From The Avondhu 28 May 2020

In our last review, we looked at the club’s first ever championship victory – the East Cork under 21 B football championship in 1977. This week we skip forward a few years to 1982 to pay tribute to the team that secured the club’s first ever victory on the hurling field.  

The road to victory for the hurling team contained many similarities in that glory was a few years in the making and involved a number near misses before victory was ultimately achieved. Where the under 21 team suffered a final defeat in 1974 and waited three years to eventually land the title, the junior hurling team suffered final defeat in 1978 and waited four years before reaching the holy grail. In the interim a worrying and unsought consistency had developed. Following the defeat to  Russell Rovers each of the following three years featured first round and quarter final victories, heightened enthusiasm, good numbers at training and heartbreaking semi-final defeat. In 1979, there was a two point defeat by Fr O’Neills. Had a decision to disallow a late goal gone the other way, we would have had the chance to atone for the final defeat within one year. Such fine margins. In 1980, the semi-final was even tighter again. Indeed there was no separating ourselves and Watergrasshill the first day. Alas, the replay saw the team produce a very flat performance and we ended up losing by seven points. The following year, we went into our semi-final against St Catherines as the side fancied to progress to the final.  The enthusiasm was high. Andrew Hickey, player, coach and also secretary, noted, at the time, that attendance at training leading up to that semi-final was never higher for the club. In The game was closely fought throughout. The first half saw the lead change hand a few times but in the second half White’s Cross dominated a game that experienced referee Billy Cody did well to keep from boiling over. However, moral victories count for nothing and the speedy forwards from Conna/Ballinoe way, and possibly their greater stamina caused problems that  we were unable to deal with. The result being another narrow 2 point defeat which the St. Catherines reporter for the Avondhu at the time described as ‘lucky’.  But lucky or otherwise, they progressed to the final and we were left to pick ourselves up; again! 

And pick ourselves up we did. The year, 1981, also marked the clubs first foray into City Division competitions. That year we committed to just the cup competitions – the Seandún Cup in football (which, in fact, we won) and the Craobh Rua Cup in hurling. As visitors, we did not have much input into fixture scheduling and so it did not help that the first round of the Craobh Rua Cup was fixed two night after that defeat to Catherines.  Therefore it is testimony to the character of the team that roused themselves so  quickly and defeated Fr O’Callaghans by 5 points. The next victory may have been psychologically significant in that a four goal victory followed over Nemo Rangers in the semi-final and thus ending the run of penultimate stage defeats that had plague the team. Unfortunately, the final against Ballinure did not go to plan but a final had been reached and we would look forward, with some optimism, to 1982. 

And so, onto 1982 and another crack at it. Paul O’Neill (well-known referee and linesman) was on board as coach while Finbar Kiely, then Delaneys and Seandun goalkeeper and a man who has been involved with White’s Cross teams for many decades, also took some sessions as the team upped the ante training wise in another attempt to land the title. In the first round, on the 3^rd of July,  we had a big  7-2 to 2-4 victory over St Itas. Bride Rovers were next up in the quarter final following their own big win over Carraig Na Bfhear . This game versus the Rathcormac was a terrific contest which thankfully saw us win on a 3-11 to 2-8 score line.  Russell Rovers,  the side that had beaten us in the 78 deciders, were our opponents in the semi-final.  After another cracking game, it seemed that the semi-final curse was about to revisit us.  Trailing near the end, It took two late goals to get the side over the line and into the final. Cobh were the opposition. Played late in the year, at rain-lashed Caherlag venue, an early start proved crucial.   Having got on top early, the side built up a lead that they never relinquished. They eventually ran out four point winners and for a club that was set up predominantly as a hurling club, it was fitting that it was on the silver jubilee (club was established in 1982) that we finally ended our wait for hurling silverware. 

In the next few weeks we will talk to some of the players that were involved in the this first hurling victory and that football victory that we covered in the last review. For this article, I would like to thank Billy Meade, Andrew Hickey, John O’Sullivan and Stephen Crowley for their insights/memories.  

 From The Avondhu 06th May 2021

In our last notes we looked at how a young Upper Glanmire team competed very well, but without ultimate success,  in the 1980 school shield (Sciath na Scoil) competition. Many of those players were involved with the St Colmcilles (White’s Cross/Carraig Na Bhfear) at that time and they would form the backbone of the most successful St Colmcille’s team in that era; the only team that would win a championship. That was the 1982 East Cork under 12 C Football championship.   

They say though you that you must lose one to win one and this is  how it transpired. In the 1980 under 12 football championship (played on a league basis) we were in the group with Castlelyons, Lisgoold, Cloyne, Russell Rovers and Fr O’Neills. Three victories over Castleyons, Rusell Rovers and Cloyne and walkover from Lisgoold saw the team qualify for the final ahead of the last round-robin game against an unbeaten Fr O’Neills side. Despite being level at half-time it would be Fr O’Neills that would remain the unbeaten side ahead of the final between the same two side winning on a scoreline of 7-04 to 2-05. Unfortunately, revenge would not come in the final for St. Colmcilles. Despite strong performances from Padraig Bracken, Sean O’Reilly, Michael Ahern and Brian Murphy, the Ladysbridge side won convincingly. The team in the final was JJ Ahern, John V O’Callaghan, Tony Allen, Sean Burke, Michael Ahern, Brian Murphy, Sean O’Reilly, Billy Kelleher, Derry O’Brien, Brian Walsh, Thomas Connolly, Robert O’Donovan, Dominic Roche, Padraig Bracken, Barry O’Brien.  

With most of the starting 15 eligible again in 1981, there would have been a level of expectancy that this cohort would be the first Colmcille’s team to win a championship. Though a good many of the team were part of the squad that won an under 14 league that year, unfortunately a championship victory proved to be elusive yet again. Three of the 1980 starting team though were under age for the 1982 competition; namely JJ Ahern, Robert O’Donovan and Barry O’Brien. Adding in several members of the school team from 1980 such as Michael Walsh, Richard and Anthony Kelleher, Timmy Allen Larry Burke and Colm Cronin there was a strong squad in place for another crack off the title.  

The side had a convincing opening round victory over Castlelyons; a game, controversially, best remembered for an incident involving one of the veterans of the 1980 campaign -JJ Ahern – and a Castlelyons supporter after the final whistle. Thankfully the referee chose not to pursue the matter further. Perhaps this incident encapsulated a new steeliness in the Colmcille’s attitude following previous defeats. Erin’s Own were blown away in the semi-final in their home pitch. Clyda Rovers were defeated in a challenge game ahead of the final. The side even managed two hurling victories in Liam O’Riain hurling tournament which were interspersed in the football campaign. They were certainly on a good run of form going into the biggest game of the year.  This match  was played in Castlelyons on 14^th May 1982. The opposition were Fr O’Neills; conquerors from the final two years earlier. This was a cracking game that saw both sides get seven scores each. As the old adage goes, it is goals that win matches and Colmcilles ability to get four of them saw them deservedly win on a score of 4-03 to 0-07 thus recording the first ever championship victory. Indeed up until last year’s under 14 hurling championship victory, it was considered the last (and only) victory of it’s kind.  

Naturally celebrations were wild after the game. It is understandable then that on the very next evening when playing Aghada in the Liam O’Riain tournament, they went under by a few points. Derry O’Brien and Pat McCarthy (NT) were the men charged with training the team. Pat McCarthy in particular spent many decades training the school teams in Upper Glanmire whilst also giving his time to the club. Huge gratitude is owed there. Ger Brady was the club secretary at time and he gave huge amount of his time to all of the teams whether successful or not. Apart from training and ferrying players to and from matches, he was responsible in many initiatives that were well ahead of their time from a White’s Cross perspective.  He helped organise street leagues, coaching courses and even set up a camogie club briefly. He spent many days and nights threading the then murky waters of local politics in correspondences with both adult clubs, local community councils, parish committees, county boards, city boards, insurance companies and the likes. A lot of unseen work that needs to be done but rarely appreciated. A huge thanks to Ger for all his work there for many years. A big thanks to him also for his memories for this piece.