Carbery Monthly Award Winners 2018

JANUARY  -  Kevin O’Donovan, Kilmeen/Kilbree

Kilmeen/Kilbree’s Kevin O’Donovan was honoured by the Carbery GAA Board  when he was the recipient of the Carbery GAA Award for the month of January. O’Donovan was recognised for reaching  the second-highest officership in the GAA in Cork, winning an election to the position of vice-chairman. As far as can be ascertained, he is the first active member of a GAA club in West Cork to have been appointed to that position. Prior to his election to vice-chairman, O’Donovan served three years in the position of Coaching Officer, during which time he drew up a set of proposals for the progress of the GAA in Cork, which caught the attention of all GAA followers in Cork. With his own club was an outstanding hurler and continues to play. As a club official he was instrumental in providing the fine facilities now enjoyed by the club, as well as introducing a club coaching system from 5 years of years upwards which now sees the club hurlers dominating at junior level.

      O’Donovan has now been appointed to succeed Frank Murphy as the CEO (rúnaí) of the Cork County Senior Board.

FEBRUARY – Scór Committees of Carbery Rangers and St. James.

The February Award went to the Carbery Rangers and St. James clubs in recognition of their marvellous efforts in Scór, which saw a number of All-Ireland, Munster and County titles being brought back to the Division.  

      Carbery Rangers had the distinction of winning two county, Munster and All-Ireland titles at Scór na nÓg (u.17) and senior levels. Their all-conquering Scór na nÓg ballad group included Joan O’Donovan, Aoife McSweeney, Kate Creedon, Rachel Hodnett and Orlagh O’Gorman. The successful senior ballad group included Seán O’Regan, Claire O’Regan, Sinéad O’Regan, Ciara O’Gorman and Danny Hodnett. Rangers became the first club ever to win the same section in both Scór na nÓg and Scór Sinsear and it was Cork’s first All-Ireland senior title since 2004.

            St. James won two county titles, also at Scór na nÓg and Scór Sinsear levels, in the Léiriú (sketch) section. The successful Scór na nÓg group included Sinéad O’Donovan, Ciara Hodnett, Laura Hodnett, Méabh Barry, Aaron O’Donovan, Darragh O’Leary and Joseph O’Donovan.  The senior sketch team included Kathleen O’Sullivan, Rachel Hodnett, Deirdre Hodnett, Jonathan O’Donovan, Finbarr McCarthy, Shane Field, Seán O’Reilly. 

MARCH -  Mellisa Duggan of Dohenys and Julieanne Hayes of Clann na nGael

Lady footballers, Mellisa Duggan of Dohenys and Julieanne Hayes of Clann na nGael, were the winners for March, winning All-Ireland 3^rd level college medals with the Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin. RCSI participate in the Donaghy Cup, a competition they first won in 2011. Last year, with both Duggan and Hayes involved, they were beaten in the All-Ireland final by Marino Teaching College but this season gained revenge over Marino in the semi-final and accounted for Erin’s Hope, DCU, teaching college, in the final by 4-8 to 1-8. Duggan, a Cork senior footballer, was afterwards chosen at midfield on the Rising Stars team from all the participating colleges.

APRIL – Mount St. Michael’s  Senior Football Team

Mount St. Michael’s, Rosscarbery, has a great tradition in Gaelic football and competes mainly in senior B because of small numbers. From 2000 to 2008 they contested eight county senior B football finals, winning four and winning the All-Ireland title in 2006. For the past four seasons they competed in senior A Simcox Cup but decided to regrade to B this season because of lack of numbers. In the county championship they beat Bantry and Blarney before knocking Coachford  in extra time in the semi-final. In the county final they met Mitchelstown, who had contested the Munster final, and a great start saw them winning by eight points. Much of the success is down to the efforts of Michael Keohane, a Rosscarbery native, who joined the staff in 1994 and is married to vice-principal, Dee Keohane.

MAY -  Moira Barrett, Ballinascarthy Camogie

   Moira Barrett of the Ballinascarthy Camogie Club made history this year when she captained the first Cork minor team to win the All-Ireland title since that grade was changed from U.16 to U.18, way back in 2001.

       Barrett began playing camogie with Ballinascarthy at the age of nine and also did athletics and gymnastics but camogie was her first love. Her first big win with the Bal club was this season when they won the West Cork and County junior B titles. She has been involved with Cork camogie squads since she was in sixth class and played for two seasons with the Cork U.16s. Barrett has been involved with the Cork minor team for the past two seasons and was appointed captain this year. They started training in January with a panel of 32 players. Cork had never won the All-Ireland U.18 title since that grade was introduced in 2001 but Barrett made history by captaining Cork to the title for the first time. There is no U.21 grade in camogie so her next goal now is to make Paudie Murray’s senior panel but she will be taking time out to complete her Leaving Cert in Bandon Grammar, for whom she plays hockey, in June.

JUNE  - Niall Twomey , Ballinascarthy, and Daniel Cronin, St. Mary’s, Cork Development Squad managers.

      The past season has proved a marvellous one for Cork football development squads and right at the centre of the action were two West Cork mentors, Niall Twomey and Daniel Cronin. Twomey was manager of the All-conquering U.15 football squad which won the prestigious Humphrey Kelleher Tournament in Millstreet and the Adam Mangan All-Ireland tournament, remaining unbeaten for the season. That included fourteen games against other counties, plus wins over North and South Kerry teams in the Kelleher Tournament. Twomey, himself, is a former county senior championship winner with his native Bantry and has given tremendous service to Ballinascarthy underage teams.

     Daniel Cronin was manager of the unbeaten U.16 Cork football squad. Although splitting their squad into two teams, the “Whites” still managed to win the Munster Tournament in Limerick, the first win in six years. The objective of the U.16 squad is to get the players ready for the minor U.17 team and already most of this winning team has moved up. Cronin was a former Coaching officer with the Carbery Board and his award is unique as his sister, Orla, is also an award winner for camogie achievements.  

JULY  -    Castlehaven Club

Official opening of their new facilities by MEP Sean Kelly. Proinnsias O Murchú was the guest speaker and on the day they  beat Erin’s Isle in a repeat of their famous All-Ireland club clash in 1998. The achievements of Castlehaven on the playing pitches need no retelling here and they have now matched their success with their new facilities, encompassing a fine main pitch, a second sand-based training pitch, a covered stand , new dressing rooms, new meeting room and new gym for the players.    Project took four years and much of the work was done by voluntary labour.

AUGUST – Caroline Sugrue, Ballinascarthy Camogie

For Caroline Sugrue, 2018 was the culmination of a dream come true, a dream that was almost turning into a nightmare. Caroline lives on the border of Bandon and Ballinascarthy, with cousin, Mark, being a star player on the Bandon GAA teams. She has played camogie with Ballinscarthy since her U.12 days because there was no camogie in Bandon at that time. Her first taste of stardom was with the Cork primary schools team when she was in 5^th class and she has been involved with the county ever since. Over the past few years she has been involved with the Cork intermediate team and in 2018 they reached their third All-Ireland final, losing the first two. In 2017 they had disappointingly lost the final in a replay and were determined to succeed this season. With Sugrue starring in the forward line they won the league title early in the year and her dream came true in September when they the team went on to win the All-Ireland on the same day the senior team won against Kilkenny. To crown a great year she won the county junior B with her club, Ballinascarthy.  

SEPTEMBER  -  Orla Cronin and Libby Coppinger, Cork Camogie

For the second year in a row camogie players, Orla Cronin of Enniskeane and Libby Coppinger of St. Colum’s are the winners of the September awards  Once again both players played a major part in Cork’s retention of the All-Ireland title. For the fifth year in a row Cronin was appearing in the final, having first played senior in 2014 and picked up her fourth medal   when Kilkenny were again beaten in the final by a point. Cronin filled the vital centre forward position, scoring two points.  Of strong GAA pedigree, her father Humphrey a Kilbrittain star in his day and her brother Stephen winning titles with St. Mary’s and Erin’s Own, she always preferred camogie in the football stronghold of Enniskeane. She played with the boys’ teams at underage and was only 14 when drafted onto the new Enniskeane junior B camogie team. Having done the Leaving Cert in Bandon Grammar, she was immediately drafted on to the Cork senior camogie team and has never looked back.

     Once again Libby Coppinger had to balance both football and hurling as both teams qualified for their All-Ireland finals. There was disappointment in the football as Dublin emerged victorious, Coppinger lining out at corner forward but she was rejoicing after the camogie, lining out at centre back on the winning team.     

OCTOBER  -  O’Donovan Rossa Ladies Football Team

Ladies football is only in its infancy, with emphasis rightly on the development of underage. But this season the junior team decided to show the way to their youthful sisters. In 1917 the new team won the West Cork junior D title and upgraded to C for 2018. The younger members had already won an U.16 county title and a West Cork minor in 2018, so they were no strangers to success. On the way to the final Rossa’s beat Castlehaven, St. Colum’s, Bride Rovers and St. Peter’s.  Rivals in the county final in Clonakilty before a huge crowd were Castlehaven, county league and championship D winners in 2017.  After a mighty game the sides finished level.and Rossa’s won the replay by 0-10 to 0-8. Kate O’Donovan was the hero in that replay. Captain Christine Fitzgerald  is a cousing cousin of Orla and Daniel Cronin). The Skibbereen Ladies have since become very involved in the ambitious plans for the development of the O’Don Rossa club 

NOVEMBER -  Kilbree Hurling Club  - Champions for first time in 2016. 2018  won the SW beating Ballinascarthy in a great final. Beat Brian Dillons and most unlucky to lose semi-final to Russell Rovers by a point, when top scorer, Don Mccarthy, was injured.   They went on to win the SW league beating St. Colum’s in the final and finished a great year in style by winning the county league against Erin’s Own.  Manager Tim O’Brien and coach Ger Manley.

DECEMBER  -  Kilmacabea Junior A Football  and Emma Spillane, Cork Ladies Football

Winners of their firsy junior A title in 2017, they defended their title in great style beating Tadhg MacCárthaigh in two marvellous finals. In the county they beat Fr. O’Neill’s, Boherbue in replay and Delaneys to qualify for the county final. They looked certain winners of that game only to get caught in the end by a point. They subsequently recovered to win the league against St. Colum’s, completing the double for the second year in a row. Well done to manager Noel McCarthy and captain Niall Hayes.

Emma Spillane of Bantry Blues first wore the Cork senior jersey when she came on as a sub against Kerry in the league in January, 2017. Having spent the first six months struggling to hold down a permanent spot, her rise to fame in the past eighteen months has been simply phenomenal. Not only did she become the mainstay in the Cork defence in 2017 but she had the honour of being Cork’s only All-Star, an unique achievement in her first season on the Cork team. Although losing the All-Ireland final to Dublin this season, Spillane proved that her form in 2017 was no fluke and she has again been selected as an All-Star, one of only four remaining from last season. Whereas she was named at right corner back in 2017, she has been picked at left half back this time, showing her great versatility. Just turned 20, Spillane is indeed a True Blue.