Congratulations to Rebels’ Bounty winners

Congratulations to our two winners in the February Rebels’ Bounty draw held last Thursday night in Páirc Uí Chaoimh which was streamed live on the Irish Examiner social media channels. Tom and Catherine Howard won 4th prize of €1,000, with 12th prize of €250 going the way of Shane O’Brien.

Once again, a huge thanks to everyone who entered the draw and those who sold tickets. All your help and effort has ensured vital funds have been raised for our upcoming club development.

CLUB LOTTO ON THE WAY BACK

We plan to get our club lotto back up and running in the coming weeks. Keep an eye on TheAvondhu for further updates. The jackpot currently standing at €7,400. As always, we would like to thank you for your ongoing support.

MEMBERSHIP REMINDER

A reminder that club membership can now be paid online by logging onto www.foireann.ie. If you have any queries in relation to the system, please do not hesitate to contact club registrar Alan Kenny. It is imperative that all players and management teams are paid members in advance of a return to training.

GET WELL WISHES

The club would like to wish a speedy recovery to Simon Linehan following his recent accident.

REELING IN THE YEARS – NORTH CORK JUNIOR A HURLING CHAMPIONS - 1980 (TITLE NO 5)

Over the coming weeks we continue our look back at the club’s North Cork junior hurling successes with the focus on Kilworth’s 5th championship win of 41 years ago in 1980, a year that also saw the team in contention for county honours. Despite defeat in the county final, it was nevertheless a fantastic achievement from a great team who displayed great courage and determination throughout the campaign.

Following our 4th title in 1971 the rest of the decade proved bleak years. Despite boasting some fine players Kilworth failed to add to tally of North Cork titles for the rest of the 70’s. A final defeat to longtime rivals Kildorrery in 1972 was followed by a first round defeat to the same opposition in 1973. A more productive run in 1974 saw Kilworth reach the semi-final where they were second best to a fine Ballyhea side before Kildorrery once more proved our nemesis in 1975.

In 1976 under the tutelage of Cork great Justin McCarthy Kilworth put in a huge effort which saw them reach the North Cork final once again in which they faced Ballyhea at Buttevant. Unfortunately, the game did not go to plan as the Kilworth attack were never able to get to grips with a teak tough Ballyhea rearguard and in fact all Kilworth’s scores on the day came from defence as John Kenny scored five points and Johnny Hogan scored a goal from a free in a 1-11 to 1-05 defeat.

Whist Kilworth tried hard, the remainder of the decade did not see an increase in Kilworth’s fortunes with a disappointing one point defeat to Charleville following the concession of a goal from a last minute free in the 1977 semi-final being the closest Kilworth came to return to a North Cork final. Kilworth did however win the North Cork league in 1977 when a pointed ‘65’ with the last puck of the game from captain John Kenny say them defeat Castletownroche on a 2-11 to 1-13 scoreline in the semi-final before they got the better of Buttevant in the final.

Following the disappointment of the 70’s Kilworth were determined to return to hurling’s top table in 1980. Early games however showed no great promise and it wasn’t until the North Cork final was reached that people began to sit up and take notice. However, what turned out to be a very successful year could have been over before it began as it took a late equalizer to force a replay in the first round of the North Cork Championship with Milford.

Kilworth 3-13 Milford 4-10 (1st round; June 29, 1980, venue Castletownroche)

In a game described by many onlookers as the best played at the venue for a long time Kilworth and last year’s beaten finalists Milford fought out a thrilling draw at a rain swept Castletownroche. At the outset Kilworth were rank outsiders with most Avondhu followers but fired on with a burning ambition to win and get back as one of the top teams in the division it was clear from the beginning they were not going to go down without a fight. When outstanding full forward Johnny Hogan had the first of his three goals after eight minutes play it was just the start Kilworth needed. The first quarter was very evenly contested and at the end of the period the teams were level 1-2 to 0-5. Then in a Milford break away they had their first goal, but almost immediately after, Hogan had Kilworth back on terms when the goalkeeper was slow in clearing. He was in like a flash to flick the ball to the net. Milford led 1-08 to 2-04 at halftime.

Directly after the resumption Kilworth were back in the lead when a cross from Pat Greehy was finished to the net by Hogan. For the next 30 minutes the game throbbed with excitement with the ball flying from end to end with some firstclass scores from both teams. With seven minutes to go Milford seemed to get the match-winning score when the Kilworth defence were slow in clearing and one of their forwards was in to finish it to the net. But once again Kilworth fought back with points from John Kenny and Pat Greehy to draw level with two minutes to go. The excitement was still high when Mossie Fitzgibbon put Milford back in front. With time almost up it looked like Kilworth would have to face defeat by a solitary point for the third consecutive year. But they made one last ditch effort and when the Milford centre back overplayed the ball Kilworth were awarded a free from ‘55’ metres with time up on the watch. Still the drama had not ended as Milford had a player injured and play was held up for two minutes.

When it finally resumed the task of keeping Kilworth in the championship rested on the shoulders of 17-year-old Pat Greehy and the large Kilworth following held their breath as he faced up to the most important free of his life. With unerring accuracy, he shot straight and through to bring the curtain down on a memorable hour play. Both teams had some chances to win the game and both had some outstanding individuals on show, but overall a draw was a fair result. Outstanding for Kilworth were Jimmy Hanlon in goal, Kevin McCarthy and Dave Hogan in defence, Dave McCarthy and John Kenny were well on top at midfield, and in attack, Johnny Hogan, Christy O’Callaghan and Pat Greehy were best. Kilworth scorers; J Hogan (3-2), J Kenny (0-5), P Greehy (0-4), P O’Flynn & C O Callaghan (0-1 each).

Kilworth 2-11 Milford 1-09 (1st round replay; August 10, 1980, venue Castletownroche)

In the replay six weeks later Kilworth had a fully merited five point winning margin. Milford were very much strengthened by the return of Donal Roche and Cork U21 player Sean O’Gorman. The teams were level after ten minutes when Kilworth got their first goal, a ball flicked on by Johnny Hogan to Pat Greehy who made no mistake.

At this stage the Kilworth selectors made the first of two important switches which were to have a big bearing on the outcome of the game. In a direct switch Pat Shanahan went from left halfback to left half forward with John Kenny going back to defence. Both players benefited greatly from the change. Shanahan had two great points before half-time and proceeded to play what was to be one of his best games in the red jersey for some time, while the defence which now included Kenny settled down to curb the threat from the Milford attack. At the interval Kilworth had a lead of one goal and four points.

The second half started with Milford now having the advantage of the strong wind which prevailed throughout the game. Milford opened the second half scoring with a point but shortly after, Kilworth had their second big breakthrough when a long range free by John Kenny was pulled on with superb skill by Pat Greehy to finish in the back of the net. Milford threw everything into the game with twenty minutes to go trailing by nine points. The Kilworth defence stood firm at this point and it was here the Kilworth selectors made the move that broke the heart of the Milford challenge. Outstanding full forward Johnny Hogan was moved to corner back and his place taken by Paddy O’Flynn with Pat McCormack taking up the position of corner forward. Hogan proved to be Kilworth’s hero, with his outstanding positional sense and superb handling of the ball, saw him time and again the rock on which Milford perished. They did succeed in getting within three points of the winners with five minutes to go but points from John Kenny and Pat Greehy left Kilworth worthy winners.

This was essentially a team effort, but two men must get special mention, Johnny Hogan for his great second half performance and Pat Greehy for an outstanding display throughout the game, finishing with a personal tally of 2-6.

Kilworth 5-13 Ballygiblin 2-08 (quarter-final; August 24th, 1980, venue Fermoy)

Kilworth had a convincing win at the finish over Ballygiblin in the North Cork quarter final played in Fermoy. However, for forty minutes a shock looked on the cards as Ballygiblin proceeded to dictate the game and the final scoreline hardly did justice to their efforts. Kilworth began with early goals from Pat Greehy and Johnny Hogan to lead 2-2 to 0-2 after fifteen minutes. Ballygiblin were to dominate the remainder of the first half with the Kilworth defence under constant pressure. This was Ballygiblin’s best period and they steadily closed the gap with some great points and when a speculative dropping ball was flicked to the Kilworth net approaching the internal, the Kilworth camp looked anything but happy.

The first ten minutes of the second half were also evenly contested but then two goals by Johnny Hogan and one by Pat Greehy finally ended the very game Ballygiblin challenge. Still the losers battled on but with Fanahan McCormack and Dave McCarthy getting on top at midfield the Kilworth attack proceeded to pick off points at will. Ballygiblin did come again to crash a twenty-metre free to the net but the score came too late to affect the result. On this performance the consensus was that a lot of improvement was needed if

Kilworth were to progress beyond the next round and qualify for the North Cork final.

Kilworth 1-11 Charleville 1-06 (semi-final; September 14, 1980, venue Mallow)

In the divisional junior hurling championship semi-final Kilworth assisted by the breeze laid the foundations of success in the first half. At the end of that period they led 1-10 to 0-1 and the game was over as a contest as Kilworth qualified for the first final since 1976. Kilworth scorers; P Greehy (0-6), J Lynch (1-1), J Hogan (0-2), P Flynn and J Kenny (0-1) each.

Whilst Kilworth managed to get over Milford in the replay with further wins over Ballygiblin and Charleville the team struggled for the type of consistency that would be required to win their firth title and the real test was the final against old rivals Castletownroche. Any meeting between these two sides always brought out the very best in hurling skills, and this game was no exception. Castletown’ were the holders, but this thrilling encounter at Buttevant saw them relinquish their title to a superb Kilworth fifteen.

(Continued next week)

MAIN CLUB SPONSORS

Mike Walsh Pharmacy, Ahearne’s Pub, The Village Inn, KDC Ltd, Kilally Stables and Mitchelstown Dental Clinic.