MILLTOWN CASTLEMAINE

Good Luck: We wish two former club players, Shane Hayes and Ronan Casey all the best in their new clubs. Shane and Ronan have transferred to clubs in Bandon and Fermoy where they are stationed with An Garda Síochána. We hope you have many happy footballing days there! Meitheal: Sincere thanks to all those who turned up at the GAA Grounds on Sunday morning to help prepare the field for the Club Senior Championship game. A lot of work goes into preparing the field particularly during this wet spell of weather. It was also very encouraging to see so many supporters on the day at the game also. Hosting a club championship game brings its own financial expenses- with an initial outlay of €500 to be paid to the County Board. Such support helps allay some of those expenses- not to mention the encouragement to the teams. Ní neart go cur le chéile!

Croke Park Trip: Our Under 12’s had a wonderful day out at the Go Games Blitz in Croke Park during Easter. Like all events, there are a number of people that deserve great credit. We are indebted to our Coiste na nÓg Sponsors, Burke’s Butchers and Norman Foley- Spar, Milltown for their ongoing support.

We are also very grateful to Derek Twiss-senior player of Bond Street Investments and Garry Murphy-underage trainer of www.businesssavings.ie for sponsoring a new set of jerseys that had their first run out in Croke Park at the Go Games Blitz. As well as training the team for the start of the County League, the U-12 mentors organised all aspects of their trip. Thanks to Turlough O’Brien, Liam Doherty, Tom Dowd, James Daly, Bart O’Sullivan and James Dempsey for their time and effort in organising the day.

Many thanks also to the Club’s Committee, Coiste na nÓg Secretary Eileen Lovett and all the parents for the support that was received.

Thanks to Donal Daly, Kerry Games Manager and all in Coaching and Games for allowing dreams to come true! Our club was priviledged to have one of its members and minor footballer-Adam Scanlon who refereed some of the games at the blitz. Well done Adam- I’m sure it was a very memorable day for you, your proud parents Mary Rose and Henry and your sister Laura. Good times continued for both the White and the Green Teams when they had two wins over Kerins O’ Rahillys on Sunday evening last. Well done to you all! Under 8/10 Blitz: Both our Under 8’s and Under 10’s enjoyed a blitz at John Mitchels on Wednesday and Thursday of last week. Despite the wind and rain, some great fun was had by all. Sincere appreciation to all those involved in co-ordinating these blitzes. We also thank John Mitchels club for the use of their facilities.

Child Safeguarding/Protection Training: Our club has now completed its second workshop in the above. Míle buíochas to our Children’s Officer-Emir Bevan who organised this training.

Seniors: Castleisland Mart Intermediate Club Football Championship sponsored by Larkins Bar /Restaurant/B&B Round 2 of the Castleisland Co-op Mart Intermediate Club Championship saw Milltown Castlemaine (MC) at home to Kilcummin on Sunday afternoon. In front of a fine crowd with pleasant weather conditions, M/C started without a number of players. Shane Murphy was in for Nigel Wrenn, Jeremiah Hayes was in for Jerome Flynn, Dónal Kelliher lined out for Cathal Moriarty and Derek Twiss started corner forward in place of Jamie O’ Shea. Kilcummin began with 2 points from their 1st round game versus Glenbeigh Glencar-sharing top of Group 1 with Brosna. Kilcummin started out full of enthusiasm and only for the quick reaction of M/C’S keeper Cormac Leane -were unlucky not to have the ball in the back of the net in the 2nd minute. It was the 4th minute before the 1st point was registered, courtesy of Philip Casey for Kilcummin. Another point quickly followed, this time aided over by an M/C hand. M/C had a chance to register a point from a Jack McCarthy free in the 9th minute, but it dropped short in to Brendan Kealy’s hands. Kilcummin added a 3rd point from a free by Noel Duggan to give them a 3 point lead by the 10th minute.

Both sides were guilty of errors in the next period. Killian Kerins capitalised on one of these for M/C -with a tremendous burst up the field, aided by Derek Twiss, Donal Dennehy and Pa Wrenn who finished off the move with a fine point. Kilcummin responded with a goal almost immediately- a long range goal from William Maher-son of former MC and Kerry senior Willie. MC responded with three unanswered pointstwo from Derek Twiss and one from Jack McCarthy. Despite the attentions of the MC backs, Kilcummin’s Kevin McCarthy popped over a point from play in the 21st minute. In the 23rd minute, Kilcummin added another point, this time from centre forward Gary O’ Leary. Gavin Horan adjusted to his role in centre field in great style- pushing forward ably supported by hid mid field partner Brendan Delaney. In spite of this, Kilcummin were picking up a lot of the kick outs and so had had plenty of possession. In the 26th minute, Kilcummin’s Noel Duggan pointed for the visitors. A free by M/C’s Jack McCarthy in the 27th minute, reduced the lead to 4 points. An error by the Kilcummin keeper on a kick- out was intercepted by Derek Twiss. In the resultant play, Donal Dennehy was denied by the post and the rebound to Brendan Delaney was brilliantly saved by Brendan Kealy. It was Kilcummin who scored on the turnover with a fisted point by Gary O’ Leary. Half Time- Kilcummin 1/07, MC: 0/05 Kilcummin came out all guns blazing in the second half and were unfortunate to lose their full back, Daniel Moynihan to injury -he was replaced by Chris O’ Leary. Kevin McCarthy registered another fine point for the visitors in the 3rd minute- showing his skill and experience from the Kerry senior panel. Derek Twiss cancelled that out very quickly with an excellent point- with Cathal Moriarty and co-captain Dónal Kelliher setting him up. Gary O’ Leary popped over his third point of the afternoon thus giving Kilcummin a six point lead. MC had a chance to claw one back, but a Derek Twiss free dropped short and it was Kilcummin’s Philip Casey who would raise the next white flag. MC introduced Nigel Wrenn for Jack McCarthy in the 10th minute. Both sides traded wides in the next runs of play. Derek Twiss converted another free for the homeside, quickly followed by a fine point from play for Cathal Moriarty-reducing the visitors lead to five points after fifteen minutes of the second half.

Gavin McKenna, who served well in the full back line with Stephen Roche and Pa Wrenn, was unfortunate to have to leave the field of play with an injury and so Jerome Flynn came on. Pa Wrenn received a black card in the 16th minute- to add further to MC’ S woes. Damien Murphy was called on to be his replacement. Kilcummin added another point by way of a free from Gary O’ Leary who was in super scoring form for the visitors. Brendan Kealy stepped up to take a free- from a difficult angle 40 yards, the white flag was raised and so gave his team an eight point cushion.

As the clock ticked down, Kilcummin was reduced to 14 players following a second yellow to John McCarthy. The home side introduced Mike Burke for Dónal Kelliher. Kilcummin added another point, by their No.6 Philip Casey.

MC were awarded a penalty and Derek Twiss stepped up to face the former Kerry Senior and All Star keeper Brendan Kealy. Kealy saved and MC had to be happy with a point from Jerome Flynn some minutes later which was to be their final score of the day. Jamie O’ Shea replaced Derek Twiss in the late stages of the game. In the final minute, the visitors ended with a point from their no. 4, Seán O’ Leary to give a final score of Kilcummin: 1/14, MC: 0/09. Well done to both teams on a spirited performance. Round 3 is up next weekendwith MC away to Glenbeigh Glencar. Lotto Jackpot Draw: We had no winner or Match 3 in our Lotto Draw last week- The drawn numbers were 14, 15, 18 and the bonus was 9. Congratulations to our six consolation prize winners. €50 each to: Caroline Grimes, Mount Collins, Co Limerick and Margaret & Robyn Evans, Ballyarkane, Castlemaine €25 each to :Fiona Flynn, Tulligmore, Killorglin, Kay Clapp, Gurtadrislig, Lixnaw, Bertie & Aileen Griffin, Croughmore, Ballyfinane and Mike Sheehy, Derryvrin, Abbeydorney Our next draw on Friday April 20th 2018, takes place in Knightly’s Bar, Castlemaine. So why not try your luck and play our Lotto Jackpot this week. Just a €2 ticket could win you €19,200 or a share in it. Match 3 numbers for a win or share of €300. There are also 6 consolation prizes up for grabs. So head out and purchase your tickets. It could be you! Special thanks to Mike O’ Shea and sons-Builders, Farran, Milltown for their continued sponsorship of the Lotto. Under 8’s/10’s/12’s:

Our Under 8’s are looking forward to their blitz in John Mitchels on Wednesday April 4th. Our Under 10’s are off to the same venue on Thursday April 5th for their blitz while our Under 12’s head off to Croke Park on Thursday -for their Go Games Blitz. So plenty of football in the week ahead for these young footballers.

Under 14’s: Lee Strand - U14 County League Div. 9: By Danny McClure Milltown/ Castlemaine (White Team) V Austin StacksOur Milltown/Castlemaine side travelled to Connolly Park Tralee on Friday night last. The first half brought a very strong performance with our backs Garrett O’ Dowd and Aaron Dinham with the help of Liam O Dowd in midfield defending well. Jerry McCarthy- our goal keeper was put under a lot of pressure in the 2nd half and made numerous great saves. This combined with the outstanding late scores from Gearoid Quirke, James Dempsey, Liam O Dowd and Adrian Connolly made for a thrilling end to the 2nd half and Milltown/ Castlemaine were unlucky not to come away with a win. But the whole team have to be commended for fighting to the end. The final score was Milltown/Castlemaine 3-04 V 4-05 Austin Stacks.

Lee Strand - U14 County League Div. 3: By Danny McClure Milltown/Castlemaine (Green Team) V Rathmore Conditions were very heavy in Milltown on Thursday evening as Milltown/Castlemaine’s Under 14 (Green Team) got their first game of the year underway against Rathmore.

As the rain poured down, our home side raced into an early lead which they would keep until half time. Some great play by the forward line with Dara Hogan and Brendan Casey grabbing the goals for Milltown/ Castlemaine. The visitors also grabbed two goals of their own but it wasn’t enough to reel in Milltown/Castlemaine the Home team leading 2-06 V 2-02.

The second half started out slowly and conditions were very wet underfoot. Milltown/Castlemaine got into their scoring groove though in the second half with Dara Hogan and Conor Spillane raising the green flag again.

Other scorers on the night included Rian Foley, Liam Roche and coming forward for the final point of the game Anthony Barrett. With two fine saves from keeper Daire McCarthy also at vital moments in the second half.

Conor Spillane’s work rate in the second half was immense and really spurred his team on to victory. There were some fine performances too from Oisín Spring and the outstanding Ben Downes on a good evening for an impressive Milltown/ Castlemaine side. Milltown/Castlemaine winning out a challenging encounter for both sides in challenging conditions. M/C 5-10, Rathmore 3-02 was the final score.

Under 16’s:

Our under 16’s had a comfortable victory over St.Pats, Blennerville on Monday evening ending on a score line of 5/14 to 1/06.

Well done to the management team and their panel of players.

County Minor League: Division 2

Our minors are away to Na Gaeil on Friday next, April 6th with a 7 p.m. throw in. Why not head along and give them your support.

Seniors: Castleisland Mart Intermediate Club Football Championship "Brosna Claim Points in Tight Affair"By Dara O’Connor Sunday last marked the beginning of Milltown/Castlemaine’s 2018 Intermediate Football Championship journey with a trip to Castleisland to take on North Kerry side Brosna in the opening game of the group, which will also see Milltown/Castlemaine take on Kilcummin (Next weekend) and Glenbeigh/Glencar in two weeks time to determine who will top the group and qualify for the Semi-Final.

Today’s encounter was played in both wet and windy conditions which made it difficult for both teams to play open attacking football.

M/C lined out without some players as Shane Murphy, Alan Hickey, Jeremiah Hayes, David Roche, Jonathan O’Sullivan and Donal Kelleher were all unavailable. Milltown/Castlemaine played with a very strong breeze to their backs in the first half and dominated the early proceedings taking the lead inside three minutes with Killian Kerins opening the scoring with a well taken point from play.

Brosna sharpshooter Tom McGoldrick, who would go on to score 0-05 of Brosna’s 1-07 (4 from Frees) squared things up in the fifth minute. This was to be as good as it got for the North Kerry men as they went a period of 20 minutes before they would register a point on the scoreboard again. During this spell, Milltown/Castlemaine hit a purple patch and scored 1-03 without reply through 3 Jack McCarthy points (2 Frees, 1 from play) and an opportunistic goal by Donal Dennehy after the Brosna keeper failed to deal with a long ball into the square from a Jack McCarthy effort. Milltown/Castlemaine led 1-04 to 0-01 heading towards the interval, however they would go through a dry spell also as they would fail to score again for 37 minutes which was crucial come the end. Brosna knocked in 1-03 without reply between the 24th and 30th minutes with scores from Tom McGoldrick (0-2), Don McAuliffe (0-1) and a Kieran O’Donnell goal which was deflected beyond Cormac Leane after a high ball into the square wasn’t dealt with.

Four wides from Milltown/Castlemaine in the first half would prove costly when the game was in the melting pot towards the end. Brosna went into the break the happier of the two sides knowing wind advantage would be with them for the second half. HT: Brosna 1-04 Milltown/Castlemaine 1-04 The second half turned out to be fascinating and no less exciting as both sides threw everything at one another in the hope of claiming an important victory.

There would only be five scores in this half so each one would prove highly significant. Two Brosna wides in the opening minutes were followed by a dangerous Tom McGoldrick free from distance which dropped short and nearly ended up in the net as Don McAuliffe swung on a loose ball. Danger eventually was averted.

Brosna took the lead for the first time of the match in the 40th minute through a splendid McGoldrick free with the outside of his boot from 45 yards and it proved to be a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Two further scores in the 45th and 50th mins through McGoldrick and a long distance super strike from wing back Timmy Finnegan pushed the lead out to three at 1-07 to 1-04 approaching the final quarter. M/C were reduced to 14 men before McGoldrick’s pointed free as Jack McCarthy received a Red Card (Black and Yellow = Red) for hauling down Kieran O’Donnell when through on goal.

M/C turned to the bench and sprung Mike Burke, Damian Murphy & Derek Twiss in place of Jamie O’Shea, Killian Kerins and Jerome Flynn respectively. Pointed frees from Cathal Moriarty and Derek Twiss in the 53rd and 57th mins from 14 yards cut the deficit back to the minimum at 1-07 to 1-06 for M/C but try as they might they couldn’t manufacture the equaliser despite having two frees in injury time. One dropped short and one flew marginally wide. Brosna tried to seal the win on the counter with an insurance score but McGoldrick seen a late free drift wide. FT: Brosna 1-07 Milltown/Castlemaine 1-06 Milltown/Castlemaine may look back with regret at a few wides, the fact they didn’t make more use of a strong wind advantage in the 1st half, the fact that they failed to score for a large spell between both halves or the reality that they only registered 0-02 against the wind during the 2nd half (Brosna tagged on 1-04 against the breeze) but they can also look and say they might have got a late draw or maybe even a win on another day.

The focus turns to Kilcummin now on Sunday next in Milltown in Round 2. Hard luck to the lads on a massive effort in challenging conditions & to the support at today’s game!

Cul Camps:

The above camp will take place during the week of July 9th to 13th. Further details available in the coming weeks or on the Cul Camps website.

Lotto Jackpot Draw: The next Lotto jackpot draw for €19,000 will take place in Griffin’s Bar, Castlemaine on this Friday April 6th. Match 3 and you could win or share €250. We will also have our 6 consolation prizes on offer. So head out and buy that lucky lotto ticket-available from the usual sellers and local businesses. It could be you! Eoghan McDaid for Kevin Kelly .Moyvane Team Diarmuid Fitzmaurice, Shea Leahy, Jerry Clancy, Mike Woods, Shane Carmody, Owen Stack, Gearoid Stack Mulvhill, Eamonn O Flaherty, Shane Stack, Diarmuid Leahy, Aidan Keane, William Madden, Gavin Kennelly, Bryan Stack, Timmy Noonan .Subs Liam Greaney for Gavin Kennelly .John Finucane for Mike Woods .Ciaran Ahern for William Madden . John Jack Mulvhill for Timmy Noonan .Kevin Kennelly for Shane Carmody .Donal Stack for Aidan Keane .Renard are at home to Valentia on Saturday April 14 at 6.30 pm . RENARD GAA LOTTO - There was no winner of lasts weeks jackpot. Lucky dip winners were €50 Peter Lane Millstreet; €30 Cara McCrohan Renard; €20 Gerald Sugrue

U-16 SOUTH KERRY LEAGUE ROUND 2: Renard overcame St Michaels /Foilmore in Ballinskelligs on April 2 .

SCOR NA BPAISTI: Well done to Fintan O Sullivan Cloghanecarhan on his recitation and the Renard Novelty group who came first in Glenbeigh on Sunday last April 8 .They now go on to compete in the County final of Scor na bPaisti in Foilmore Community Centre on April 22 at 2 pm . MATCH RESULTS U-14 COUNTY LEAGUE ROUND 2: Renard 1-16 .Cordal / Scartaglin 3-09 .

FEILE PEILE NA NOG: Renard U-14 play Cordal / Scartaglin in Glenbeigh this Wednesday April 11 at 6.45 pm .