Senior Hurling Championship 2025
June 28: Naomh Éanna 3-12, Ferns St. Aidans 0-16
NAOMH ÉANNA got their Pettit’s Senior hurling championship Group A campaign under way with a deserved victory over Ferns St. Aidans in Chadwicks Wexford Park on Saturday.
The clear difference was the victors’ ability to create and take goals, with Conor McDonald, J.J. Twamley and Jack Cullen all netting as they got off to the perfect start.
Overall it was a scrappy start to their championship campaign but one would be reluctant to draw too many conclusions from the clash. Ferns will be happy with some aspects of their performance but none of their starting six forwards scored more than once from play and that will need to improve.
Gorey will be happy to get over the line but they were also far from their best. They would expect to win most games conceding 16 points but, like their opposition, they are clearly a work in progress. Their 15 scores registered were the lowest achieved by a winning Senior team this week by five.
The opening stages were cagey and scores were hard to come by as both sides looked to settle. Ferns got their first point in the sixth minute, an Ian Byrne free, but Gorey responded playing down breeze with a nice Charlie McGuckin strike.
Ferns would have been much the happier side when Byrne made it 0-2 to 0-1. They almost got to the end of the quarter in the lead as Gorey struggled to gauge the breeze, but quick scores by Jack Cullen and Cian Browne in the 15th minute did edge their side ahead.
Gary Molloy became the second member of the Naomh Éanna half-back line to score when he came out from a midfield break with the sliothar and popped over.
Byrne and Cullen exchanged dead-ball scores but Gorey delivered a dagger when McGuckin’s long ball was won by Conor McDonald and in trademark fashion he fought off the covering defenders and rattled the net.
After a Cathal Dunbar point, Ferns appeared to have settled with replies from Byrne and Corey Byrne-Dunbar.
However, a second Gorey goal arrived in the 30th minute when Cathal Dunbar’s ball dropped short, breaking kindly for J.J. Twamley and he swept it past Michael Walsh.
Ferns lost Paul Morris to a leg injury in added-time and it will be a worry for them in the coming weeks. They did add late points from the marauding Charlie Roark and another Byrne free to trail by just five at the interval (2-6 to 0-7).
Despite a Chris Turner point, Gorey moved six ahead on the back of early second-half scores from Pádraig Doyle and Twamley. Conor O’Toole showed his team-mates the way with back-to-back long-rangers and it lifted Ferns for a while.
A Byrne brace and a Ryan Nolan point got their side within two as the third quarter expired, but their hope didn’t last long.
Just a minute later a Cathal Dunbar run and shot was blocked by the Ferns defence, but the ball fell nicely for Jack Cullen and he pulled a shot high to Walsh’s net.
Ferns never threw in the towel and scored the next two points through Byrne and lively substitute Jonny Dwyer.
However, that was as close as they managed to get in the closing stages, with Gorey keeping their opponents at arm’s length with points from Dunbar, McDonald and Pádraig Doyle in the final five minutes.
Next up for the victors is another visit to Chadwicks Wexford Park to face Rathnure on Saturday. Before that Ferns will meet St. Anne’s in Bellefield on Friday evening.
Ferns St. Aidans: Michael Walsh; Conor Scallan, Niall Murphy, Conor O’Toole (0-2); Patrick Breen, Eoin Murphy, Charlie Roark (0-1); Rory Scallan, Gavin Bailey; Corey Byrne-Dunbar (0-1), Chris Turner (0-1), Stephen O’Toole; Ryan Nolan (0-1), Paul Morris (capt.), Ian Byrne (0-8, 7 frees, 1 ’65). Subs. - Diarmuid Doyle for Morris, inj. (30+2), Jonny Dwyer (0-2) for Nolan (50), Tommy Dwyer for S. O’Toole (56).
Naomh Éanna: Jack Cushe; Daragh Canavan, Cian Molloy, Jake Cooper; Brian Cushe, Gary Molloy (0-1), Charlie McGuckin (0-1); Cian Browne (0-1), Seán Óg Whelan; Jack Cullen (1-2, 0-2 frees), Padraig Doyle (0-2 frees), J.J. Twamley (1-2); Shane Flood, Conor McDonald (capt., 1-1), Cathal Dunbar (0-2).
Referee: Stephen Burke (Na Fianna Clonard).
July 4: St. Anne’s Rathangan 1-23, Ferns St. Aidans 1-12
St. Anne’s exerted a certain control as they completed back-to-back opening Group A victories in the Pettitt’s Senior hurling championship with Friday’s taming of Ferns St. Aidans in McCauley Park, Bellefield.
While a Ryan Nolan goal helped Ferns lead by 1-6 to 0-7 after 22 minutes, the winners had moved ahead by 0-11 to 1-7 at the break before delivering a dominant second-half showing.
Another underwhelming attacking effort didn’t help Ferns’ efforts to respond to their opening day setback against Naomh Éanna when the front-six had also failed to catch fire.
Injury robbed them of the experience of Paul Morris on this occasion, and a return of 1-7 after enjoying first advantage of the strong wind didn’t hint positively for Pat Bennett’s prospects, especially with St. Anne’s moving with greater purpose.
Ian Byrne (free) and Gavin Bailey shot Ferns two points clear before St. Anne’s turned the tables by 0-3 to 0-2 after seven minutes through Corey Ryan, Andy Kennedy (free) and Diarmuid O’Keeffe.
Poor finishing was hurting Ferns, and they already had four wides before Ryan Nolan seized upon a long delivery to rattle the town-end net in the eleventh minute and regain the lead, before centre-back Eoin Murphy and free-taker Byrne opened up a double-scores lead after the opening quarter (1-5 to 0-4).
But Ferns were largely stifled thereafter as St. Anne’s confined them to rare incisions, with the Sky Blues claiming seven of the nine remaining first-half points to hit the front at half-time.
O’Keeffe (four frees), goalie Kennedy (free), Shane Ryan and Aidan Rochford had David Redmond’s crew in a very favourable position at 0-11 to 1-7 with wind assistance to come.
And despite Ferns injecting Diarmuid Doyle into their attack on the resumption, St. Anne’s remained to the fore when stretching ahead by 0-18 to 1-9 after 41 minutes, with Andrew Moran and Liam Óg McGovern getting amongst the scores.
Ferns did get it back to 0-18 to 1-11 midway through the half after Diarmuid Doyle and Ian Byrne (free) struck back.
But, despite losing McGovern to injury, his replacement, Mikey Fogarty, helped to kill off the tie when feeding Cillian Byrne to crack a low finish to the net on 55 minutes and blow open a 1-20 to 1-12 lead.
Ian Byrne attempted to respond when seeking to goal direct from a free, but had to settle for a fruitless ’65, while St. Anne’s netminder Kennedy distinguished himself when keeping out a volleyed effort from Byrne after good work by Jonny Dwyer and Patrick Breen on the stroke of the 60th minute.
St. Anne’s sprung a counter-attack from that let-off for substitute Darragh Furlong to point, before Diarmuid O’Keeffe’s ninth – seventh free – completed a solid victory for a Rathangan combination which even at this early stage in proceedings appear set to be in with a serious shout to make amends for their final defeats of 2019, 2021 and last year.
Ferns St. Aidans: Michael Walsh; Conor Scallan, Niall Murphy, Declan Byrne; Conor O’Toole, Eoin Murphy (capt., 0-1), Patrick Breen; Rory Scallan, Gavin Bailey (0-1); Ian Byrne (0-7, 6 frees, 1 ’65), Stephen O’Toole, Jonny Dwyer (0-1); Ryan Nolan (1-1), Chris Turner, Corey Byrne-Dunbar. Subs. – Diarmuid Doyle (0-1) for S. O’Toole (HT), Tommy Dwyer for Turner (45).
St. Anne’s: Andy Kennedy (0-4, 3 frees, 1 ’65); Liam Schokman, Kevin Breen (capt.), Finn Ryan; Páidí Doyle, Eoin Ryan, Darren Moore; Liam Rochford (0-1), Diarmuid O’Keeffe (0-9, 7 frees); Cillian Byrne (1-0), Aidan Rochford (0-3), Shane Ryan (0-2); Liam Óg McGovern (0-1), Corey Ryan (0-1), Andrew Moran (0-1). Subs. – Mikey Fogarty for McGovern, inj. (45), Darragh Furlong (0-1) for S. Ryan (53), Bobby Reville for F. Ryan (57), Shane Ryan for Doyle (60+1).
Referee: Thomas Furlong (Adamstown).
July 26: Rathnure 3-18, Ferns St. Aidans 0-20
RATHNURE ARE sitting pretty at the top of the Pettitt’s Senior hurling championship Group A table after seeing off a struggling Ferns St. Aidans in Chadwicks Wexford Park on Saturday.
The 2024 Intermediate champions have now won all three games at Senior after their return to the top table and there’s plenty more to come from this team.
The game was still in the balance heading into the last few minutes, but it was telling that it was the Blackstairs men who finished on the front foot.
The victors boasted nine different scorers from play and defended a potentially dangerous opponent well throughout the game. Teams are used to seeing A.J. Redmond line up as the spare player but he was essentially a third man in the full-back line here, shielding the two man-marked Ferns inside forwards.
Ferns struggled to really get at Rathnure. They would be reasonably happy with 20 scores but nothing came easy and, given their tactical approach to this game, they will be very disappointed to concede 3-18.
Three losses from three tells a story for Ferns. They aren’t quite clicking and unless they find some form quickly they will occupy one of the bottom two spots in the table come knockout time.
They would have been happy enough with the first-half against a light breeze, despite being 0-6 to 0-3 down after 19 minutes.
Rathnure had three different scorers on the board in that spell, with Jack Redmond registering three points, Seán O’Connor two and Eamon Wickham one.
A mini burst from Ferns St. Aidans, with young gun Charlie Roark notching a quickfire brace, got them back on terms by the 23rd minute.
The remainder of the half went by in a blur of points as nine were scored, with Seán O’Connor bringing his tally to four for Rathnure while Ian Byrne and Corey Byrne-Dunbar both doubled up at the other end.
The late scoring flurry saw Ferns into a fragile 0-11 to 0-10 interval lead. The third quarter was mostly far more mundane, the parity restored after a trio of Byrne frees were bettered by Redmond’s trio and a Ciarán O’Connor minor.
However, moments after a Rory Higgins effort was saved, the Rathnure forward picked out Ciarán O’Connor on the run, with the midfielder bursting away from the cover and striking low to James Lawlor’s net.
Donal Wickham and Luke Codd pushed the advantage out to five but Ferns stayed around for a while, getting their first score from play in the half in the 52nd minute though Byrne-Dunbar and adding to it when Rory Scallan pointed in the 54th minute to make it 1-17 to 0-18.
However, that was as good as it got for Ferns as, after Jack Redmond made it a three-point game, Rathnure scored two goals in little over a minute, with Seán O’Connor netting the first and Redmond quickly following to see their side home with a bit to spare.
Ferns St. Aidans: James Lawlor; Conor Scallan, Niall Murphy, Eoin Murphy; Declan Byrne, Patrick Breen, Conor O’Toole; Rory Scallan (0-1), Gavin Bailey; Charlie Roark (0-2), Ian Byrne (0-9 frees), Jonny Dwyer (0-2); Tommy Dwyer, Corey Byrne-Dunbar (0-5, 1 free), Diarmuid Doyle (0-1). Subs. - Chris Turner for Byrne, temp. (8-13), Ryan Nolan for T. Dwyer (35), Chris Turner for J. Dwyer (47).
Rathnure: Kyle Martin; Conor O’Neill, A.J. Redmond (0-3, 2 frees), Stephen Martin; Donal Wickham (0-1), Brian Quigley, Michael Somers; Luke Codd (0-1), Ciarán O’Connor (1-1); Michael Redmond (0-1), Charlie Mooney, Eamon Wickham (0-1); Seán O’Connor (1-4), Jack Redmond (1-5, 0-3 frees), Rory Higgins (0-1). Subs. - Micheál O’Connor for S. Martin, inj. (23), Shane Lawlor for M. Redmond (55), Michael Martin for Codd (58).
Referee: Seán Whelan (St. Martin’s).
August 3: Ferns St. Aidans 1-29, Oylegate-Glenbrien 0-25
FERNS ST. Aidans opened the door to potentially avoiding a bottom two finish in Group A of the Pettit’s Senior hurling championship after finding their best performance of the season against Oylegate-Glenbrien in Chadwicks Wexford Park on Sunday.
It’s funny how perspectives can change after just one game, as before this one might have suggested the losers were a lively outsider to make a run at the latter stages of this championship. While one defeat doesn’t change everything, this poor showing raises serious question marks all the same.
Meanwhile Ferns St. Aidans, who had chugged their way to three losses, averaging just 17 points per game in the process, suddenly turned on the afterburners and actually looked a decent side in the process, boasting an incredible 13 different scorers.
Again, the long-term prospects of these two teams will not be decided by this one group game.
Yet this win still allows Ferns, while needing help elsewhere, to go into a clash with Crossabeg-Ballymurn with a real hope of finishing in the middle two spots in the standings.
It had been a fairly even opening few minutes, with Séamus Casey getting three points and Corey Byrne-Dunbar matching that tally at the other end as his side took a 0-5 to 0-4 lead.
However, playing down the breeze, Ferns were first to make a break for it when Diarmuid Doyle powered in through the middle and took plenty of attention as he approached Aaron Duggan’s goal, but managed to kick past the Oylegate-Glenbrien goalkeeper.
It remained nip-and-tuck for a while.
Paul Burns and Mike Kelly got on the scoreboard for Oylegate-Glenbrien while Paul Morris got his second and Gavin Bailey scored at the other end as three points separated the sides (1-10 to 0-10) after 25 minutes.
However, it was Ferns who finished the half on the front foot, scoring six of the last eight points, with a booming James Lawlor strike and a Doyle effort from a classy Byrne-Dunbar feed the pick of the scores.
Oylegate-Glenbrien had the breeze in the second-half and there was a sense that at some stage they would put a run of scores together and propel themselves back into the game.
They were lifted by a Séamus Casey line ball score in the 44th minute and raced back to within three just four minutes later (1-21 each).
However, every time the Enniscorthy District side appeared destined to get on a run, Ferns knuckled down again and found critical points.
They got scores from Diarmuid Doyle and Ian Byrne to move five ahead again heading into the last ten minutes.
Oylegate-Glenbrien ended an eight-minute scoreless spell with another few points, with Joe Dunne again getting his side within a goal at 1-24 to 0-24 in added-time.
However, Ferns scored five points in less than four overtime minutes to close out the win, with Morris, Brian Stafford, Byrne-Dunbar, Doyle and Ryan Nolan all on the scoresheet to see the victors home.
Ferns St. Aidans: James Lawlor (0-1); Conor Scallan, Patrick Breen, Declan Byrne; Conor O’Toole, Gavin Bailey (0-1), Eoin Murphy; Chris Turner (0-1), Rory Scallan (0-1); Tommy Dwyer (0-1), Corey Byrne-Dunbar (0-11, 7 frees, 1 ’65), Paul Morris (capt., 0-3); Jonny Dwyer (0-1), Diarmuid Doyle (1-5), Charlie Roark (0-1). Subs. - Ian Byrne (0-1) for J. Dwyer (39), Ryan Nolan (0-1) for Turner (39), Brian Stafford (0-1) for T. Dwyer (56).
Oylegate-Glenbrien: Aaron Duggan; Ciarán Hourihane (capt.), Peter Rowley, Jack Hennessy; Kyle Curran (0-1), Shane Reck, Paul Burns (0-2); Damien Reck, Paudie Casey; Séamus Casey (0-12, 10 frees, 1 line ball), Fiachra Hourihane (0-2), Pa Cullen; Mike Kelly (0-2), Podge Doran (0-1), Joe Dunne (0-3). Subs. - Darragh Harris (0-2) for Rowley (37), Jim White for P. Doran (51), Mark Kavanagh for D. Reck, temp. (53-54), Kavanagh for Burns (60).
Referee: Kevin Kehoe (Our Lady’s Island).
September 7: Ferns St. Aidans 2-22, Crossabeg/Ballymurn 0-12
2022 CHAMPIONS Ferns St. Aidans got the room to thrive at McCauley Park, Bellefield on Sunday and exploited it as Crossabeg-Ballymurn endured another double-digits Group A reversal in the Pettitt's Senior hurling championship.
For Ferns, irrespective of the rather feeble nature of the opposition's challenge, the victory is a future indication of their return to competitive well-being as they backed up the 1-29 to 0-25 victory over Oylegate-Glenbrien following an opening string of tame setbacks against Naomh Éanna, St. Anne's and Rathnure.
They now face Shelmaliers on Sunday in Chadwicks Wexford Park (3.45 p.m.) in the preliminary quarter-finals in a first meeting since Ferns won a round one group tie in 2023 (0-20 to 0-18).
The outlook for Crossabeg-Ballymurn is anything but rosy. This was their lowest score accumulated since last year's quarter-final exit to Shelmaliers (0-14 to 1-8) and a third double-digits setback of this campaign following the 3-19 to 1-12 loss to Rathnure in round one.
After appearing to come more to terms with the requirements in narrow defeats to Oylegate-Glenbrien (3-14 to 1-15) and St. Anne's (1-16 to 0-16), they suffered again by 17 points against Naomh Éanna (6-15 to 0-16) and now 16 at the hands of Ferns.
There is a case to be made that they could have made Sunday's tie interesting had they not been so wasteful from placed balls in particular as they recorded 15 wides, six more than Ferns, with eight of Crossabeg-Ballymurn's stemming from dead balls.
This was costly from the Over The Water side, and it's hard to see how they will pick up the pieces for Saturday's make-or-break derby with Glynn-Barntown at the main county grounds (6 p.m.) in what doubles as a relegation semi-final. The Killurin-based men prevailed in last year's round three meeting (2-15 to 1-9).
Ferns had accounted for Crossabeg-Ballymurn in their two previous games since the latter's emergence from Intermediate in 2020, and first-half goals from Corey Byrne-Dunbar and Ian Byrne had Pat Bennett's charges firmly in control by 2-7 to 0-5 midway through this rematch.
There was luck involved in Byrne-Dunbar's major on three minutes, when his line ball from the left - after Chris Turner had forced the concession - fell through the fingers of Pádraig Foley and to the country-end net as the defender sought to intercept ahead of 'keeper Noel Scallan. That made it 1-1 to nil.
Ferns captain Paul Morris had ceded first advantage of the wind to his rivals. But Crossabeg-Ballymurn continually fluffed their lines while Ferns built towards successive victories, and a 28th-minute goal crowned a satisfactory first-half for the Gorey District side, with Byrne-Dunbar feeding Diarmuid Doyle, who spotted Ian Byrne alone to the left edge of the square to coolly slot home.
Ronan Devereux had the gap down to seven 48 seconds after the restart, but the margin only mushroomed from there.
The closing period featured a dismissal for either side. Jack Fortune was straight red-carded for a high challenge on Rory Scallan in the 37th minute, while Byrne-Dunbar was censured for a second bookable offence on 57 minutes.
Ferns St. Aidans: James Lawlor; Conor Scallan, Niall Murphy, Conor O'Toole; Patrick Breen, Eoin Murphy, Gavin Bailey (0-1); Brian Stafford, Rory Scallan (0-2); Charlie Roark (0-3), Paul Morris (capt., 0-5), Chris Turner (0-1); Ian Byrne (1-2, 0-1 free), Corey Byrne-Dunbar (1-5, 0-4 frees, 1-0 line ball), Diarmuid Doyle (0-3). Sub. - Tommy Dwyer for O'Toole (4).
Crossabeg-Ballymurn: Noel Scallan (capt.); Matthew Bishop, Conor Devereux, Michael Cullen; Conor Barlow, Pádraig Foley (0-3, 1 free), Bill Eviston (0-1); Jack Fortune, Aaron Cummins; David Kehoe, Oisín Foley (0-5, 3 frees, 1 '65), Ronan Devereux (0-1); Niall Cullen (0-1), Cian Kinlough, Conor O'Brien. Subs. - Jack Redmond for Kehoe (HT), Shane Cullen for O'Brien (40), Mark O'Connor for Kinlough (40), Bill Roche for Scallan, inj. (44), Cathal Byrne (0-1) for Barlow (51).
Referee: Eamonn Furlong (Rapparees).
September 14, Preliminary quarter-final: Ferns St. Aidans 2-14, Shelmaliers 2-13
JONNY DWYER made a winning start to his MMA career in June, but I don't think the experienced Ferns St. Aidans hurler will ever deliver a knockout blow as powerful as the one that dumped Shelmaliers out of the Pettitt's Senior championship in a sensational finish in Chadwicks Wexford Park on Sunday.
After a Paul Morris goal and a Niall Murphy point drew the 2023 victors level, Adam Howlin's puck-out into the swirling wind went over the sideline on the uncovered stand side near midfield.
Taking direct aim for the posts would have been well within Dwyer's range, as he has gained a reputation as a line ball specialist over the years.
However, he instead chose to play it short to fellow substitute Ryan Nolan and, on receiving the return in his hand, he shot straight and true for the town-end posts and the wind carried it over to remarkably give Ferns St. Aidans the lead for the one and only time.
The final whistle was blown on the puck-out, and Shelmaliers immediately sought to query the time added on by referee Brendan Holohan.
The announcement that five extra minutes would be played was made before the half was over, and that might have thrown spectators who weren't keeping track of the time themselves or paying close attention to the scoreboard.
On that point, the GAA could learn a lesson from soccer, where the fourth official always waits until the clock hits 45 minutes exactly before indicating the time to be added on.
It was 2-13 to 1-12 in favour of the Shels when additional time started, and it became a certainty that the five minutes would be increased to some degree because they made their last substitution afterwards, while a minor outbreak of jersey-holding and pushing also had to be dealt with.
The leaders initially looked to be weathering the storm as two Ferns frees were successfully defended, before and after a Ross Banville scoring effort at the other end dropped short.
Tommy Dwyer sent a free wide before the Gorey District side's second goal arrived after four minutes and 20 seconds of additional time, with a lob into the square finished by Paul Morris.
A Conor Hearne clearance was subsequently bravely won at midfield by county colleague Niall Murphy and sent over for the leveller with the stopwatch showing 35:04.
Jonny Dwyer's winner arrived at 35:58 and Ferns were left to celebrate a famous win that earned a quarter-final clash with Faythe Harriers, while the Shelmaliers dual players will try to channel any sense of injustice into an all-out bid to regain the football crown.
While the drama at the end was truly absorbing, some of the earlier exchanges fell considerably short of what one would expect from an all-or-nothing game.
The teams seemed to have grown so accustomed to playing group matches with nothing at stake that they had forgotten what's required in knockout fare.
And if anyone still thinks that the system currently in place is suitable, then consider the fact that a Shelmaliers side that finished third are now out, whereas Oulart-The Ballagh (sixth and bottom of the same group) have a quarter-final to look forward to.
There was one clear mitigating factor to somehow justify the disappointing fare, and that was the howling wind that led to a lot of ugly rucks for possession and a litany of errors.
And on the latter point, the biggest of all gifted Ferns St. Aidans a first-half goal as they battled against the elements and it ultimately made the world of difference to the outcome.
Shelmaliers were 0-3 to 0-1 ahead at the start of the second quarter when an attempted crossfield pass from the right corner-back berth by Simon Donohoe was intercepted by Diarmuid Doyle and, with Adam Howlin having vacated his goal in anticipation of receiving possession, the Ferns forward rattled the net with ease.
Even before that concession, the Shels had struggled to make full use of the wind, although captain Conor Hearne did pick off two points from three shots inside 90 seconds.
The second of their ten wides before the break followed, and they also dropped a couple of attempts short, with Ferns quite happy to take their time when in control of any restarts after Chris Turner pulled a point back in the third minute.
Turner couldn't make the most of a goalscoring chance while, in a portent of what was to follow, Simon Donohoe got away with his first sloppy pass when younger brother Jody blocked a shot by Diarmuid Doyle.
A Ross Banville point was followed by that Ferns goal, and it wasn't looking good for the Shels when they were only level (0-5 to 1-2) by the 22nd minute after frees converted by Banville, Corey Byrne-Dunbar and netminder Adam Howlin.
They finally prospered somewhat approaching the break, hitting five points without reply from Banville (free), substitute Paddy Connors, Simon Donohoe, Luke Roche, and another from a Howlin placed ball.
The first score in that sequence arrived after a foul on Connors who had a brief sight of goal, while Aaron Murphy was bottled up after another run and Ferns were awarded a free.
A five-point gap seemed surmountable, but Ferns were as laboured as the Shels had been on the restart - albeit their wides count of four was significantly lower than their rivals' ten when both were backed by the wind.
They only had two Corey Byrne-Dunbar frees to show for their efforts before Luke Roche fed Aaron Murphy on a counter-attack in the 39th minute.
And though Murphy's shot was saved, Roche drilled the rebound to the net to push the Shels into a 1-10 to 1-4 advantage.
The margin was down to three entering the last quarter and, after an exchange of points between Glen Malone and a long-range Byrne-Dunbar free, the black and amber brigade were in business again in the 52nd minute.
Aaron Murphy made a run before handpassing to Paul Hearne who fired to the net, and now it was 2-12 to 1-9 and there was still no sign from Ferns that they would produce the goods.
The next four points arrived from frees - three from Byrne-Dunbar and one from Banville - before additional time provided all of the drama that had been so sadly lacking beforehand as Pat Bennett's relieved charges struck late to keep their title hopes alive.
Ferns St. Aidans: James Lawlor; Conor Scallan, Niall Murphy (0-1), Eoin Murphy; Declan Byrne, Patrick Breen, Gavin Bailey; Rory Scallan, Brian Stafford; Paul Morris (capt., 1-0), Charlie Roark, Ian Byrne; Diarmuid Doyle (1-1), Corey Byrne-Dunbar (0-10, 8 frees), Chris Turner (0-1). Subs. - Tommy Dwyer for Stafford (34), Ryan Nolan for D. Byrne (48), Jonny Dwyer (0-1) for Turner (48).
Shelmaliers: Adam Howlin (0-2 frees); Jody Donohoe, Simon Donohoe (0-1), Conor Roche; Glen Malone (0-1), Aidan Cash, Brian Malone; Conor Hearne (capt., 0-2), Aaron Murphy; Paul Hearne (1-0), Ross Banville (0-4, 3 frees), Rian Ormonde (0-1); Seán Denton, Eoghan Nolan, Luke Roche (1-1). Subs. - Paddy Connors (0-1) for Denton (22), Joe O'Leary for Nolan (51), Robbie Delaney for L. Roche (56), Joe Kelly for P. Hearne (60+3).
Referee: Brendan Holohan (Rathgarogue-Cushinstown).
September 27, quarter-final: Ferns St. Aidans 1-19, Faythe Harriers 0-14
FERNS ST. Aidans took care of business in a manner that few had predicted beforehand when they comfortably accounted for a weak Faythe Harriers challenge in this Pettitt's Senior hurling championship quarter-final in Chadwicks Wexford Park on Saturday.
While many shrewd observers of the club scene were expecting a tight contest, it was nothing of the sort as the 2022 titleholders set up a repeat of that memorable success over St. Martin's with the minimum of fuss.
And on an evening when 41 frees were awarded on a 21-20 split in favour of the losers, it was no surprise that chief marksman Corey Byrne-Dunbar should enjoy such a fruitful outing from placed balls.
He married some stylish hurling in general play with 11 of his 13 points arriving from frees, and the more economical victors only amassed four wides which was half the tally of their underperforming rivals.
Ferns St. Aidans had a successful plan to deal with Lee Chin, assigning marking duties to Niall Murphy when he was in the full-forward line, and to Gavin Bailey when he roamed outfield.
And on a frustrating night for our sole All Star nominee this year - a richly-deserved honour - he spent a lot of time without any direct involvement in the action as his colleagues struggled to supply him with decent possession.
In addition, he hit four wides from a first-half '65 and then three successive frees into the wind in the third quarter, at a stage when the Harriers were in dire need of keeping the scoreboard ticking over.
The town team only claimed a miserable six points from play, and their struggle for goals continued, having raised just one green flag in the course of six championship matches including this tame exit.
One thing this Ferns St. Aidans side doesn't lack is experience, with 12 of Saturday's team having started in the county final three years ago, and while their overall performance didn't need to be top-notch to overcome such a disappointing opponent, it was still a notable step-up from their previous outing against Shelmaliers.
Patrick Breen was assigned the task of marking Conall Clancy, whose failure to score was another big win for Pat Bennett's side on an evening when they were boosted by an early goal.
It was 0-1 each in the seventh minute when a handpass from captain Paul Morris picked out Charlie Roark - the sole young gun who has really emerged and made a big impact since 2022 - to stitch the sliotar into the Clonard-end net.
Ferns held that advantage for the rest of the game, going on to lead by 1-10 to 0-9 at the break after Byrne-Dunbar landed six frees plus one point from play.
Of course, we can only speculate how the game might have taken on an entirely different complexion if the Harriers had been able to avail of a gilt-edged early chance.
Only 16 seconds had elapsed when Richie Lawlor sent the ball goalwards and referee Brendan Martin spotted a push on Lee Chin by a Ferns player when one of his colleagues was poised to clear.
An early goal would have been precious for a side chasing a first semi-final appearance since 2015, but Chin was foiled as James Lawlor dived to his left and made a super save at the expense of a '65 that the Harriers man did convert.
The netminder is one of two Ferns players hard done by in recent years by Wexford selectors in my view, along with colleague Niall Murphy, but their club can enjoy the full benefits of the pair's service even if's not valued to the same extent on the inter-county front.
Faythe Harriers didn't really threaten to score a goal thereafter, making that stop all the more important, and they were restricted to three first-half points from play courtesy of the lively Eoghan Cassin (their best attacker), Wayne Mallon, and a generally subdued Chin in the 18th minute.
They needed to build on their captain's converted free inside one minute of the restart that narrowed the gap to three, but instead Ferns hit six of the next seven scores to surge into the last quarter with a 1-16 to 0-11 advantage.
James Henebery foiled Ian Byrne with a good save before Corey Byrne-Dunbar nailed three frees and added one from play, with Diarmuid Doyle and Paul Morris also obliging in a spell when the only reply amid those three missed Chin placed balls came from Eoghan Cassin.
Scores were in short supply down the stretch, with the last six points shared and Ferns remaining composed and in control at all times.
They were thankful to Tommy Dwyer for making a vital hook to deny Luke Murphy in the 50th minute, and a late low Chin free was also kept out, but the eight-point margin at the finish was a true reflection of the winners' dominance.
Ferns St. Aidans: James Lawlor; Conor Scallan, Niall Murphy, Declan Byrne; Eoin Murphy, Patrick Breen, Gavin Bailey (0-1); Rory Scallan, Tommy Dwyer; Charlie Roark (1-0), Chris Turner (0-1), Ian Byrne (0-2); Paul Morris (capt., 0-1), Corey Byrne-Dunbar (0-13, 11 frees), Diarmuid Doyle (0-1). Subs. - Ryan Nolan for Turner (45), Conor O'Toole for Dwyer (55), Jonny Dwyer for I. Byrne (56), Brian Stafford for R. Scallan (60+1).
Faythe Harriers: James Henebery; Alex Lynch, Kyle Scallan, Danny Walsh; Cillian Twomey, Richie Lawlor, Liam Cassin; John Bridges (0-1), Josh Sheil; Wayne Mallon (0-1), Conall Clancy, Eoin Roche; Luke Murphy, Lee Chin (capt., 0-9, 7 frees, 1 '65), Eoghan Cassin (0-2). Subs. - Darby Purcell for Roche (43), Conall Ó Crualaoich (0-1) for Mallon (48).
Referee: Brendan Martin (Ballyhogue).
October 12, semi-final: St. Martin’s 1-22, Ferns St. Aidans 3-9
ST. MARTIN'S remained steadily on course for what would be a first-ever successful defence of the Pettitt's Senior hurling championship when they proved vastly superior to Ferns St. Aidans in the second semi-final in Chadwicks Wexford Park on Sunday.
The holders have been a step ahead of the chasing pack since the early stages of this campaign, and there was no sign of a dip in their performance levels as they were always shaping as likely winners following a late first-quarter flurry of four points.
While Ferns St. Aidans defeated them in the 2022 decider, and deservedly so, the Wexford District side have shown over last year's quarter-final and Sunday's clash that they are the superior all-round side with a better depth to their panel.
One of the hallmarks of the champions is the ability of different players to step up from game to game and really deliver, whereas other contenders are over-reliant on one or two big guns to constantly deliver the goods.
In that regard, three of the main Martin's highlights here were the ball-winning strength of Barry O'Connor at full-forward, the accuracy of Mikey Coleman beside him, and the fine marking job performed on Corey Byrne-Dunbar by Joe Barrett, who held the top Ferns marksman scoreless from play while contributing a brace of points himself in the first-half.
The winning margin was seven points, but that didn't fully reflect their dominance when one considers the first Ferns goal was a gift, while the last one arrived seconds before the end.
St. Martin's collected the first of their five titles at Rathnure's expense in 1999, and now these two hurling strongholds will meet again in a final for the first time since that Bellefield battle 26 years ago.
And while the rise of last year's Intermediate winners has been one of the few plusses of a generally poor championship, on all known form it will be hard to look beyond St. Martin's in that October 26 showdown.
The one big regret for Ferns was something they couldn't control as captain Paul Morris - who started at midfield - was forced off with an injury to his right hamstring in the 23rd minute.
St. Martin's had edged ahead (0-9 to 1-5) from a Rory O'Connor free moments before, and the Gorey District men had no time to absorb that blow before they conceded their only goal.
Barry O'Connor gathered possession on the left flank at the town end and picked out the central run of Mikey Coleman with an inch-perfect pass. And the attacker drove his shot into the ground before it bounced at pace and beat James Lawlor to widen the gap to four points.
St. Martin's went on to lead by 1-11 to 1-6 at the break, with Rory O'Connor hitting the last point - his first from play that followed five converted frees - when he intercepted a stray pass from Niall Murphy.
After that it was a relatively comfortable exercise in retaining control on an afternoon when the overall quality across the two games didn't do much to enthuse onlookers.
Barry O'Connor needed just 21 seconds to show he was in the mood to shine, opening the scoring from a Jake Firman pass.
Diarmuid Doyle hit the first point from play for Ferns before James Lawlor made a save to deny Firman, with Joe Barrett driving over a rousing score from under the stand in the ninth minute to make it 0-3 to 0-2.
Paul Morris availed of an Eoin Murphy handpass to tie it up for the third time, but St. Martin's enjoyed the first purple patch between the 12th and 18th minutes when Rory O'Connor (two frees), Mikey Coleman and Darren Codd left them with a 7-3 lead.
The score that kept Ferns in touch was a real giveaway, with a long delivery from Niall Murphy fumbled over his own goal-line by Callum Quirke in the 18th minute.
Lawlor had denied Rory O'Connor at the end of a solo run just seconds earlier, with Barry O'Connor snatching at the break and sending it wide.
Joe Barrett's second point was the steadying score St. Martin's needed and, although Ferns did draw level one more time courtesy of Diarmuid Doyle, they were in trouble after Paul Morris departed and Mikey Coleman scored that goal.
The champions had stretched their advantage to 1-15 to 1-8 by the 42nd minute, with Coleman and Barry O'Connor contributing from play while the newly-introduced Jonny Dwyer provided the sole Ferns highlight in that spell when he arrowed over a trademark line ball from the left.
A potential lifeline did arrive when a foul on Ian Byrne after an Eoin Murphy delivery led to a penalty that Corey Byrne-Dunbar finished with aplomb in the 44th minute.
Philip Dempsey had bravely blocked a Byrne shot on the previous Ferns attack, while the former Wexford forward was later unlucky to be bottled up after making a catch and being penalised for a throw.
The response from St. Martin's to that goal showed precisely why they are in the position to defend this crown, picking off six points on the bounce in an 11-minute spell as spectators started to head for the exit gates.
Coleman, Rory O'Connor (play and free), Diarmuid O'Leary, Jake Firman and Jack O'Connor all contributed, with Ferns manager Pat Bennett shown a red card by referee Eamonn Furlong in between the last two scores.
There was a big cheer for Jamie Berry, the last of the ten substitutes to feature, when he picked off a neat closing point for St. Martin's with his sole touch.
Ian Byrne did respond with a last-gasp consolation goal from a crisp first-time pull, but his side's quest for a first final appearance since their 2022 triumph was already a fading memory at that stage.
St. Martin's had prevailed by four points when the teams last met at the semi-final stage in 2019, and that's a good omen as they went on to finish the job on that occasion with a hard-earned win over St. Anne's.
They probably would prefer not to be meeting their Rathangan rivals in football so close to the hurling final, but that can work in both ways and right now Daithí Hayes' charges are on a roll.
Ferns St. Aidans: James Lawlor; Conor Scallan, Niall Murphy (1-0), Eoin Murphy; Gavin Bailey, Patrick Breen, Declan Byrne; Rory Scallan, Paul Morris (capt., 0-1); Ian Byrne (1-0), Tommy Dwyer, Chris Turner; Diarmuid Doyle (0-2), Charlie Roark, Corey Byrne-Dunbar (1-4, 0-4 frees, 1-0 pen.). Subs. - Ryan Nolan for Morris, inj. (23), Jonny Dwyer (0-2, 1 line ball) for Turner (38), Conor O'Toole for T. Dwyer (44), Stephen O'Toole for Doyle, inj. (51), James Tonks for D. Byrne (59).
St. Martin's: Callum Quirke; Joe Barrett (0-2), Conor Firman (capt.), Philip Dempsey; Diarmuid O'Leary (0-1), Eoin O'Leary, Daithí Waters; David Codd, Michael Codd; Darren Codd (0-1), Rory O'Connor (0-10, 8 frees), Jack O'Connor (0-1); Jake Firman (0-1), Barry O'Connor (0-2), Mikey Coleman (1-3). Subs. - Ben Maddock for Coleman (51), Aaron Maddock for M. Codd (55), Ben Stafford for Darren Codd (57), Alex Lafferty for J. O'Connor (60), Jamie Berry (0-1) for J. Firman (60+1).
Referee: Eamonn Furlong (Rapparees).
NAOMH ÉANNA got their Pettit’s Senior hurling championship Group A campaign under way with a deserved victory over Ferns St. Aidans in Chadwicks Wexford Park on Saturday.
The clear difference was the victors’ ability to create and take goals, with Conor McDonald, J.J. Twamley and Jack Cullen all netting as they got off to the perfect start.
Overall it was a scrappy start to their championship campaign but one would be reluctant to draw too many conclusions from the clash. Ferns will be happy with some aspects of their performance but none of their starting six forwards scored more than once from play and that will need to improve.
Gorey will be happy to get over the line but they were also far from their best. They would expect to win most games conceding 16 points but, like their opposition, they are clearly a work in progress. Their 15 scores registered were the lowest achieved by a winning Senior team this week by five.
The opening stages were cagey and scores were hard to come by as both sides looked to settle. Ferns got their first point in the sixth minute, an Ian Byrne free, but Gorey responded playing down breeze with a nice Charlie McGuckin strike.
Ferns would have been much the happier side when Byrne made it 0-2 to 0-1. They almost got to the end of the quarter in the lead as Gorey struggled to gauge the breeze, but quick scores by Jack Cullen and Cian Browne in the 15th minute did edge their side ahead.
Gary Molloy became the second member of the Naomh Éanna half-back line to score when he came out from a midfield break with the sliothar and popped over.
Byrne and Cullen exchanged dead-ball scores but Gorey delivered a dagger when McGuckin’s long ball was won by Conor McDonald and in trademark fashion he fought off the covering defenders and rattled the net.
After a Cathal Dunbar point, Ferns appeared to have settled with replies from Byrne and Corey Byrne-Dunbar.
However, a second Gorey goal arrived in the 30th minute when Cathal Dunbar’s ball dropped short, breaking kindly for J.J. Twamley and he swept it past Michael Walsh.
Ferns lost Paul Morris to a leg injury in added-time and it will be a worry for them in the coming weeks. They did add late points from the marauding Charlie Roark and another Byrne free to trail by just five at the interval (2-6 to 0-7).
Despite a Chris Turner point, Gorey moved six ahead on the back of early second-half scores from Pádraig Doyle and Twamley. Conor O’Toole showed his team-mates the way with back-to-back long-rangers and it lifted Ferns for a while.
A Byrne brace and a Ryan Nolan point got their side within two as the third quarter expired, but their hope didn’t last long.
Just a minute later a Cathal Dunbar run and shot was blocked by the Ferns defence, but the ball fell nicely for Jack Cullen and he pulled a shot high to Walsh’s net.
Ferns never threw in the towel and scored the next two points through Byrne and lively substitute Jonny Dwyer.
However, that was as close as they managed to get in the closing stages, with Gorey keeping their opponents at arm’s length with points from Dunbar, McDonald and Pádraig Doyle in the final five minutes.
Next up for the victors is another visit to Chadwicks Wexford Park to face Rathnure on Saturday. Before that Ferns will meet St. Anne’s in Bellefield on Friday evening.
Ferns St. Aidans: Michael Walsh; Conor Scallan, Niall Murphy, Conor O’Toole (0-2); Patrick Breen, Eoin Murphy, Charlie Roark (0-1); Rory Scallan, Gavin Bailey; Corey Byrne-Dunbar (0-1), Chris Turner (0-1), Stephen O’Toole; Ryan Nolan (0-1), Paul Morris (capt.), Ian Byrne (0-8, 7 frees, 1 ’65). Subs. - Diarmuid Doyle for Morris, inj. (30+2), Jonny Dwyer (0-2) for Nolan (50), Tommy Dwyer for S. O’Toole (56).
Naomh Éanna: Jack Cushe; Daragh Canavan, Cian Molloy, Jake Cooper; Brian Cushe, Gary Molloy (0-1), Charlie McGuckin (0-1); Cian Browne (0-1), Seán Óg Whelan; Jack Cullen (1-2, 0-2 frees), Padraig Doyle (0-2 frees), J.J. Twamley (1-2); Shane Flood, Conor McDonald (capt., 1-1), Cathal Dunbar (0-2).
Referee: Stephen Burke (Na Fianna Clonard).
July 4: St. Anne’s Rathangan 1-23, Ferns St. Aidans 1-12
St. Anne’s exerted a certain control as they completed back-to-back opening Group A victories in the Pettitt’s Senior hurling championship with Friday’s taming of Ferns St. Aidans in McCauley Park, Bellefield.
While a Ryan Nolan goal helped Ferns lead by 1-6 to 0-7 after 22 minutes, the winners had moved ahead by 0-11 to 1-7 at the break before delivering a dominant second-half showing.
Another underwhelming attacking effort didn’t help Ferns’ efforts to respond to their opening day setback against Naomh Éanna when the front-six had also failed to catch fire.
Injury robbed them of the experience of Paul Morris on this occasion, and a return of 1-7 after enjoying first advantage of the strong wind didn’t hint positively for Pat Bennett’s prospects, especially with St. Anne’s moving with greater purpose.
Ian Byrne (free) and Gavin Bailey shot Ferns two points clear before St. Anne’s turned the tables by 0-3 to 0-2 after seven minutes through Corey Ryan, Andy Kennedy (free) and Diarmuid O’Keeffe.
Poor finishing was hurting Ferns, and they already had four wides before Ryan Nolan seized upon a long delivery to rattle the town-end net in the eleventh minute and regain the lead, before centre-back Eoin Murphy and free-taker Byrne opened up a double-scores lead after the opening quarter (1-5 to 0-4).
But Ferns were largely stifled thereafter as St. Anne’s confined them to rare incisions, with the Sky Blues claiming seven of the nine remaining first-half points to hit the front at half-time.
O’Keeffe (four frees), goalie Kennedy (free), Shane Ryan and Aidan Rochford had David Redmond’s crew in a very favourable position at 0-11 to 1-7 with wind assistance to come.
And despite Ferns injecting Diarmuid Doyle into their attack on the resumption, St. Anne’s remained to the fore when stretching ahead by 0-18 to 1-9 after 41 minutes, with Andrew Moran and Liam Óg McGovern getting amongst the scores.
Ferns did get it back to 0-18 to 1-11 midway through the half after Diarmuid Doyle and Ian Byrne (free) struck back.
But, despite losing McGovern to injury, his replacement, Mikey Fogarty, helped to kill off the tie when feeding Cillian Byrne to crack a low finish to the net on 55 minutes and blow open a 1-20 to 1-12 lead.
Ian Byrne attempted to respond when seeking to goal direct from a free, but had to settle for a fruitless ’65, while St. Anne’s netminder Kennedy distinguished himself when keeping out a volleyed effort from Byrne after good work by Jonny Dwyer and Patrick Breen on the stroke of the 60th minute.
St. Anne’s sprung a counter-attack from that let-off for substitute Darragh Furlong to point, before Diarmuid O’Keeffe’s ninth – seventh free – completed a solid victory for a Rathangan combination which even at this early stage in proceedings appear set to be in with a serious shout to make amends for their final defeats of 2019, 2021 and last year.
Ferns St. Aidans: Michael Walsh; Conor Scallan, Niall Murphy, Declan Byrne; Conor O’Toole, Eoin Murphy (capt., 0-1), Patrick Breen; Rory Scallan, Gavin Bailey (0-1); Ian Byrne (0-7, 6 frees, 1 ’65), Stephen O’Toole, Jonny Dwyer (0-1); Ryan Nolan (1-1), Chris Turner, Corey Byrne-Dunbar. Subs. – Diarmuid Doyle (0-1) for S. O’Toole (HT), Tommy Dwyer for Turner (45).
St. Anne’s: Andy Kennedy (0-4, 3 frees, 1 ’65); Liam Schokman, Kevin Breen (capt.), Finn Ryan; Páidí Doyle, Eoin Ryan, Darren Moore; Liam Rochford (0-1), Diarmuid O’Keeffe (0-9, 7 frees); Cillian Byrne (1-0), Aidan Rochford (0-3), Shane Ryan (0-2); Liam Óg McGovern (0-1), Corey Ryan (0-1), Andrew Moran (0-1). Subs. – Mikey Fogarty for McGovern, inj. (45), Darragh Furlong (0-1) for S. Ryan (53), Bobby Reville for F. Ryan (57), Shane Ryan for Doyle (60+1).
Referee: Thomas Furlong (Adamstown).
July 26: Rathnure 3-18, Ferns St. Aidans 0-20
RATHNURE ARE sitting pretty at the top of the Pettitt’s Senior hurling championship Group A table after seeing off a struggling Ferns St. Aidans in Chadwicks Wexford Park on Saturday.
The 2024 Intermediate champions have now won all three games at Senior after their return to the top table and there’s plenty more to come from this team.
The game was still in the balance heading into the last few minutes, but it was telling that it was the Blackstairs men who finished on the front foot.
The victors boasted nine different scorers from play and defended a potentially dangerous opponent well throughout the game. Teams are used to seeing A.J. Redmond line up as the spare player but he was essentially a third man in the full-back line here, shielding the two man-marked Ferns inside forwards.
Ferns struggled to really get at Rathnure. They would be reasonably happy with 20 scores but nothing came easy and, given their tactical approach to this game, they will be very disappointed to concede 3-18.
Three losses from three tells a story for Ferns. They aren’t quite clicking and unless they find some form quickly they will occupy one of the bottom two spots in the table come knockout time.
They would have been happy enough with the first-half against a light breeze, despite being 0-6 to 0-3 down after 19 minutes.
Rathnure had three different scorers on the board in that spell, with Jack Redmond registering three points, Seán O’Connor two and Eamon Wickham one.
A mini burst from Ferns St. Aidans, with young gun Charlie Roark notching a quickfire brace, got them back on terms by the 23rd minute.
The remainder of the half went by in a blur of points as nine were scored, with Seán O’Connor bringing his tally to four for Rathnure while Ian Byrne and Corey Byrne-Dunbar both doubled up at the other end.
The late scoring flurry saw Ferns into a fragile 0-11 to 0-10 interval lead. The third quarter was mostly far more mundane, the parity restored after a trio of Byrne frees were bettered by Redmond’s trio and a Ciarán O’Connor minor.
However, moments after a Rory Higgins effort was saved, the Rathnure forward picked out Ciarán O’Connor on the run, with the midfielder bursting away from the cover and striking low to James Lawlor’s net.
Donal Wickham and Luke Codd pushed the advantage out to five but Ferns stayed around for a while, getting their first score from play in the half in the 52nd minute though Byrne-Dunbar and adding to it when Rory Scallan pointed in the 54th minute to make it 1-17 to 0-18.
However, that was as good as it got for Ferns as, after Jack Redmond made it a three-point game, Rathnure scored two goals in little over a minute, with Seán O’Connor netting the first and Redmond quickly following to see their side home with a bit to spare.
Ferns St. Aidans: James Lawlor; Conor Scallan, Niall Murphy, Eoin Murphy; Declan Byrne, Patrick Breen, Conor O’Toole; Rory Scallan (0-1), Gavin Bailey; Charlie Roark (0-2), Ian Byrne (0-9 frees), Jonny Dwyer (0-2); Tommy Dwyer, Corey Byrne-Dunbar (0-5, 1 free), Diarmuid Doyle (0-1). Subs. - Chris Turner for Byrne, temp. (8-13), Ryan Nolan for T. Dwyer (35), Chris Turner for J. Dwyer (47).
Rathnure: Kyle Martin; Conor O’Neill, A.J. Redmond (0-3, 2 frees), Stephen Martin; Donal Wickham (0-1), Brian Quigley, Michael Somers; Luke Codd (0-1), Ciarán O’Connor (1-1); Michael Redmond (0-1), Charlie Mooney, Eamon Wickham (0-1); Seán O’Connor (1-4), Jack Redmond (1-5, 0-3 frees), Rory Higgins (0-1). Subs. - Micheál O’Connor for S. Martin, inj. (23), Shane Lawlor for M. Redmond (55), Michael Martin for Codd (58).
Referee: Seán Whelan (St. Martin’s).
August 3: Ferns St. Aidans 1-29, Oylegate-Glenbrien 0-25
FERNS ST. Aidans opened the door to potentially avoiding a bottom two finish in Group A of the Pettit’s Senior hurling championship after finding their best performance of the season against Oylegate-Glenbrien in Chadwicks Wexford Park on Sunday.
It’s funny how perspectives can change after just one game, as before this one might have suggested the losers were a lively outsider to make a run at the latter stages of this championship. While one defeat doesn’t change everything, this poor showing raises serious question marks all the same.
Meanwhile Ferns St. Aidans, who had chugged their way to three losses, averaging just 17 points per game in the process, suddenly turned on the afterburners and actually looked a decent side in the process, boasting an incredible 13 different scorers.
Again, the long-term prospects of these two teams will not be decided by this one group game.
Yet this win still allows Ferns, while needing help elsewhere, to go into a clash with Crossabeg-Ballymurn with a real hope of finishing in the middle two spots in the standings.
It had been a fairly even opening few minutes, with Séamus Casey getting three points and Corey Byrne-Dunbar matching that tally at the other end as his side took a 0-5 to 0-4 lead.
However, playing down the breeze, Ferns were first to make a break for it when Diarmuid Doyle powered in through the middle and took plenty of attention as he approached Aaron Duggan’s goal, but managed to kick past the Oylegate-Glenbrien goalkeeper.
It remained nip-and-tuck for a while.
Paul Burns and Mike Kelly got on the scoreboard for Oylegate-Glenbrien while Paul Morris got his second and Gavin Bailey scored at the other end as three points separated the sides (1-10 to 0-10) after 25 minutes.
However, it was Ferns who finished the half on the front foot, scoring six of the last eight points, with a booming James Lawlor strike and a Doyle effort from a classy Byrne-Dunbar feed the pick of the scores.
Oylegate-Glenbrien had the breeze in the second-half and there was a sense that at some stage they would put a run of scores together and propel themselves back into the game.
They were lifted by a Séamus Casey line ball score in the 44th minute and raced back to within three just four minutes later (1-21 each).
However, every time the Enniscorthy District side appeared destined to get on a run, Ferns knuckled down again and found critical points.
They got scores from Diarmuid Doyle and Ian Byrne to move five ahead again heading into the last ten minutes.
Oylegate-Glenbrien ended an eight-minute scoreless spell with another few points, with Joe Dunne again getting his side within a goal at 1-24 to 0-24 in added-time.
However, Ferns scored five points in less than four overtime minutes to close out the win, with Morris, Brian Stafford, Byrne-Dunbar, Doyle and Ryan Nolan all on the scoresheet to see the victors home.
Ferns St. Aidans: James Lawlor (0-1); Conor Scallan, Patrick Breen, Declan Byrne; Conor O’Toole, Gavin Bailey (0-1), Eoin Murphy; Chris Turner (0-1), Rory Scallan (0-1); Tommy Dwyer (0-1), Corey Byrne-Dunbar (0-11, 7 frees, 1 ’65), Paul Morris (capt., 0-3); Jonny Dwyer (0-1), Diarmuid Doyle (1-5), Charlie Roark (0-1). Subs. - Ian Byrne (0-1) for J. Dwyer (39), Ryan Nolan (0-1) for Turner (39), Brian Stafford (0-1) for T. Dwyer (56).
Oylegate-Glenbrien: Aaron Duggan; Ciarán Hourihane (capt.), Peter Rowley, Jack Hennessy; Kyle Curran (0-1), Shane Reck, Paul Burns (0-2); Damien Reck, Paudie Casey; Séamus Casey (0-12, 10 frees, 1 line ball), Fiachra Hourihane (0-2), Pa Cullen; Mike Kelly (0-2), Podge Doran (0-1), Joe Dunne (0-3). Subs. - Darragh Harris (0-2) for Rowley (37), Jim White for P. Doran (51), Mark Kavanagh for D. Reck, temp. (53-54), Kavanagh for Burns (60).
Referee: Kevin Kehoe (Our Lady’s Island).
September 7: Ferns St. Aidans 2-22, Crossabeg/Ballymurn 0-12
2022 CHAMPIONS Ferns St. Aidans got the room to thrive at McCauley Park, Bellefield on Sunday and exploited it as Crossabeg-Ballymurn endured another double-digits Group A reversal in the Pettitt's Senior hurling championship.
For Ferns, irrespective of the rather feeble nature of the opposition's challenge, the victory is a future indication of their return to competitive well-being as they backed up the 1-29 to 0-25 victory over Oylegate-Glenbrien following an opening string of tame setbacks against Naomh Éanna, St. Anne's and Rathnure.
They now face Shelmaliers on Sunday in Chadwicks Wexford Park (3.45 p.m.) in the preliminary quarter-finals in a first meeting since Ferns won a round one group tie in 2023 (0-20 to 0-18).
The outlook for Crossabeg-Ballymurn is anything but rosy. This was their lowest score accumulated since last year's quarter-final exit to Shelmaliers (0-14 to 1-8) and a third double-digits setback of this campaign following the 3-19 to 1-12 loss to Rathnure in round one.
After appearing to come more to terms with the requirements in narrow defeats to Oylegate-Glenbrien (3-14 to 1-15) and St. Anne's (1-16 to 0-16), they suffered again by 17 points against Naomh Éanna (6-15 to 0-16) and now 16 at the hands of Ferns.
There is a case to be made that they could have made Sunday's tie interesting had they not been so wasteful from placed balls in particular as they recorded 15 wides, six more than Ferns, with eight of Crossabeg-Ballymurn's stemming from dead balls.
This was costly from the Over The Water side, and it's hard to see how they will pick up the pieces for Saturday's make-or-break derby with Glynn-Barntown at the main county grounds (6 p.m.) in what doubles as a relegation semi-final. The Killurin-based men prevailed in last year's round three meeting (2-15 to 1-9).
Ferns had accounted for Crossabeg-Ballymurn in their two previous games since the latter's emergence from Intermediate in 2020, and first-half goals from Corey Byrne-Dunbar and Ian Byrne had Pat Bennett's charges firmly in control by 2-7 to 0-5 midway through this rematch.
There was luck involved in Byrne-Dunbar's major on three minutes, when his line ball from the left - after Chris Turner had forced the concession - fell through the fingers of Pádraig Foley and to the country-end net as the defender sought to intercept ahead of 'keeper Noel Scallan. That made it 1-1 to nil.
Ferns captain Paul Morris had ceded first advantage of the wind to his rivals. But Crossabeg-Ballymurn continually fluffed their lines while Ferns built towards successive victories, and a 28th-minute goal crowned a satisfactory first-half for the Gorey District side, with Byrne-Dunbar feeding Diarmuid Doyle, who spotted Ian Byrne alone to the left edge of the square to coolly slot home.
Ronan Devereux had the gap down to seven 48 seconds after the restart, but the margin only mushroomed from there.
The closing period featured a dismissal for either side. Jack Fortune was straight red-carded for a high challenge on Rory Scallan in the 37th minute, while Byrne-Dunbar was censured for a second bookable offence on 57 minutes.
Ferns St. Aidans: James Lawlor; Conor Scallan, Niall Murphy, Conor O'Toole; Patrick Breen, Eoin Murphy, Gavin Bailey (0-1); Brian Stafford, Rory Scallan (0-2); Charlie Roark (0-3), Paul Morris (capt., 0-5), Chris Turner (0-1); Ian Byrne (1-2, 0-1 free), Corey Byrne-Dunbar (1-5, 0-4 frees, 1-0 line ball), Diarmuid Doyle (0-3). Sub. - Tommy Dwyer for O'Toole (4).
Crossabeg-Ballymurn: Noel Scallan (capt.); Matthew Bishop, Conor Devereux, Michael Cullen; Conor Barlow, Pádraig Foley (0-3, 1 free), Bill Eviston (0-1); Jack Fortune, Aaron Cummins; David Kehoe, Oisín Foley (0-5, 3 frees, 1 '65), Ronan Devereux (0-1); Niall Cullen (0-1), Cian Kinlough, Conor O'Brien. Subs. - Jack Redmond for Kehoe (HT), Shane Cullen for O'Brien (40), Mark O'Connor for Kinlough (40), Bill Roche for Scallan, inj. (44), Cathal Byrne (0-1) for Barlow (51).
Referee: Eamonn Furlong (Rapparees).
September 14, Preliminary quarter-final: Ferns St. Aidans 2-14, Shelmaliers 2-13
JONNY DWYER made a winning start to his MMA career in June, but I don't think the experienced Ferns St. Aidans hurler will ever deliver a knockout blow as powerful as the one that dumped Shelmaliers out of the Pettitt's Senior championship in a sensational finish in Chadwicks Wexford Park on Sunday.
After a Paul Morris goal and a Niall Murphy point drew the 2023 victors level, Adam Howlin's puck-out into the swirling wind went over the sideline on the uncovered stand side near midfield.
Taking direct aim for the posts would have been well within Dwyer's range, as he has gained a reputation as a line ball specialist over the years.
However, he instead chose to play it short to fellow substitute Ryan Nolan and, on receiving the return in his hand, he shot straight and true for the town-end posts and the wind carried it over to remarkably give Ferns St. Aidans the lead for the one and only time.
The final whistle was blown on the puck-out, and Shelmaliers immediately sought to query the time added on by referee Brendan Holohan.
The announcement that five extra minutes would be played was made before the half was over, and that might have thrown spectators who weren't keeping track of the time themselves or paying close attention to the scoreboard.
On that point, the GAA could learn a lesson from soccer, where the fourth official always waits until the clock hits 45 minutes exactly before indicating the time to be added on.
It was 2-13 to 1-12 in favour of the Shels when additional time started, and it became a certainty that the five minutes would be increased to some degree because they made their last substitution afterwards, while a minor outbreak of jersey-holding and pushing also had to be dealt with.
The leaders initially looked to be weathering the storm as two Ferns frees were successfully defended, before and after a Ross Banville scoring effort at the other end dropped short.
Tommy Dwyer sent a free wide before the Gorey District side's second goal arrived after four minutes and 20 seconds of additional time, with a lob into the square finished by Paul Morris.
A Conor Hearne clearance was subsequently bravely won at midfield by county colleague Niall Murphy and sent over for the leveller with the stopwatch showing 35:04.
Jonny Dwyer's winner arrived at 35:58 and Ferns were left to celebrate a famous win that earned a quarter-final clash with Faythe Harriers, while the Shelmaliers dual players will try to channel any sense of injustice into an all-out bid to regain the football crown.
While the drama at the end was truly absorbing, some of the earlier exchanges fell considerably short of what one would expect from an all-or-nothing game.
The teams seemed to have grown so accustomed to playing group matches with nothing at stake that they had forgotten what's required in knockout fare.
And if anyone still thinks that the system currently in place is suitable, then consider the fact that a Shelmaliers side that finished third are now out, whereas Oulart-The Ballagh (sixth and bottom of the same group) have a quarter-final to look forward to.
There was one clear mitigating factor to somehow justify the disappointing fare, and that was the howling wind that led to a lot of ugly rucks for possession and a litany of errors.
And on the latter point, the biggest of all gifted Ferns St. Aidans a first-half goal as they battled against the elements and it ultimately made the world of difference to the outcome.
Shelmaliers were 0-3 to 0-1 ahead at the start of the second quarter when an attempted crossfield pass from the right corner-back berth by Simon Donohoe was intercepted by Diarmuid Doyle and, with Adam Howlin having vacated his goal in anticipation of receiving possession, the Ferns forward rattled the net with ease.
Even before that concession, the Shels had struggled to make full use of the wind, although captain Conor Hearne did pick off two points from three shots inside 90 seconds.
The second of their ten wides before the break followed, and they also dropped a couple of attempts short, with Ferns quite happy to take their time when in control of any restarts after Chris Turner pulled a point back in the third minute.
Turner couldn't make the most of a goalscoring chance while, in a portent of what was to follow, Simon Donohoe got away with his first sloppy pass when younger brother Jody blocked a shot by Diarmuid Doyle.
A Ross Banville point was followed by that Ferns goal, and it wasn't looking good for the Shels when they were only level (0-5 to 1-2) by the 22nd minute after frees converted by Banville, Corey Byrne-Dunbar and netminder Adam Howlin.
They finally prospered somewhat approaching the break, hitting five points without reply from Banville (free), substitute Paddy Connors, Simon Donohoe, Luke Roche, and another from a Howlin placed ball.
The first score in that sequence arrived after a foul on Connors who had a brief sight of goal, while Aaron Murphy was bottled up after another run and Ferns were awarded a free.
A five-point gap seemed surmountable, but Ferns were as laboured as the Shels had been on the restart - albeit their wides count of four was significantly lower than their rivals' ten when both were backed by the wind.
They only had two Corey Byrne-Dunbar frees to show for their efforts before Luke Roche fed Aaron Murphy on a counter-attack in the 39th minute.
And though Murphy's shot was saved, Roche drilled the rebound to the net to push the Shels into a 1-10 to 1-4 advantage.
The margin was down to three entering the last quarter and, after an exchange of points between Glen Malone and a long-range Byrne-Dunbar free, the black and amber brigade were in business again in the 52nd minute.
Aaron Murphy made a run before handpassing to Paul Hearne who fired to the net, and now it was 2-12 to 1-9 and there was still no sign from Ferns that they would produce the goods.
The next four points arrived from frees - three from Byrne-Dunbar and one from Banville - before additional time provided all of the drama that had been so sadly lacking beforehand as Pat Bennett's relieved charges struck late to keep their title hopes alive.
Ferns St. Aidans: James Lawlor; Conor Scallan, Niall Murphy (0-1), Eoin Murphy; Declan Byrne, Patrick Breen, Gavin Bailey; Rory Scallan, Brian Stafford; Paul Morris (capt., 1-0), Charlie Roark, Ian Byrne; Diarmuid Doyle (1-1), Corey Byrne-Dunbar (0-10, 8 frees), Chris Turner (0-1). Subs. - Tommy Dwyer for Stafford (34), Ryan Nolan for D. Byrne (48), Jonny Dwyer (0-1) for Turner (48).
Shelmaliers: Adam Howlin (0-2 frees); Jody Donohoe, Simon Donohoe (0-1), Conor Roche; Glen Malone (0-1), Aidan Cash, Brian Malone; Conor Hearne (capt., 0-2), Aaron Murphy; Paul Hearne (1-0), Ross Banville (0-4, 3 frees), Rian Ormonde (0-1); Seán Denton, Eoghan Nolan, Luke Roche (1-1). Subs. - Paddy Connors (0-1) for Denton (22), Joe O'Leary for Nolan (51), Robbie Delaney for L. Roche (56), Joe Kelly for P. Hearne (60+3).
Referee: Brendan Holohan (Rathgarogue-Cushinstown).
September 27, quarter-final: Ferns St. Aidans 1-19, Faythe Harriers 0-14
FERNS ST. Aidans took care of business in a manner that few had predicted beforehand when they comfortably accounted for a weak Faythe Harriers challenge in this Pettitt's Senior hurling championship quarter-final in Chadwicks Wexford Park on Saturday.
While many shrewd observers of the club scene were expecting a tight contest, it was nothing of the sort as the 2022 titleholders set up a repeat of that memorable success over St. Martin's with the minimum of fuss.
And on an evening when 41 frees were awarded on a 21-20 split in favour of the losers, it was no surprise that chief marksman Corey Byrne-Dunbar should enjoy such a fruitful outing from placed balls.
He married some stylish hurling in general play with 11 of his 13 points arriving from frees, and the more economical victors only amassed four wides which was half the tally of their underperforming rivals.
Ferns St. Aidans had a successful plan to deal with Lee Chin, assigning marking duties to Niall Murphy when he was in the full-forward line, and to Gavin Bailey when he roamed outfield.
And on a frustrating night for our sole All Star nominee this year - a richly-deserved honour - he spent a lot of time without any direct involvement in the action as his colleagues struggled to supply him with decent possession.
In addition, he hit four wides from a first-half '65 and then three successive frees into the wind in the third quarter, at a stage when the Harriers were in dire need of keeping the scoreboard ticking over.
The town team only claimed a miserable six points from play, and their struggle for goals continued, having raised just one green flag in the course of six championship matches including this tame exit.
One thing this Ferns St. Aidans side doesn't lack is experience, with 12 of Saturday's team having started in the county final three years ago, and while their overall performance didn't need to be top-notch to overcome such a disappointing opponent, it was still a notable step-up from their previous outing against Shelmaliers.
Patrick Breen was assigned the task of marking Conall Clancy, whose failure to score was another big win for Pat Bennett's side on an evening when they were boosted by an early goal.
It was 0-1 each in the seventh minute when a handpass from captain Paul Morris picked out Charlie Roark - the sole young gun who has really emerged and made a big impact since 2022 - to stitch the sliotar into the Clonard-end net.
Ferns held that advantage for the rest of the game, going on to lead by 1-10 to 0-9 at the break after Byrne-Dunbar landed six frees plus one point from play.
Of course, we can only speculate how the game might have taken on an entirely different complexion if the Harriers had been able to avail of a gilt-edged early chance.
Only 16 seconds had elapsed when Richie Lawlor sent the ball goalwards and referee Brendan Martin spotted a push on Lee Chin by a Ferns player when one of his colleagues was poised to clear.
An early goal would have been precious for a side chasing a first semi-final appearance since 2015, but Chin was foiled as James Lawlor dived to his left and made a super save at the expense of a '65 that the Harriers man did convert.
The netminder is one of two Ferns players hard done by in recent years by Wexford selectors in my view, along with colleague Niall Murphy, but their club can enjoy the full benefits of the pair's service even if's not valued to the same extent on the inter-county front.
Faythe Harriers didn't really threaten to score a goal thereafter, making that stop all the more important, and they were restricted to three first-half points from play courtesy of the lively Eoghan Cassin (their best attacker), Wayne Mallon, and a generally subdued Chin in the 18th minute.
They needed to build on their captain's converted free inside one minute of the restart that narrowed the gap to three, but instead Ferns hit six of the next seven scores to surge into the last quarter with a 1-16 to 0-11 advantage.
James Henebery foiled Ian Byrne with a good save before Corey Byrne-Dunbar nailed three frees and added one from play, with Diarmuid Doyle and Paul Morris also obliging in a spell when the only reply amid those three missed Chin placed balls came from Eoghan Cassin.
Scores were in short supply down the stretch, with the last six points shared and Ferns remaining composed and in control at all times.
They were thankful to Tommy Dwyer for making a vital hook to deny Luke Murphy in the 50th minute, and a late low Chin free was also kept out, but the eight-point margin at the finish was a true reflection of the winners' dominance.
Ferns St. Aidans: James Lawlor; Conor Scallan, Niall Murphy, Declan Byrne; Eoin Murphy, Patrick Breen, Gavin Bailey (0-1); Rory Scallan, Tommy Dwyer; Charlie Roark (1-0), Chris Turner (0-1), Ian Byrne (0-2); Paul Morris (capt., 0-1), Corey Byrne-Dunbar (0-13, 11 frees), Diarmuid Doyle (0-1). Subs. - Ryan Nolan for Turner (45), Conor O'Toole for Dwyer (55), Jonny Dwyer for I. Byrne (56), Brian Stafford for R. Scallan (60+1).
Faythe Harriers: James Henebery; Alex Lynch, Kyle Scallan, Danny Walsh; Cillian Twomey, Richie Lawlor, Liam Cassin; John Bridges (0-1), Josh Sheil; Wayne Mallon (0-1), Conall Clancy, Eoin Roche; Luke Murphy, Lee Chin (capt., 0-9, 7 frees, 1 '65), Eoghan Cassin (0-2). Subs. - Darby Purcell for Roche (43), Conall Ó Crualaoich (0-1) for Mallon (48).
Referee: Brendan Martin (Ballyhogue).
October 12, semi-final: St. Martin’s 1-22, Ferns St. Aidans 3-9
ST. MARTIN'S remained steadily on course for what would be a first-ever successful defence of the Pettitt's Senior hurling championship when they proved vastly superior to Ferns St. Aidans in the second semi-final in Chadwicks Wexford Park on Sunday.
The holders have been a step ahead of the chasing pack since the early stages of this campaign, and there was no sign of a dip in their performance levels as they were always shaping as likely winners following a late first-quarter flurry of four points.
While Ferns St. Aidans defeated them in the 2022 decider, and deservedly so, the Wexford District side have shown over last year's quarter-final and Sunday's clash that they are the superior all-round side with a better depth to their panel.
One of the hallmarks of the champions is the ability of different players to step up from game to game and really deliver, whereas other contenders are over-reliant on one or two big guns to constantly deliver the goods.
In that regard, three of the main Martin's highlights here were the ball-winning strength of Barry O'Connor at full-forward, the accuracy of Mikey Coleman beside him, and the fine marking job performed on Corey Byrne-Dunbar by Joe Barrett, who held the top Ferns marksman scoreless from play while contributing a brace of points himself in the first-half.
The winning margin was seven points, but that didn't fully reflect their dominance when one considers the first Ferns goal was a gift, while the last one arrived seconds before the end.
St. Martin's collected the first of their five titles at Rathnure's expense in 1999, and now these two hurling strongholds will meet again in a final for the first time since that Bellefield battle 26 years ago.
And while the rise of last year's Intermediate winners has been one of the few plusses of a generally poor championship, on all known form it will be hard to look beyond St. Martin's in that October 26 showdown.
The one big regret for Ferns was something they couldn't control as captain Paul Morris - who started at midfield - was forced off with an injury to his right hamstring in the 23rd minute.
St. Martin's had edged ahead (0-9 to 1-5) from a Rory O'Connor free moments before, and the Gorey District men had no time to absorb that blow before they conceded their only goal.
Barry O'Connor gathered possession on the left flank at the town end and picked out the central run of Mikey Coleman with an inch-perfect pass. And the attacker drove his shot into the ground before it bounced at pace and beat James Lawlor to widen the gap to four points.
St. Martin's went on to lead by 1-11 to 1-6 at the break, with Rory O'Connor hitting the last point - his first from play that followed five converted frees - when he intercepted a stray pass from Niall Murphy.
After that it was a relatively comfortable exercise in retaining control on an afternoon when the overall quality across the two games didn't do much to enthuse onlookers.
Barry O'Connor needed just 21 seconds to show he was in the mood to shine, opening the scoring from a Jake Firman pass.
Diarmuid Doyle hit the first point from play for Ferns before James Lawlor made a save to deny Firman, with Joe Barrett driving over a rousing score from under the stand in the ninth minute to make it 0-3 to 0-2.
Paul Morris availed of an Eoin Murphy handpass to tie it up for the third time, but St. Martin's enjoyed the first purple patch between the 12th and 18th minutes when Rory O'Connor (two frees), Mikey Coleman and Darren Codd left them with a 7-3 lead.
The score that kept Ferns in touch was a real giveaway, with a long delivery from Niall Murphy fumbled over his own goal-line by Callum Quirke in the 18th minute.
Lawlor had denied Rory O'Connor at the end of a solo run just seconds earlier, with Barry O'Connor snatching at the break and sending it wide.
Joe Barrett's second point was the steadying score St. Martin's needed and, although Ferns did draw level one more time courtesy of Diarmuid Doyle, they were in trouble after Paul Morris departed and Mikey Coleman scored that goal.
The champions had stretched their advantage to 1-15 to 1-8 by the 42nd minute, with Coleman and Barry O'Connor contributing from play while the newly-introduced Jonny Dwyer provided the sole Ferns highlight in that spell when he arrowed over a trademark line ball from the left.
A potential lifeline did arrive when a foul on Ian Byrne after an Eoin Murphy delivery led to a penalty that Corey Byrne-Dunbar finished with aplomb in the 44th minute.
Philip Dempsey had bravely blocked a Byrne shot on the previous Ferns attack, while the former Wexford forward was later unlucky to be bottled up after making a catch and being penalised for a throw.
The response from St. Martin's to that goal showed precisely why they are in the position to defend this crown, picking off six points on the bounce in an 11-minute spell as spectators started to head for the exit gates.
Coleman, Rory O'Connor (play and free), Diarmuid O'Leary, Jake Firman and Jack O'Connor all contributed, with Ferns manager Pat Bennett shown a red card by referee Eamonn Furlong in between the last two scores.
There was a big cheer for Jamie Berry, the last of the ten substitutes to feature, when he picked off a neat closing point for St. Martin's with his sole touch.
Ian Byrne did respond with a last-gasp consolation goal from a crisp first-time pull, but his side's quest for a first final appearance since their 2022 triumph was already a fading memory at that stage.
St. Martin's had prevailed by four points when the teams last met at the semi-final stage in 2019, and that's a good omen as they went on to finish the job on that occasion with a hard-earned win over St. Anne's.
They probably would prefer not to be meeting their Rathangan rivals in football so close to the hurling final, but that can work in both ways and right now Daithí Hayes' charges are on a roll.
Ferns St. Aidans: James Lawlor; Conor Scallan, Niall Murphy (1-0), Eoin Murphy; Gavin Bailey, Patrick Breen, Declan Byrne; Rory Scallan, Paul Morris (capt., 0-1); Ian Byrne (1-0), Tommy Dwyer, Chris Turner; Diarmuid Doyle (0-2), Charlie Roark, Corey Byrne-Dunbar (1-4, 0-4 frees, 1-0 pen.). Subs. - Ryan Nolan for Morris, inj. (23), Jonny Dwyer (0-2, 1 line ball) for Turner (38), Conor O'Toole for T. Dwyer (44), Stephen O'Toole for Doyle, inj. (51), James Tonks for D. Byrne (59).
St. Martin's: Callum Quirke; Joe Barrett (0-2), Conor Firman (capt.), Philip Dempsey; Diarmuid O'Leary (0-1), Eoin O'Leary, Daithí Waters; David Codd, Michael Codd; Darren Codd (0-1), Rory O'Connor (0-10, 8 frees), Jack O'Connor (0-1); Jake Firman (0-1), Barry O'Connor (0-2), Mikey Coleman (1-3). Subs. - Ben Maddock for Coleman (51), Aaron Maddock for M. Codd (55), Ben Stafford for Darren Codd (57), Alex Lafferty for J. O'Connor (60), Jamie Berry (0-1) for J. Firman (60+1).
Referee: Eamonn Furlong (Rapparees).
