year again: dust the flags and the bunting down, the 2009 championship is underway!

First up is the Connacht Senior Football Chamionship clash between Mayo and New York in Gaelic Park Sunday next 10th May.  John O’Mahony’s Mayo will be strong favourites to come away from the Big Apple with a big win, but the Exiles are keen to cause an upset at their home in the Bronx.

As is rarely the case in Ireland, the New York players will get the chance to line out against their native county. Sunday may see Robert Moran (Moy Davitts), Dermot Keane (Knockmore), Declan Reilly (Castlebar Mitchels) and John McNicholas (Kiltimagh) tackle their fellow county men.  Five of the panel are New York born, while former Kerry underage star Dan Doona could also make a pitch appearance. On the other side, Mayo’s Tom Parsons could line out against the side he represented as a teenager.

Larry McCarthy, the New York chairman, believes that due to the Irish recession more people are returning to America for work. “Things have begun to swing in the other direction, but only slightly. And, not enough yet to really impact on the state of New York football. But this winter, certainly, there was talk of players coming back out here, instead of going home, and that hasn’t been the case for quite a few years.” He believes the 12 New York underage football clubs are going to be the future of GAA state side.

Mayo manager John O’Mahony has already named his team for his side’s first big test of the year. O’ Mahony has introduced an injection of young blood to the team, bringing in Ger Cafferkey at full-back, Kevin McLoughlin at corner-back, Donal Vaughan at wing-back and last year’s minor star Aidan O’Shea for their first Championship starts.

Cafferkey won his last under-21 All-Ireland in 2006 and since then has been beset by multiple injuries. The Westerners finished the National League campaign in impressive fashion, with a hard-fought victory over neighbouring enemy Galway and a draw with All-Ireland champions Tyrone, and so will travel to the Big Apple in high spirits.

Trevor Mortimer will captain his home side for the first time and the Shrule/Glencorrib club-man will be eager to show that he is capable of doing things his own way. After proving himself in the Allianz National Football League with a string of fine performances, he will look to repay the faith his manager has placed in him.

Kenneth O’Malley, Seamus O’Sherea, Mark Ronaldson and Conor Mortimer are all out due to exams and injury. Mortimer is recovering from a broken wrist he suffered in the Allianz League game of their campaign against Tyrone. Despite missing four players, O’Mahony is looking forward to the game. “I’m really looking forward to the Championship. I think if we get an injury-free run, work hard, show a unity of purpose and have a good attitude, we’ll make an impact.”

The majority are backing Mayo for what they reckon will be an easy win. Although with New York’s Irish assets, it won’t be over until the final whistle has blown. This is something O’Mahony is not taking for granted. If Mayo win, they will go on to face the winners of Leitrim-Roscommon in the semi-final.

The game will take place at 3pm local time and 8pm Irish time. The team that travelled to Ireland in 1984 and won a one-off tournament for overseas units will be honored at half-time. Players such as Dublin’s Fran Ryder, Derry’s Paddy Crozier and Cork’s Billy Morgan were all members of the 1984 team.

Mayo: D Clarke, L O’Malley, G Cafferkey, K McLoughlin, P Gardiner, T Howley, D Vaughan, T Parsons, R McGarrity, P Harte, T Mortimer, A Dillon, A Moran, A O’Shea, B Moran.

New York: TBC

Verdict: Mayo

The GAA’s 125 Celebrations will take on a special club focus this weekend when clubs the length and breadth of the country and those overseas celebrate Lá na gClub.

Association President Criostóir Ó Cuana has called on members everywhere to engage with their local clubs next Sunday.

Clubs have been encouraged to celebrate the GAA’s century and a quarter anniversary by organising events within their communities which underline their importance to their respective areas.

A variety of different initiatives have been organised by units with a special emphasis on games, culture and community on a day when no club fixtures have been scheduled.

The GAA President, who is a Youghal clubman, joined forces with Ard Stiúrthoir Páraic Duffy and Iar-Uachtarán Nioclás Ó Braonáin to shine a light on their own club allegiances and he urged members everywhere to make a special effort to ensure that Sunday is a memorable day that places our clubs – some of whom are also celebrating their 125th anniversaries – at the heart of the Association’s 125 calendar.

He said: “Our home club is where it begins for us all and for that reason it occupies a special place in us all. It’s where we are first introduced to the games and it very quickly assumes a badge of identity that in many cases comes second only to our family allegiances.

“Sunday is all about highlighting the incredible work that our clubs do in every community in Ireland and re-affirming the place of the club at the very heart of the organisation.

“Some of our older club units are also celebrating their 125th anniversaries, which is testament to the massive and long standing contributions that they make to the fabric of the communities they interact with and serve so well.

“I acknowledge the superb work overseen by our volunteers in clubs everywhere and hope that the GAA will be as well served by its members in the years ahead as it has been since its inception back in 1884.”

Kilkenny’s Richie Power and Kerry’s Tommy Walsh have been named the recipients of the Vodafone GAA Player of the Month award for April 2009

Power took the hurlers’ award after helping the Cats to the final of Division One of the National Hurling League, in which they were crowned champions on Sunday. The Carrickshock ace was a major player for Brian Cody’s awesome side until picking up an injury, his hat-trick against Cork just one example of how lethal an attacker he can be.

Kerins O’Rahilly’s man Walsh was part of the Kerry team that were crowned National Football League Division One kings in April, the towering forward leading the line for Jack O’Connor’s charges in the final against Derry and also notching a goal in their previous outing against Galway.

Tipperary may have pushed their greatest rivals, Kilkenny, at the home of hurling on Sunday, but Liam Sheedy has admitted it was tough to see the league title slip away.

However, the Tipperary boss took plenty of positives from the Sunday’s match and they should wipe away any memory of Kilkenny’s 17-point hammering of the Munster champions at Nowlan Park earlier in the league.

“It was surreal out there afterwards because people were saying ‘well done’ but we lost a league final,” the former Premier County corner-back admitted.

“We are very disappointed. We had chances. We got the goal to put us 16-8 up and 30 seconds later it was 16-11 and that was critical.”

Sheedy added: “But the lads dug in and you can’t fault them for that. All I asked them all week was to leave everything on the field and that’s what they did as a group.

“I’m so proud to be involved with such a group of lads - they’re a privilege to work with and to train.”

Colm O’Driscoll

The entire Cork team should go out and buy lotto tickets after this result bestowed utter heartbreak and robbed  Down of a title they seemed to have in the bag.  Cork were one-point winners of the Cadbury’s All-Ireland U21 football final over a gallant Down side at O’Moore Park, Portlaoise on Monday 4th May 2009.

Man-of-the-match, Colm O’Driscoll, was the hero for the Rebels as he pounced on a spilled effort by Down ‘keeper Gavin Joyce with seconds to go to finish the ball to the net.

Cadbury’s All-Ireland U21 football final
Cork 1-13 Down 2-9

Cork manager John Cleary admitted before the match that his side had ridden their luck on a number of occasions prior to reaching the final but that if they won by a point again on Sunday, with a bit of luck, he would not mind.

That was exactly what happened but it was incredibly hard luck on Pete McGrath’s Down who looked to have the match wrapped up as the clock moved into added time.

The opening half was dominated by Cork as their sheer physicality and intensity meant they were three points up at the break on a 0-8 to 0-5 scoreline.

Cork full-forward David Goold and the captain of the side, Colm O’Neill, registered seven of the eight first-half points between them, both from play and placed balls.

Castlehaven’s Mark Collins was the only other Rebel to get on the scoresheet in the opening 30 minutes; his fine effort coming on 12 minutes.

For their part, Down would have been happy to be within three of Cork at the break but in truth it was frees that kept them in it, with Paul Devlin and Paul McComiskey responsible for all the Mourne scores.

In the second-half, the wind was in the Ulster champions favour and they quickly took advantage of it when Paul McComiskey put over a fine individual score with only four minutes gone.

But a feature of the second-half was how Cork responded to Down’s scores and Mark Collins did just that a minute later with an inspirational point from out on the wing for the Rebels.

That score left Cork three points ahead but Down were to register the next two points; one from a McComiskey free and then a beautiful effort from midfielder, Peter Fitzpatrick, from out the field.

Down were now within a point of their opponents and two minutes later they hit the front when Eamon Toner goaled for the Mourne men. A long ball, flicked on by Devlin, dropped beautifully into the half-forward’s path and he crashed it past Anthony Seymour.

Cork, in the form of the brilliant O’Neill, responded immediately to level the scores before a Goold free put the men from the south ahead again.

The game was in the melting pot now and it was going to take a moment of brilliance to win it. That brilliant moment, though not that crucial in the end, came in the 54th minute when Down captain, Timmy Hanna, rattled the Cork net for the second time.

Hanna had been involved at the early stages of a sweeping Down move and he continued his run before latching on to a pass from Conor Maginn to put his side two points ahead with five minutes to play.

But crucially O’Neill responded again for Cork with another equally good point from play to put the bare minimum between them.

With two minutes to go it seemed Peter Fitzpatrick’s exceptional effort from out the field would seal it for Down but a two-point lead is a dangerous lead at any stage in a match, especially heading into added time.

That proved to be the case for Down as Aidan Walsh’s stinging effort was too hot for Joyce to handle leaving O’Driscoll to gleefully sweep the ball into the net in what was to prove to be the last act of a gripping U21 decider.

Cork: Anthony Seymour; Seán McLoughlin, Liam Jennings, Noel Galvin; Conor O’Driscoll, Aidan Walsh, Bart Daly; Chris O’Donovan, Kevin O’Driscoll; Ciarán Sheehan, Mark Collins, Colm O’Driscoll; Colm O’Neill (capt), David Goold, Paul Honohan.

Down: Gavin Joyce; Mark Digney, Colm Murney, Damien Turley; Timmy Hanna (capt), John Fitzpatrick, Joseph Murphy; Michael Magee, Peter Fitzpatrick; Eamon Toner, Conor Maginn, Jamie O’Reilly; Paul Devlin, Paul McComiskey, Conor Poland.

Henry Shefflin carrying the spoils after NHL win

Despite losing this game in extra time, Tipperary proved they are closer to the mighty Kilkenny machine than most people thought, for you can be sure that Brian Cody’s team played this game as if it were an All Ireland Championship Final. Tipp travelled home empty-handed but imbued with confidence and vigour for the upcoming Mc Carthy Cup campaign.   Richie Hogan scored 1-10 as Kilkenny collected a 14th Allianz National Hurling League title in a gripping Semple Stadium decider against Tipperary on Sunday May 3rd 2009,  which they won by 2-26 to 4-17.

The Cats came from eight points down to force extra-time in Thurles and finished with a flourish to nail a first National League title since 2006 with three points to spare.

Remarkably, Hogan was scoreless in the first half in front of 17,087 spectators but the Danesfort star helped himself to 1-7 in the second half and added three points in the second period of extra-time.

Aidan Fogarty also turned in more than a useful attacking performance for the Leinster and All-Ireland champions as he chipped in with a 1-5 haul.

In a gripping decider, the best league final since the Croke Park cliff-hanger between the two sides in 2003, Séamus Callanan bagged 1-7 for Tipp and teen sensation Noel McGrath added 1-5.

Two minutes after half-time, Callanan’s goal opened up a 3-7 to 0-8 lead for Tipperary but Brian Cody’s all-conquering stars overcame some stiff obstacles to force their way back into contention.

Kilkenny suffered a severe injury blow after just 11 minutes when Brian Hogan was stretchered off and the winners also lost the services of Martin Comerford and Henry Shefflin to yellow cards.

Comerford was just a minute on the field after replacing Hogan when he was dismissed while Shefflin was ordered off seven minutes after half-time.

In addition, Tipp’s Hugh Maloney and Kilkenny pair Eddie Brennan and Tommy Walsh can also count themselves fortunate not to have been yellow-carded in the final competitive hurling fixture played under the experimental rules in operation during the league campaign.

Tipp, playing with a strong breeze, got off to the best possible start with two goals inside the first nine minutes as James Woodlock booted home from close range in the 4th minute before John O’Brien finished clinically five minutes later.

Those strikes helped Tipp to lead by 2-7 to 0-8 at half-time and they got off to the best possible start to the second half within two minutes when Callanan collected a Lar Corbett pass and drilled home a fine goal at the Killinan End.

Eight points clear, Tipp had a solid platform but just a minute later, Hogan netted with the goal allowed to stand despite home protests that the Kilkenny forward had taken too many steps.

Aidan Fogarty’s 50th-minute goal hauled Kilkenny right back into contention as the Emeralds corner forward finished clinically past Brendan Cummins and with 20 minutes remaining, the scene was set for a gripping finish.

Lesser teams have crumbled in the face of the Kilkenny juggernaut but Tipp, who lost by 17 points against the same opposition at Nowlan Park just six weeks ago, hung in grimly until the finish and had to come from behind to force extra-time.

Fogarty levelled things up with a minute remaining and when Hogan pointed a free a minute into stoppage time, Kilkenny appeared to have clinched the tie in regulation time.

But Tipperary had other ideas and after James Ryall was penalised for holding onto the sliotar on the ground, former All-Ireland minor medallist Noel McGrath stepped forward to tie the full-time scores at 3-14 to 2-17.

Tipperary: B Cummins (0-1f); P Stapleton, P Curran, C O’Brien; Pádraic Maher, D Fanning, S Maher; T Stapleton, S McGrath (0-2); L Corbett, S Callanan (1-7, 0-7f), J Woodlock (1-1); N McGrath (1-5, 1f), M Webster, J O’Brien (1-1).

Subs: B Maher for Fanning (12), H Maloney for S Maher (14), B Dunne for Maloney (58), S Hennessy for Woodlock (62), D Fitzgerald for Stapleton (70), Patrick Maher for Webster (80), E Buckley for Pádraic Maher (80).

Kilkenny: PJ Ryan; M Kavanagh, JJ Delaney, J Tyrrell; T Walsh, B Hogan, J Ryall; J Tennyson, M Rice; R Hogan (1-10, 0-7f), H Shefflin (0-4, 1f, 1 65), E Larkin (0-1); E Brennan (0-2), TJ Reid (0-4, 1 sl), A Fogarty (1-5).

Subs: M Comerford for Hogan (11), M Grace for Comerford (13), J ‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick for Shefflin (42), S Cummins for Kavanagh (78).

Referee: J Sexton (Cork).

Get your revenge in first might have been the motto as Offaly secured Division One hurling for 2010 and struck a psychological blow over championship opponents Wexford in Sunday afternoon’s Allianz National Hurling League Division Two decider.

The Faithful County recorded a hard-fought three-point victory at Semple Stadium to condemn the Slaneysiders to Division Two hurling once again next year.

Allianz National Hurling League Division Two Final
Offaly 1-13 Wexford 0-13

The two sides will meet at Wexford Park in the Leinster SHC on May 30 and Joe Dooley’s Offaly will go into that game full of confidence after winning this latest battle between the two sides.

Wexford had emerged victorious when the sides met in the group stages of the competition but when it mattered most, Offaly came through despite racking up a tally of 14 wides.

The returns of David Franks and David Kenny strengthened the Offaly defence considerably, while skipper Ger Oakley led by example at centre back.

Wexford ultimately paid the price for a terribly sluggish start as they fell 1-5 to 0-1 behind with just 12 minutes on the watch.

Full-forward Stephen Banville had opened the scoring for Wexford but Offaly responded with 1-5 without reply.

Daniel Currams supplied the Offaly goal after nine minutes as he beat Wexford goalkeeper Dermot Flynn to James Rigney’s speculative centre from the Old Stand side of the field.

Diarmuid Lyng stopped the rot for Wexford with a superbly-struck sideline cut from the New Stand side in the 15th minute, the Model County’s first score since Banville’s opener, before Paul Carley added a free two minutes later.

Offaly hit back to lead by 1-8 to 0-4 after 23 minutes before Wexford put together a run of four unanswered points to cut the lead back to just three points.

Crucially, Offaly responded with a run of three successive scores of their own, a trio of Shane Dooley frees, to ensure a decent half-time platform.

They led by 1-11 to 0-8 at the interval but after playing with the aid of a strong breeze into the Town End during the first half, it seemed that a six-point interval lead might not be enough.

Offaly managed just two points in the second half but the closest Wexford came to their opponents was when midfielder David Redmond reduced the deficit to two points with nine minutes remaining.

At that point, Offaly’s sole second half contribution to the scoreboard was Shane Dooley’s 43rd-minute free but with five minutes remaining, Brian Carroll slotted over his side’s first point for 22 minutes of play.

Offaly held on until the finish for a precious victory but they had goalkeeper Brian Mullins to thank in stoppage time for a smart save at head height to keep out Wexford sub Tomás Waters.

Wexford: D Flynn; M Travers (0-1), P Roche, A O’Connell; M Jacob, S Nolan, R Kehoe; D Redmond (0-1), C Kenny; D Lyng (0-2, both sidelines), A Shore (0-1), P Carley (0-4, 3f, 1 65); R Jacob (0-1), S Banville (0-2), P Kenny (0-1).

Subs: S Doyle for Kenny (47), T Waters for Carley (48), D Stamp for Nolan (63), P Atkinson for Banville (70).

Offaly: B Mullins; D Franks, D Kenny, J Rigney; K Brady, G Oakley, P Cleary (0-1f); R Hanniffy, B Murphy; B Carroll (0-3), J Brady, D Molloy (0-3); D Currams (1-1), S Dooley (0-5f), J Bergin.

Subs: C Parlon for Currams (60), C Mahon for Murphy (70+2).

Referee: G Hoey (Clare)

Sligo will return to Division Three of the NHL with some silverware in 2010, following Saturday’s extra-time triumph in the Division Four final at Breffni Park.

The sides were level at 2-6 to 1-9 at the end of 70 minutes, but the Yeatsmen finished with a flourish.

Allianz NHL Division Four Final: Sligo 1-13 Monaghan 2-8 [AET]

Keith Raymond collected Joe Bannerton’s delivery to crack in a goal in the sixth minute, but Monaghan resumed their early dominance, and centre back Willie O’Toole blasted a penalty to the net five minutes later.

But Sligo seized control in the second quarter, with full forward Raymond showing wonderful accuracy.

He converted all five of the scoring opportunities which came his way, but his team-mates were less successful in their long-range shooting, chalking up seven wides to Monaghan’s four.

Monaghan lost corner forward Noel Morgan to a yellow card just before the break for a reckless swing at the legs of David Collery.

At the break, the Connacht men led by 1-3 to 1-2, Raymond having scored their entire tally.

Others got in on the act after the restart, with Colin Herity and Damien Burke on target, after Stephen Lambe had grabbed Monaghan’s second goal.

Another Monaghan flourish saw them regain the lead with a volley of points from Stephen Lynch, Stephen Lambe and Alan Lambe.

And Sligo’s efforts to claw it back continued to be dogged by rash and inaccurate shooting from distance.

Nevertheless, sub Niall Cadden brought them level four minutes from the end at 2-6 to 0-9.

Monaghan had moved back in front, 2-8 to 1-10, by the halfway stage of extra-time, but Sligo reeled off three without reply, through David Collery, Mark Burke and Colin Herity to take the title.

Monaghan: M McHugh, A Kerr, P Murphy, G Coleman, J McAnespie, W O’Toole (1-0, pen), D Crowe, A Lambe (0-1), B Phelan (0-1), J Greene, S Leonard (0-2), E MacSuibhne, B O’Brien (0-1), S Lambe (1-2, 2f), N Morgan.

Subs: A Hughes for Morgan (yellow card, 32), S Lynch (0-1) for Phelan (39), J Lacey for Greene (64), P Treanor  for Leonard (yellow card, 87).

Sligo: M Kearney, F Coyne, W Gill, L Reidy, C Hackett, M Burke (0-1), J Kelly, C Herity (0-3, 1f, 1 ‘65’), D Collery (0-1), C Brennan, D Burke (0-2), J Bannerton, M Gilmartin, K Raymond (1-5, 2f), S Lynch.

Subs: N Cadden (0-1) for Coyne (yellow card (49), M Shelly for Bannerton (yellow card, 56), J Kenny for Lynch (59), M Fitzsimons for Shelly (92)

Referee: R Matthews (Antrim).

Attendance: 500 (approx)

Kildare were crowned NHL Division 3A champions following a thrilling final that went right to the wire at Breffni Park.

Tony Murphy’s second half goal proved decisive for the Lilywhites, who had to defend desperately in the face of a late surge from the Royals.

Allianz NHL Division 3A Final: Kildare 2-18 Meath 1-18

Kildare sprinted out of the blocks, with David Harney sweeping over four points in the opening five minutes.

Skipper Oisin Lynch and Adrian McAndrew were also on target as they quickly built up a 0-7 to 0-1 advantage.

But Meath gradually got to the pace of the game, and Stephen Clynch lifted Royal spirits with a superbly struck 75 metre free.

And when Joey Keena raced through to split the posts in the 20th minute, they had narrowed the gap to three.

Strangely, Kildare’s early dominance disappeared as a resurgent Meath tackled with ferocity and discipline, and the accuracy of Neil Hackett, who converted three frees and a ‘65, helped them build towards the interval.

They turned around just two points adrift - 0-11 to 0-9 - substitute Alan Ryan having succeeded in curbing the threat posed by Harney.

David Cafferty swept home a Kildare goal two minutes after the restart, but Meath responded immediately with a Peter Durnin goal, netted on the rebound after Nicky Horan’s shot was kept out by goalkeeper Paul Dermody.

Hackett and Harney traded scores throughout a fast-moving second half which saw the sides level on four occasions, before Tony Murphy put daylight between the sides with a second Kildare goal on 58 minutes.

Meath battled heroically, but Kildare defended superbly in the closing stages, and held out for a deserved victory.

Meath: S Quinn, S Corrigan, E Fitzgerald, M Foley, J Boyle (0-1), P Fagan, M Horan, E Keogh, J Keena (0-2), N Hackett (0-9, 8f, 1 ’65), S Clynch (0-2, 1f), G O’Neill (0-1), B Slevin, N Horan (0-2), P Durnin (1-1).

Subs: A Ryan for Fitzgerald (9) D Kirby for Horan (yellow card, 52), D Crimmins for O’Neill (63)

Kildare: P Dermody, N Doolan, P Reidy, K Chan, D Kennedy, R Hoban (0-3, 3f), J Doran, D Moloney, N O Muineachain, D Carter (0-1), T Murphy (1-1), D Harney (0-8, 3f), A McAndrew (0-3), D Cafferty (1-1), O Lynch (0-1).

Subs: L Harney for Chan (35), F O Muineachain for Lynch (56), M Moloney for D Moloney (64), K Divilly for Harney (70)

Referee: T Carroll (Offaly)

Attendance: 500 (approx)