Season 1995/96 - Lismore win the league as Clashmore and Castlebridge are promoted

While thankfully the figures of Covid-19 are beginning to reduce, it is still very doubtful that football will return before May at the very earliest. We have consistently written of the hope that underage football, boys and girls, will be allowed return, sooner rather than later. This applies to all sports as children are definitely feeling the effects of lockdown as much and maybe even moreso than adults.

Last week, all the clubs in the country received a letter or an update from FAI President, Gerry McAnaney. In the letter, he spoke of the past twelve months and how the whole country has suffered from Covid-19 and how it has affected sport since lockdown was announced.

Covid-19 has denied so many of us the opportunity to share our passion for football and our interest in the game with our football family. The president asks each of us to look out for those who are currently missing the game more than anyone. It may be an elderly neighbour who can’t get to see a match, it may be a young child who can’t get to play a game. We need football to look out for them and to look after them.

He goes on to speak of the coming season in the Airtricity League and the commencement of the World Cup qualifiers, with the first fixture away to Serbia on March 24th. Then there are the games against Portugal, Azerbaijan and Luxembourg and all games promise to recreate that World Cup fever of old.

The letter is lengthy and we will return to it again next week. We have to commend the president for the letter to the clubs, and the new CEO Jonathan Hill who conducted a webinar with all the leagues last week. This shows a new FAI as they try to restore credibility and transparency that was lost by everyone, not just those who are involved in the game. Let us hope all this is a new beginning.

WORLD CUP

This Thursday, Stephen Kenny will announce his squad of players for the forthcoming 2022 World Cup group games that will take place in March.

The first game is away to Serbia on Wednesday, 24th March, followed by a home fixture at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, 27th March against Luxembourg and then a friendly away to Quatar on Tuesday, 30th March.

There is a break then until September with games against Portugal away on September 1st, home on 4th September to Bosnia/Herzegovina and at home to Serbia on 7th September. While there will be no attendances at the March games, we may be able, hopefully, to visit the Aviva for the September fixtures.

When one looks at the options for selection that Kenny has at his disposal, unfortunately it does not look too promising with injuries ruling some players out and other not getting game time each week and many playing in the lower divisions. But let us wait until we see the squad before giving our opinion.

AIRTRICITY LEAGUE - READY TO GO

This Friday night will see the first series of games in this year’s Airtricity League. For the past few weeks all 20 teams in the two divisions have been playing friendly or challenge.

Waterford played their third and final challenge game last Saturday when Wexford Youths were the visitors. At the end of the game the Blues were victorious by the only goal of the game, scored midway through the opening half by new signing Tunmise Sobowale. This was a very mediocre game, and while it can be looked upon as a friendly, the players on both teams were trying to impress their respective managers, Kevin Sheedy of Waterford and Harry Kenny of Wexford. The Blues had Brian Murphy back in goal for the game and he was rarely, if ever tested over the 90mns.

The previous week, Waterford lost at home to Cork City 0-3 and had drawn midweek with Treaty United from Limerick 1-1. These three challenge games will have given the Waterford manager plenty to ponder as he prepares for next Friday night when the Blues travel to Drogheda for their first league game of the new season. Drogheda were promoted as champions last November and have a young manager in Tim Clancy, who played most of his career in Scotland, especially with Kilmarnock. When he came back to Ireland he played with Sligo Rvs and then had a stint with Bray, before joining Drogheda as manager. Drogheda have made some good signings since the end of last season, with former Dundalk star Dane Massey making the short switch down the road to Drogheda. Massey will bring a wealth of experience to the Drogs, having won five league titles with the Lilywhites and this fixture will be a test for Waterford and will give us an insight into their prospects. One accepts that the opening game does not always show us what will happen in the next number of weeks and months, but it will be an indication.

For Waterford manager, Kevin Sheedy, this will be his first competitive game in the Airtricity League and unlike his Drogheda counterpart, has much more experience in management. In players, he has in the opinion of many scribes, ourselves included, the best goalkeeper in the league in Brian Murphy and up front the vastly experienced Irish international, Daryl Murphy, if fit again from injury. So, for all Blues fans the hope is that Waterford can return back down the motorway with a win, if not a share of the points. The game is timed as we compile our notes for a 5.45pm kick off and will be broadcast on WLR.

Waterford FC announced at the weekend that the club is the first in the League of Ireland to carry out baseline concussion on all players, determining how a player thinks under “normal” condition before concussion occurs. All the Waterford players have undergone baseline testing ahead of the league programme. The tests were carried out last week in the UPMC Sports Medicine Clinic in the WIT Arena.

With concussion being taken very seriously in all sports, this is a wonderful step forward for the Waterford club and hopefully will be followed by all the other teams in the league.

There was also other good news from the Waterford club with the club entering an U17 women’s team in the Women’s National League for the very first time. The team will be managed by Brendan White, who is very enthusiastic with the club’s decision to enter a team at this level. They will join Cork City and Limerick from the Munster region, while we all know how good our neighbours, Wexford have been for the past number of years.

This news can only benefit the game, especially in the west of the county where underage girls football is on the increase, but unfortunately like all other spots, Covid-19 has seen all games suspended.

The new 2021 season kicked off last Friday night at Tallaght Stadium with the President’s Cup between the league winners, Shamrock Rvs and the FAI Cup winners, Dundalk. The game ended in a draw and then went straight to penalties, which Dundalk won 5-4. This was Dundalk’s third occasion winning the trophy as they have contested five finals in previous years, all against Cork City. City won it three years in a row and while it is always the first competitive game of the season, it always drew the crowds, be it to Turner’s Cross or Oriel Park. We had attendances in Turner’s Cross of 3,000+ for these finals. Unfortunately, there is no attendance allowed now and the cup was not competed for last year when the season was postponed.

The 1st Division will commence on Friday week, March 26th and we have a local derby game in Turner’s Cross when Cork City play Cobh Ramblers.

BLAST FROM THE PAST

This week we are going to take a look back to season 1995/96. Last May in this segment we wrote of the two Dungarvan Tyre Centre Cup semi-finals that saw Brideview defeat Valley Rgs at Lismore 5-2, and Lismore defeat Ballyduff aet, with the sides level 2-2 after 110 minutes of football. The final was played at Tallow on Monday, 6th May with Brideview winning 1-0 thanks to a Paul Curley goal after 23mins. The final was originally set to be played on Sunday, 21st April, but had to be called off just before 2pm as the pitch was deemed unplayable due to the rain that fell over the weekend.

We touched briefly on the season without going into too much detail, so we will look back this week with the league and the Tony Bolger Cup.

The AGM was held at the Red House Bar, Lismore on Monday, 24th July 1995. The chairman welcomed all present, that included Noel Wallace and Tony Smith from the Waterford League. Six clubs were absent, namely Affane, Ballyduff, Brideview, Inch, Killeagh and Modeligo. It was announced by the league chairman that Killeagh had withdrawn from the league.

There were representatives from two new clubs, Clashmore and Castlebridge, present and both told the meeting when asked, that they had their own pitches.

It was also pointed out that the referees had been instructed to form their own referees’ society and this would mean that Leonard Fraser and Jim Foley would have to resign from the committee when that happened.

The election of the committee for the 1995/96 season was: chairman Paddy Pollard, secretary Michael McBride, treasurer Len Fraser, assistant treasurer Pat Casey, fixture secretary Jim Foley, league delegate to the Waterford League Eddie O’Shea, PRO Liam Fraser. Committee - Joe Tobin, Pat Power and at the opening delegate meeting of the league held 21st August, Joe Hartnett and Michael O’Neill were co-opted on to the committee.

Clashmore Ramblers, Youghal and Castlebridge Celtic’s applications were accepted.

At this meeting the draw for the Tony Bolger Cup took place with a total of 20 teams taking part in four groups of five.

The Tony Bolger Cup commenced on Sunday, 3rd September and some results from the opening group games saw Glenview defeat Clashmore at Melleray; Araglen at home had an easy win against Youghal 7-1 - Paul Mulhearne and Aidan Hyland had two goals each, while David Gill, Ger McCarthy and James Kearney also scored for the winners; Derek Kiely scored for the visitors. Ballybridge won at home 4-2 to Brideview B, while Blackwater defeated Ardmore 2-1 at home, Chris Lombard and Roger Ronayne scored for the winners. Castlebridge played their first ever game in the RHL and lost at home 1-0 to Cappoquin. In Conna, Vally lost to Gortroe through goals from Billy Lane and Alan Downing. A large crowd was present to see An Ghaeltacht defeat Affane 2-0 at Ring, with Eamonn Power and Conor Fitzgerald the goal scorers.

The following week, Modeligo travelled to Youghal and lost 3-1 with goals from Derek Kiely, Kevin Lonergan and Ken Hennessy. Clashmore played their first home game and lost 2-4 to Araglen. In Tallow there was a real cracker with the points shared 3-3 with Ballyduff -

James Scanlon (x2) and one from Kevin Barry for Ballyduff, while Denis Flaherty (x2) and a David Henley goal were the Brideview scorers. Mogeely lost at home to a rampant Pinewood who scored five times. Castlebridge scored their first goal in the league through Brian Fitzgerald. However, with two minutes remaining Ardmore scored the equaliser from the penalty spot. Cappoquin drew at home to Inch 1-1.

As the competition progressed, we witnessed some wonderful games and plenty of goals and when the two semi-finals were played on 15th October, Pinewood defeated Brideview 5-1 at Lismore, while also at Lismore Araglen defeated Blackwater 1-0 thanks to a David Gill goal.

The final was played on St. Stephen’s Day at Lismore between Pinewood and Araglen, with the team from Ballymac winning 3-1. There was a large crowd present on a bitterly cold day and the game was in doubt up to the last minute due to a heavy frost, until the referee gave the go ahead and deemed the pitch playable.

Pinewood got a great start when Kevin Mulcahy scored after only 2mins play and this was the score at half-time. Araglen equalised 4mins after the restart when Aidan Hyland scored. Kevin Crotty restored the Pinewood lead and Mulcahy scored with nine minutes remaining to give the Ballymac side a two goal advantage which they held to the final whistle.

Araglen - A Carey, W O’Donoghue, J Tobin, J Whyte, G McCarthy, S Hyland, D Gill, T Harrington, A Hyland, P Mulhearne, J Kearney. Reserves: P Buckley, P Colbert, M Hoye, B Kearney, E McGrath.

Referee Noel O’Donoghue, assistants S Hickey and Tom Griffin.

Joan Bolger presented the Bolger Cup to Pinewood captain, Richard Guiry.

The Pinewood manager, Pat Power was delighted with the victory and the display of his team, but said they needed that third goal “because up to then Araglen were still in the game”.

The league commenced on Sunday, November 5th with 10 teams in Division 1. Some results from the division on the opening day saw Mogeely win easily at home to Cappoquin, while Lismore at home score six against Ballybridge, with Bo Bo Meagher getting a hattrick, and goals also from Barney Prendergast, Kieran O’Gorman and Michael Shanahan. Ballyduff travelled to Ballymac and the report says it was the shock result of the day as the visitors scored six times with James Scanlon scoring a hattrick, and a goal each from Brendan Cotter, Owen Corcoran and Paudie Prendergast.

A Declan Hennessy penalty saw Ardmore take the points against Valley Rgs in Conna and the following Sunday, the sea-siders won at home to Pinewood with Kevin Lenane scoring the only goal of the game. As the month of December approached, there were some interesting results that saw Ardmore and Mogeely setting the pace with Lismore and Inch in joint third place. Ballyduff and Pinewood, both after bad starts, started to climb up the table with Brideview in the bottom three.

In December, Pinewood defeated Brideview in Ballymac with a Pa Walsh goal the difference. Billy Sheehan got injured and had to be replaced by JP Grey between the posts and this change affected the Tallow side. Lismore and Mogeely shared six goals at Station Road, and Inch drew at home with Ardmore 2-2.

The week before Christmas the big local derby in Tallow saw Lismore win 0-2 in a game that never lived up to expectations with goals from Dan Shanahan and Sean Daly. Inch and Pinewood drew 2-2 at Inch and Cappoquin won at Conna 1-2; Ballyduff won at home to Ballybridge 3-1 and the reports tell us on Christmas Eve in Tallow, Brideview lost to Ballyduff 0-1 with Owen Corcoran getting the all-important score.

January saw a few interesting results and a number of games falling foul of the weather. Brideview won away in Mogeely 1-2 with M Geary and JP Grey getting the goals and Martin Conroy scoring for the home team. Ballyduff defeated Valley Rgs in Conna 3-5 and at the end of the month, Brideview won 0-4 at Inch and all of a sudden the Tallow side started to move up the table. The bad weather during the month, frost and ice, meant games had to be cancelled.

The months of February and March saw cracking games and the lead at the top of the table changing every two weeks, especially with teams having games postponed. Ballyduff, Lismore and Brideview were the leading contenders for the title, followed by Pinewood as we entered April. Ballyduff lost at home to Brideview 0-4 as the Tallow side went top of the table, and the following Sunday Lismore drew at home with the village 0-0 and this set Lismore in a good position, as they had games in hand over Brideview, who were visitors to the Castle Farm Grounds the following week. William Murphy gave the visitors the lead early in the game, but Paul Quinn equalised before the break. In the 75th minute a Bo Bo Maher shot from 25 yards ended in the Brideview net for a goal that gave them the two points and made Lismore favourites to win the title with fewer games played.

In their final league game, Brideview defeated Pinewood in Tallow with goals from Joe Fraser and Philly Curley. Lismore had three games to play and they beat Ardmore 3-0 in Lismore with Dan Shanahan scoring a hat-trick and the following Sunday, the same player scored the only goal of the game away to Cappoquin and this gave them the league title with one game to play.

At the conclusion of the game in Cappoquin, Michael O’Leary presented the Red House trophy to Paul Quinn, Lismore captain and this was Lismore’s first title since the club had won the title in 1971/72.

In the final game, Lismore won away to Ballybridge 2-4 and Ballybridge were relegated, along with Valley Rgs who lost away to Ardmore 4-2.

In Division 2, there were twelve teams and many felt it was a very open division, but with newcomers Clashmore, Castlebridge, Youghal and the experienced Blackwater, Araglen and Gortroe, the top two would more than likely come from this sextet.

In the very first game Blackwater lost at home to Gortroe 1-6, with Alan Geary scoring a hat-trick, while in Castlelyons the home team lost to Glenview with an Aidan Power goal. In the middle of November, Youghal defeated An Ghaeltacht 1-2 played at Ring, with Kevin Landers and Derek Kiely on the score sheet, while Leonard Whelan scored for the home team. The following week also at Ring, another defeat for the home team, this time to Clashmore with Fran O’Rourke and Tom Lombard scoring, while Eugene Curran scored for the home team. Cappoquin B at home to Castlebridge lost to a Joe Hartnett penalty and Youghal won at home to Glenview 4-1, a result that saw them top of the table after only 4 games.

Into December and Castlebridge had Modeligo as visitors - the home team were leading by two Kevin Cotter goals, but the visitors rallied and scored twice. But the drama was not over as the home team were awarded a penalty, but Joe Hartnett’s spotter was saved by the Modeligo keeper. The following week, Modeligo drew at home to league leaders Youghal - JP Ryan scored for the home team, while Youghal player/ manager Ken Hennessy scored from the penalty spot for a share of the points. Castlebridge travelled to Tallow and won 1-2 with goals from Kevin Cotter and Johnny O’Sullivan, with Michael Henley scoring for the home team. Clashmore at home beat Glenview 2-1, while Araglen won at home to Affane 7-2.

In the middle of December, Gortroe won away to Brideview B 0-4 with Alan Geary scoring all four goals and Castlebridge drawing 1-1 at home to Clashmore. Fran O’Rourke scored for the visitors, but Johnny O’Sullivan equalised for the home team.

At Christmas Youghal led the table by a point from Clashmore, with Gortroe two points further back, followed by Brideview and Castlebridge.

January saw teams in the top half changing places, with Clashmore winning at home to Modeligo 3-2, Gortroe and Youghal drawing 1-1 and at the end of the month, Clashmore were leading by a point from Youghal with Gortroe and Castlebridge only two points adrift. Castlebridge won at home to Brideview 3-1 with Kevin Cotter scoring twice and Johnny O’Sullivan on the scoresheet.

In early February, Clashmore won away to Affane with “Tiger” O’Neill getting the goal; Castlebridge drew at home to Gortroe 1-1 with Sean Cotter scoring for the home team and leading goal scorer Alan Geary getting the equaliser. Clashmore then defeated Youghal 2-1 in Clashmore – the feature of the game was the outstanding goalkeeping of Marty Flynn for the winners. Castlebridge went to Melleray and won 0-5, with Kevin Cotter and Johnny O’Sullivan scoring two goals each, along with a score from Stephen O’Brien.

At the end of February, Youghal won away in Araglen 0-3, Clashmore won in Tallow 1-3 and all of a sudden as we hit March, Clashmore were leading Castlebridge by 3 points, with Youghal four points adrift and five games to play. Castlebridge won at home to Affane 5-2, Clashmore could only draw to neighbours Blackwater 0-0 and Youghal drew at home to An Ghaeltacht 1-1. Into March, Castlebridge won away to Affane 1-3, Gortroe drew at home to Clashmore 1-1, Youghal drew at home to Modeligo 2-2, Clashmore won away to Glenview 0-3, and at the end of the month Youghal lost at home to Blackwater 0-1.

Clashmore got back to winning ways at home to Araglen 2-1. Castlebridge won away to Modeligo 2-3 and this result saw them very much with the title in their sights. But a shock was in store for Castlebridge in Araglen when Araglen, thanks to a Pa Buckley goal, gave the home team what the report says was a shock win.

April saw Clashmore draw 2-2 with Castlebridge and it was felt after this game that the league title lay between these two sides.

Clashmore won at home to Gortroe 1-0, while Castlebridge won at home to Youghal 3-1 with Johnny O’Sullivan scoring twice and a goal from Kevin Cotter. Into April and it was all to play for between Clashmore, who led the table by five points from Castlebridge, who had a game in hand and Gortroe a point further behind. Clashmore had two games to play and Castlebridge had three games remaining.

But all changed on 28th April when Castlebridge could only draw away to An Ghaeltacht 0-0 and at the same time, Clashmore won in Modeligo 1-4, with Tiger O’Neill getting a hat-trick. When the result from Ring came through, Clashmore knew they had won the title. In Youghal, the local derby saw the home team draw with Gortroe 0-0.

So, on Sunday, 4th May Clashmore at home and before a large attendance, defeated An Ghaeltacht 3-0 and at the final whistle, Clashmore captain Owen Power was presented with the Division 2 Cup by league chairman, Paddy Pollard.

Castlebridge drew away to Youghal 2-2, with goals from Joe Hartnett and Kevin Cotter and Youghal replied with two goals from Ken Hennessy. Clashmore and Castlebridge were promoted to the 1st Division for the following season.

As we mentioned at the start of the segment, last May we wrote of the Dungarvan Tyre Centre Cup final that saw Brideview defeat Lismore 1-0, played in Tallow.

We hope all the above will bring back memories to our readers, especially those who played in that era.

When one recalls the 1995/96 season, there were 22 teams competing in the two divisions, and in what was then the 1st Division, Ballyduff, Ardmore, Pinewood and Mogeely no longer have junior teams. In the 2nd Division from that season there were 12 teams and of those Castlebridge, Gortroe, Araglen, An Ghaeltacht, Blackwater, Glenview, Modeligo and Affane no longer have junior teams, while Youghal play in the Munster Senior League. How times have changed!

Next week we will delve once more into the past and try to relive, through our notes, those days that brought a lot of fun to so many and in what, we say, was a totally different era to the present.