A look back to the intermediate winning year of 1994
It was one of the greatest, indeed memorable years in the history of St Catherines GAA Club. Finishing up on the crest of a wave and putting their name in the senior hurling championship draw at convention of that year as county intermediate hurling championship and league winners of 1994. We’re going to break it down into a three week sojourn. Starting with a reflective look at the regular group games of the intermediate hurling league from that year.
Next week one of the greatest sporting festivals on planet earth will materialise. We try and whet your appetite for the Cheltenham Racing Festival. But first and right up to date we are bringing you the results from the most recent lotto draw held on Monday night last, March 8. Numbers drawn were 5, 20, 21 and 25 and there was no winner of the €9,200 jackpot. While the consolation winners on the night were; John G Barry, Kilcor, Castlelyons, Marion McNulty, Knockaun, Ballyduff Upper, Murray children, Cappoquin, Batt Leahy, Baradaw, Dungourney and Elmarie Power, Ballynoe.
Back on Monday night, March 15 when the jackpot will be €9,400.
OLYMPICS OF HORSE RACING
Cheveley Park had moved on a few classy animals most notably Envol Allen. Various sponsorships were ruthlessly terminated. Then around 5.30pm on Friday evening last the findings of the IHRB were out in the open. As Tommy Lyons hinted on the paper on Saturday morning of the later confirmed take over of Denise Foster. All the implications of Elliotgate now laid bare. Rarely has the build up to the most famous sporting festival on these shores had a backdrop of such gargantuan proportions.
Major and significant happenings attract huge public interest, that cannot be denied. They are what they are. Say World Cups, golf opens, six nations rugby, Olympic games, all cross the sporting divide. Also coming into that bracket would be the staging of the Olympics of horse racing. This year’s festival begins to unfold at 1.20pm on the foot of the Cotswolds on Tuesday afternoon next, March 16. A boost even before we start is the granting of six races per day to terrestrial television. Cheltenham race week is definitely going where it belongs. Into the rooms of the ordinary man. ITV becomes base camp to four days of truly absorbing top class sporting action and they are very good at it. Coverage further boosted by sure to be entertaining and knowledgeable preview shows each morning.
This time around the Emerald Isle going into what is still perceived as the annual battle between Ireland and England with what looks like their strongest ever team. No doubt the champion hurdle just four races in and the Gold Cup on closing day carry the biggest appeal of what one hopes to be a success laden week. Henry De Bromhead from Kilmacthomas comes to the party with Honeysuckle, A Plus Tard and Minella Indo. Just beware of James Du Berlais in the hurdle. Never ran in Ireland or England before, all previous form coming from France. But if anyone will get a spin out of him well then surely, Willie Mullins can. His album photo will be trying to enter the record books in attaining a hat trick of gold cup wins in a week where the masterful Clo Sutton handler will be a mighty threat in whatever is up for grabs. Even by his own admission, second - even third - choice entries could easily come good. We’ve all been warned, this will be special. Enjoy! No phone calls between Tuesday morning and Friday evening by order of the IHRB!
LIVE STREAMING OF MASS
There is live streaming of weekend and Sunday Masses from Conna Church at 10am.
HAPPY NATIONAL FEAST DAY
You could almost be forgiven if it slipped through the net, maybe Seachtain na Gaeilge would be a reminder in wishing all a happy St Patrick’s Day.
INTERMEDIATE HURLING YEAR OF 1994 (PART ONE)
We will take the groundbreaking county junior title success of 1983 as a start off point with the Saints losing out in their first two matches in the higher grade. Success coming out for the opening time on Sunday, May 11 and the intermediate hurling championship campaign of 1986 was underway. Recording a three point success (1-13 to 3-04) over St Finbarr’s in a first round tie which was played in Castlelyons.
There were two trips to Rathcormac before getting the better of Castletownroche in the subsequent round. But saw their campaign ruthlessly terminated when losing out to Cloughduv at quarter-final stage on a scoreline of 1-16 to 1-12. When played at Church Road on Saturday evening, July 26. While Eire Óg were first round conquerors in 1987. Both draw and replay played at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. While you could label 1988 as being the nearly year. Wins over Ballinhassig and Cobh preceding a semi-final draw with Youghal on a scoreline of 1-11 to 0-14.
Twenty four hours later and Páirc Naomh Caitríonaigh embellished itself with the staging of the divisional junior A hurling final. East Cork’s little All-Ireland between Killeagh and Midleton at Baile Nua on Sunday, August 28. Incredibly another draw, it finished up at Killeagh 1-05 Midleton 0-08. But will always be remembered locally, for a pitch only officially open three years, by an incident which happened just before throw in when a player swinging off the crossbar delayed proceedings as a repair job had to be carried out. Youghal easily won the replay against the Saints again at Lisgoold on a scoreline of 1-09 to 0-02 on Sunday, September 25. By now Killeagh were East Cork junior A hurling champions. Winning their replay (1-10 to 1-08) again at Ballynoe on Saturday evening, September 17. Both draw and replay were refereed by Pat O’Connor whose son Kieran was on the Cork winning All-Ireland senior football panel of 2010 before passing away last summer after a battle with cancer.
Back to back first round defeats incurred by the Saints in 1989 and 1990. Losing to Mallow in ‘89. Also having lost to the Avondhu based team in their very first match at intermediate championship level in May of 1984, centenary year of the association. Both of those matches were played in Kilworth. While a solid and frequently impressive start was undone by an O’Connell inspired Kilbrittain at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday evening, June 10 1990. A resounding win over Delaney’s at Rathcormac in 1991 preceded a gut wrenching loss to a Colm O’Neill/ John Fenton inspired Midleton at Lisgoold in June the same year. Ballymartle would be the villains when knocking the Saints out of the championship in both ’92 and ’93.
Phew! It’s not easy cramming eleven years into a few hundred words. Now looking behind the scenes at emerging talent we’re going down the road to a county U12 B hurling success in 1987 the nucleus of which won a county B Féile title against Ballyhea two years later. Then under the captaincy of Pat Fitzgerald came U16 success after that. While there were disappointing minor losses to Erins Own and Eire Óg in ’92 and ’93. Now Johnny Sheehan and Kieran Morrison would have made their first team championship debuts against Cloughduv in 1992, a year when an outstanding St Colman’s outfit made a profound impression in college hurling circles. Both were county minors against Tipperary on the Ennis Road in Limerick in ’93.
While St Catherines were also strong at U21 level around that time. Throw in the addition of one or two new signings and we believe the infrastructure now to be in a place for an exciting new season. Would you agree? Would you be of the same opinion? Now that we’re probably blessed with the greatest acumen of all – hindsight!
One of the most successful teams in club history started off their competitive campaign with a resounding 2-11 to 0-04 win over Midleton at Clonmult Memorial Park in the intermediate hurling league. It was the morning of Sunday, March 27. Following that up with another easy win, this time over Newtownshandrum (1-15 to 0-05) when played at Rathcormac on Sunday, April 17. The winning run continued through a three match programme of games for the month of May. Starting off in Rostellan when recording an emphatic success on a scoreline of 4-13 to 2-05 over Aghada on Tuesday evening the 10th. On the following week overcoming the challenge of St Vincents at Watergrasshill on Friday evening, May 20. It finished up at St Catherines 3-12 St Vincents 2-07. We’re then tested before emerging again on the right side of a winning scoreline. This time it was 0-13 to 1-06 in O’Connell Park in Cobh on Saturday evening, May 28.
Now nearly four months into the campaign and the first league match in Ballynoe resulted in a 2-18 to 0-07 win over Mallow on Tuesday evening, June 14. Still able to keep the winning run going following a competitive outing above in Na Piarsaigh on Sunday the 19th. It finished up at 4-13 to 3-12. But while the Blackrock fixture never saw the light of day, deemed scratched, with the points duly awarded Catherines went down to their first competitive defeat of the year above in the Glen field on Friday evening, July 22. Glen Rovers 1-14 St Catherines 1-11 was how that one finished up. A result that would be rectified before year’s end. Getting back to winning ways (1-14 to 0-08) below in Cloyne on Tuesday evening, August 9. That now tallies as nine wins from ten outings yet even though it had surpassed deadlines and no points were awarded the Blarney match was still played on Saturday, October 8 which St Catherines won (2-14 to 1-05). That match was originally on the calendar for April 9 in between the Midleton and Newtownshandrum games. But dreadful weather around that time lead to its cancellation. Even though now it proved a handy game to have, involving no pressure as St Catherines had been paired with Ballymartle in the competition semi-final for week ending October 15/16. No venue named to that point. That proved a mouthwatering fixture to land, Ballymartle inflicting championship losses in 1992 and 1993. Both matches played in Caherlag.
So now what we’re going to do is revert next week to the 1994 intermediate hurling championship campaign which was concluded prior to the resumption of the league which again, because of poor weather conditions and don’t forget a busy U21 campaign, would go on until early December. It just seems more relevant doing it that way.
CONDOLENCES
Sympathy to the family of Rodger O’Halloran who had resided at Monty’s Meadow in Conna and who passed way recently.
SPONSORS
St Catherines GAA Club sponsors are T&A Building and Civil Engineering Contractors, Ballynoe. St Catherines Juvenile Club sponsors are Mulcahy Steel.