Success in Sciath na Scol
Last week saw unprecedented success for Watergrasshill National School when both the camogie and hurling teams reached their respective finals in Sciath na Scol Chorcaí, played in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
There was massive excitement in the run up to the finals with the boys and girls getting the star treatment, which no doubt led to a few sleepless nights before match day on May 22nd. The teams departed through a guard of honour from the entire school on Monday morning before boarding the bus to the Páirc, but there was joy and some tears ahead.
First up were the girls who came up against a very strong Gael Scol na Dúglaise team and despite a great fight, the girls came out on the losing side. There was disappointment for them and a few tears shed, but we are all very proud of their achievement and a very young team are sure to try again next year.
Next up were the boys, who faced neighbours Lisgoold. Having lost heavily to Lisgoold previously, the Watergrasshill boys knew that a huge effort would be needed to succeed and that’s exactly what they did. In an absolutely pulsating contest, the boys from the hill came out on top 7-4 to 5-6 and there were joyous scenes at the full time whistle.
The boys returned to Watergrasshill National School to a noisy reception from parents, teachers and school-mates alike.
In reaching the final, there’s great credit due to both the teachers and the respective underage coaches from Watergrasshill hurling and camogie clubs whose support of the children is shown through their love of our games, with some fun and friendships grown along the way.
ST COLMAN’S SUCCESS
There was further school success in the past week or so for some of our players with St Colman’s College Fermoy. Tadhg McCarthy and Josh Madden were part of the St Colman’s U14 A team who won the county final, beating Midleton CBS 3-16 to 1-16.
The Gort Community School, All-Ireland Super-9s competition was held last week in Gort GAA Club, Co Galway. The super 9s competition is entirely organised and run by Gort Community School students in association with the TY Future Leaders Program and Connacht GAA. There was a nice player profile in the program of our own Jack Counihan who along with David Barry, Leon Clarke and Tadhg McCarthy represented St Colman's College, bowing out at the semi-final stage.
U10S ON THE ROAD
Our U10 boys have had a very busy couple of weeks recently and are enjoying their hurling. They have travelled to Rostellan and Ballyduff Upper in recent weeks playing Aghada, Fermoy, Lismore and Ballyduff. With a lot of media coverage in recent weeks around the GAA’s position on non-competitive games etc these boys are certainly a great example of what can be achieved through a non-competitive environment with a focus on developing core skills, movement, teamwork, fun and friendship.
Well done to the boys on a great few weeks’ hurling and a shout out also to their coaches and parents who continue to support the boys.
INTERMEDIATES’ GOOD FORM CONTINUES
Our intermediate hurlers continued their run of good form on Tuesday evening last with a solid win over Mayfield. Closing the game with a 9 point winning margin, the men from the hill were good value for that scoreline with their pace, accuracy and work rate too much for Mayfield. The hill had
already raced into a 1-6 lead after 13 minutes before Mayfield registered their first score of the game with Seán Desmond raising the green flag after just 2 minutes.
Solid at the back with Dáire O’Leary and Aaron Ricken giving not an inch in protecting Aiden Foley, whose distribution was top class. Seán Desmond led the line well with Liam Foley and Dylan Roche’s work rate making life difficult for Mayfield’s defence. The hill led 1-12 to 0-7 at the break and the second half saw no let-up in the scoring.
When Mayfield eventually registered their only goal of the game after 18 second half minutes, the deficit had been reduced to 6 points, but the hill responded with 4 unanswered scores to push back into a 10 point lead. Mayfield pushed and pushed for a goal in the closing 10 minutes but Aiden Foley pulled off some point blank saves to keep the lead intact.
Closing out 1-23 to 1-14, we were good value for the win and next up are Aghada on June 11th.
RECENT RESULTS
Tuesday 23rd May, RedFM HL D5: Watergrasshill 1-23 v 1-14 Mayfield. Wednesday 24th May: Rebel Óg East, Fé17 D2 League Water
grasshill v Cobh (conceded by Cobh). Thursday 25th May: Rebel Óg East, Fé12 HL Group 6 Carrigtwohill 0-9 Watergrasshill 1-7. Thursday 25th May: JHL D2 Cloyne 3-20 Watergrasshill 3-17.
UPCOMING FIXTURES
Wednesday 7th June, Rebel Óg East, Fé17 D2 League - Sarsfields v Watergrasshill at 7pm in Riverstown. Friday 9th June, JHL, D2 Watergrasshill v Castlemartyr at 7.30pm in Watergrasshill.
LOTTO
There was no winner of the lotto jackpot this week. Numbers drawn were 9, 12, 21 and 32. Lucky dip winners are Mary Barry O’Callaghan, Mairead O’Callaghan, Yvonne Sheehan and Eilish O’Neill. Congratulations to you all. Next week's jackpot is €4,500 and the draw will take place on 5th May in The Fir Tree Bar.
Tickets are on sale in some of the village businesses like The Hut Bar, The Fir Tree, Johnny's Shop and our new lotto stand in Ross's Centra. Tickets can also be purchased online via our club website. The club would like to take this opportunity to thank all our members and supporters of the Watergrasshill GAA Club Lotto. The club lotto is a vital source of income for
the running of all our teams within the club and for future development of our facilities, so we ask you to please support it if you are in a position to do so. Remember, if you’re not in you can’t win.
WALSH FAMILY FUNDRAISER
The Walsh family from Killeagh, a staunch GAA family are going through an extremely tough time at present. The Killeagh, East Cork and broader GAA family are rallying round to support them in their current difficult time.
All in Watergrasshill GAA also offer our thoughts, prayers and support to the Walsh family. We would appreciate if our members, supporters and friends could support the family by giving what you can to the GoFundMe appeal which is shared on our social media channels.
We are also organizing a fundraiser for the Walsh family on June 2nd in Watergrasshill GAA grounds. There will be fun activities for all the family as well as sweet treats available. We will be asking for a donation in aid of the Walsh family on the day and we’re sure the whole community will come out in support. Keep an eye online for further details and thank you in advance for your support.