Underage Finals 2025

October 5, Minor Football Championship Div. 4 Final: Sarsfields 3-7, Ferns St. Aidans 1-11
CONFUSION REIGNED in Bree on Sunday when referee Ger Cullen was the centre of attention for all the wrong reasons as the OmniPro Minor football Division 4 championship final produced a dramatic conclusion.
Sarsfields were leading by two points more than two minutes into additional time when Ferns St. Aidans forward Bill Moulds burst goalwards, and the man in the middle clearly raised an arm to signify that he was giving him an advantage.
And when the attacker couldn't get a shot away, the Gorey District side were anticipating a penalty and a chance to snatch a last-gasp victory, while the Sarsfields contingent wondered if the initial contact had been inside or outside the square.
Either way, it was expected that Ferns would have a scoring opportunity in accordance with the rules, only for the referee to announce to the nearest players that the game was over before the Sarsfields lads started to celebrate in their own goalmouth.
The protestations that followed from Ferns were entirely understandable, although it must be noted that Sarsfields would have been equally irate if they had finished on the losing side.
Their anger had mounted when Cullen signalled for an umpire to raise the orange flag after Ferns attacker Peter Logan kicked a score from a position that was quite clearly inside the arc in the 33rd minute.
The trophy was presented to excellent Sarsfields captain Lewis Hession by Co. PRO and Ferns official Colm Lambert, who was accompanied by another member of the club in Des O'Neill, in his capacity as competition sponsor.
However, it simply wasn't good enough that the game should end in this unsatisfactory manner, especially after such a pulsating second-half when Ferns St. Aidans launched a strong comeback after trailing by eight points at the break.
Sarsfields had struck for goals at the beginning and end of the opening period to establish a 2-6 to 0-4 lead, following an initial exchange of points between Kenny Murphy and Adam Furlong (free).
Lewis Hession cut out a Ferns attack by getting a hand in at the vital time, and possession was swept up by Harry Maher.
And that created an attack that ended with the latter's twin, Jake, supplying the last pass for James Kirby to crash the ball to the net.
Sarsfields were flying over the next eight minutes, producing some fine football that yielded two-pointers from Adam Furlong (free) and Riain Goff on either side of a Kirby single.
The loss of Kirby after receiving a blow to the face was immense though, and Ferns settled as Peter Logan, Aaron Sharlott-Ronan (free) and Logan again narrowed the gap to 1-6 to 0-4 after 26 minutes.
Sarsfields only scored once in the final 20 minutes of the half, but it was worth its weight in gold when Kirby's replacement Eoin Reeves - on the comeback trail after injury - was on hand to palm the ball to the net at the far post.
Ferns quickly set about eating into that eight-point deficit on the restart, with two of their three main ball-carriers combining for a goal after just 15 seconds.
Bobby Murray made the run and delivered the pass for Kenny Murphy to emphatically finish and this pair, along with Jack Young, repeatedly took the fight to the Butters.
And we had a real game on our hands just six minutes in after Ferns added a brace of two-pointers, with the first from Peter Logan that should have been a single followed by a legitimate kick from Murray (2-6 to 1-8).
Ferns missed a chance to draw level from one of two scoreable frees that were off target from an overall haul of eleven wides, which was seven more than what the Sars amassed.
And with the pressure mounting, the town team lifted the siege and a foul on Cian Cullen in the 40th minute led to a penalty that Adam Furlong converted via the right post (3-6 to 1-8).
The four points that followed all arrived from frees, with a Murray brace leaving two between them before a later exchange between Tiarnan Furlong and Aaron Sharlott-Ronan.
Each side also hit the woodwork in that tense second-half, via Bill Moulds' fist in the 39th minute and then Mathew Perry's boot when his side led by 3-6 to 1-9.
While the drama had been plentiful, nothing could have prepared spectators for one of the most bizarre finishes to a game that I can ever recall.
Ferns St. Aidans: Ben Cleere; Freddie Davis, Ryan Rossiter, Shane Whelan-Turner; Daragh Gahan, Jack Young, Aidan Bowe; Bobby Murray (0-4, 1 2p, 0-2 frees), Enda Byrne; Liam Redmond, Kenny Murphy (capt., 1-1), Bill Moulds; Aaron Sharlott-Ronan (0-2 frees), Conor Leacy, Peter Logan (0-4, 1 2p). Subs. - Davy Redmond for L. Redmond (36), also Kevin Leonard, Mathieu Bates, Adam Kehoe, Evan Broaders, Charlie Murray.
Sarsfields: Ziggy Rossiter; Harry Maher, Lewis Hession (capt.), Gareth Innes; Chris Ramos, Adam Furlong (1-3, 1-0 pen., 1 2p free, 0-1 free), Kealan Fahy; Cillian Joss, Riain Goff (0-2, 1 2p); Cian Cullen, James Kirby (1-1), Shane Finnegan; Jake Maher, Mylo Perry, Seán Redmond. Subs. - Eoin Reeves (1-0) for Kirby, inj. (20), Tiarnan Furlong (0-1 free) for Joss (41), Tadhg Furlong for Cullen (45), Mathew Perry for Redmond (49), also Jayden Byrne, Ethan Jarvis, Cian Redmond, Rhys Farrell-O'Connor, Aidan McDonald, Jayden McDonald, Ross Cowman.
Referee: Ger Cullen (Ballyhogue).
 
October 7, U14 Football Div. 2 Final: Ferns St. Aidans 4-10, Glynn-Barntown 1-6
The silken skills of Evan Thorpe shone through under the Samaritans St. Patrick’s Park floodlights as Ferns St. Aidan’s recorded an impressive victory over Glynn-Barntown in the OmniPro Under-14 football Division 2 championship final.
The talented centre-forward finished with an impressive 2-6 of the winners’ 4-10 haul, and every time he gained possession it looked like he was capable of doing damage.
And while it was far from a one-player show, with centre-back C.J. O’Connor plus energetic midfielders Páidí Moynihan and Eoin Kehoe also leading the way, that little bit of additional magic was supplied by the excellent Thorpe.
He set out his stall with the opening point after a sixth-minute solo run, although it took Ferns a while to show their supremacy as Morgan Dennehy’s accuracy kept Glynn-Barntown firmly in contention.
The wing-forward registered from play plus a free before Thorpe levelled, and it took a superb save from Ciarán O’Neill to deny Rhys Kennedy a goal in the tenth minute.
Rival netminder Lucas Hayes then showed his worth by stopping an Evan Thorpe shot, but it felt like the opening goal was just around the corner.
And it duly arrived midway through the half, with Thorpe the provider on this occasion as he paved the way for wing-forward Andrew Cash to find the net (1-2 to 0-2).
Thorpe (free) and Páidí Moynihan added points, with Lucas Hayes making a brilliant close-range save in between from an Andrew Moorehouse punch.
Glynn-Barntown were given a boost in the 20th minute when an Aidan Laffan delivery broke into the path of Rhys Kennedy, and the full-forward rattled the roof of the net.
However, the response from Ferns was swift and emphatic, with Moorehouse teeing up Micheál O’Neill who palmed to the net to extend their lead to 2-4 to 1-3.
Two late Thorpe frees widened the margin to double scores at the break, and he added another beauty from the left flank for the opener on the restart.
Glynn-Barntown had introduced Leon O’Keeffe at full-forward and moved Rhys Kennedy to midfield, and they managed to get the gap down to five points after Morgan Dennehy nailed a free before setting up Harry Curtis for a score from play (2-7 to 1-5).Ferns must have sensed that they had more work to do, and they really came up with the goods midway through the half with a purple patch that yielded 1-2 and effectively put the contest to bed.Eoin Kehoe and C.J. O’Connor posted the points, before the latter found Páidí Moynihan whose handpass freed Evan Thorpe to drive to the net.Ferns weren’t going to be stopped at that stage, but they were keen to finish on a high and did exactly that as leading light Thorpe added his second goal from an O’Connor assist.

Ferns St. Aidan’s: Ciarán O’Neill; Daniel Cosgrave, Adam Rossiter, Cillian Murphy; Conor Murphy, C.J. O’Connor (0-1), Mike O’Malley; Páidí Moynihan (0-1), Eoin Kehoe (0-1); Tony Dwyer, Evan Thorpe (2-6, 0-4 frees), Andrew Cash (1-1); J.J. Dwyer, Andrew Moorehouse, Micheál O’Neill (1-0). Subs. – Darragh Swaine for Moorehouse (48), Dylan Murphy for M. O’Neill (50+1), Bobby Moulds for J.J. Dwyer (50+3), also Barry Gahan, Henry Moulds, Taylor Ronan, Jayden Ryan, Paddy Byrne, Oisín Walsh.
Glynn-Barntown: Lucas Hayes; Eoin Deegan, Sam Brazzill, Jake Morris; Ruairí Boyce, Thomas Cummins, Eamon Ryan; William Kenny, Harry Curtis (0-1); Morgan Dennehy (0-6, 4 frees), Aidan Laffan, Ollie Marriott; Cormac Carley, Rhys Kennedy (1-0), Ruairí Reardon. Subs. – Leon O’Keeffe for Marriott (HT), Eli Hegarty for Carley (50+1), also Patrick Murphy, Louis Doyle, Daniel Whitty, Cathal Kennedy, Ben Swan, Conor Wildes, Cillian Molloy, Andrew Mooney.
Referee: Adrian Harris (Oylegate-Glenbrien).

October 12, U16 Hurling Div. 2 Final: Ferns St. Aidans 1-17, HWH Bunclody 0-17
Ferns St. Aidans delivered much of the first-half sparkle before withstanding a tenacious HWH-Bunclody fightback to land the OmniPro Under-16 hurling Division 2 championship crown in Samaritans St. Patrick’s Park.
Sharpshooter Bobby Murray was the star of an outstanding all-round show by the eventual winners during the opening period.
Indeed, the centre-forward sank some glorious vapour-trails between the town-end uprights, especially four points from play as Ferns built a 1-11 to 0-8 interval advantage.
But HWH-Bunclody left nobody in any doubt about their character following their gallant efforts to bridge the gap, and the sweet-striking Conor Kehoe – who emerged as joint top-scorer alongside Murray on 0-11 apiece – had them daring to dream as they closed to within a couple of points in added-time.
But Ferns captain Conor Leacy sealed a 1-17 to 0-17 success in the closing action, when settling for a point having initially forced a save.
And the result sees a vast selection of this Ferns outfit add to their Division 3 glory at Under-13 level in 2022, with several of the side bouncing back from the bitter disappointment of the recent defeat in the Minor football Division 4 final to Sarsfields.
Conor Kehoe, son of HWH-Bunclody selector and 1996 All-Ireland winner Colm, had the green and golds two up from a pair of early frees before Ferns began to assert control.
Conor Leacy and impressive midfielder Bill Moulds made their mark amid Bobby Murray’s personal highlights reel with a point each themselves, while their score merchant added five scores (three frees) before corner-forward Ben Cleere bolted the red and whites 1-7 to 0-2 clear after 19 minutes.
Cian Kavanagh fed bright number 13 Evan Thorpe who forced a save before Cleere capitalised on the rebound, and Murray and Thorpe quickly widened the margin to 1-9 to 0-4.
But HWH-Bunclody brought real colour back into their challenge with a strong finish to the half, Kehoe with a brace of frees and bright full-forward Noah Byrne helping cut the margin to 1-11 to 0-8 at the change of ends.
Despite the Half Way House lads holding sway for much of the second period, Ferns managed to maintain a tidy advantage, with ’keeper Aidan Bowe keeping out an angled effort from Noah Byrne to maintain a seven-point advantage midway through the half.
A turnover by Cian Kavanagh served up two quickfire scores from Murray, with Thorpe chipping in with his second to help pad out the gap to that 1-15 to 0-11 advantage even in the face of the opposition’s relentless efforts.
Bowe pulled off another pair of vital interventions as Ferns held firm, before the heat was really applied as HWH-Bunclody closed to within 1-16 to 0-17 two minutes into injury-time with five Kehoe frees – three earned by influential midfielder Sam Sheehan – and a Noah Byrne addition giving them a fighting chance, only to fall short as leader of the Ferns pack Leacy sealed the deal in the end.

Ferns St. Aidans: Aidan Bowe; Adam Kehoe, Ryan Rossiter, Lee Allen; Aaron Sharlott-Ronan, Enda Byrne, Charlie Kelly; Bill Moulds (0-2), Paudie Moynihan; Cian Kavanagh, Bobby Murray (0-11, 5 frees), Jack Skelton; Ben Cleere (1-0), Conor Leacy (capt., 0-2), Evan Thorpe (0-2). Subs. – Charlie Murray for Cleere (43), also Seamus Doyle, Cian Redmond, Ben Gahan, Paddy Kinsella, Richard Browne, Eoin Kehoe, Andrew Fortune, Jack Byrne, Oisín Breen.
HWH-Bunclody: Krystian Mordarski; Tony Brophy, Pádraig Dunbar, Patrick Kenny; Liam Coleman, Shaun Doyle, Matthew Pender; Sam Sheehan (0-2), Cathal Pender; Mike Sheehan, Conor Kehoe (capt., 0-11, 9 frees), Jamie Norris-Kane; Donal O’Byrne, Noah Byrne (0-4), Jack Dunne. Subs. – Ed Dunbar for Norris-Kane (25), Rylee Murphy for Brophy (25), Mike Murphy for Dunne (36), Christy Moorehouse for O’Byrne (45), Mick Connors for Kenny (60+1), also Tommy Moynihan, Charlie Kavanagh.
Referee: John Carton (Monageer-Boolavogue).

November 2, Minor Hurling Roinn 3 Shield Final: Ferns St. Aidans 6-10, St. Patrick's 0-14
Conor Leacy scored four goals and Bobby Murray added another two as Ferns St. Aidan’s ability to find the net proved to be the difference between themselves and St. Patrick’s in the OmniPro Minor hurling Roinn 3 shield final in the Halo Tiles Centre of Excellence on Sunday.The victors built a strong lead at the interval, with Leacy completing his hat-trick within 17 minutes. They controlled the game thereafter, keeping a St. Patrick’s side led by 11-point Eoghan Hogan at arm’s length.
Ferns got the opening two points on the board through Peter Logan and Murray. Both would get on the scoresheet again, along with Kenny Murphy, but four points from Hogan kept St. Patrick’s within one after 12 minutes (0-5 to 0-4).
Leacy raced in and batted his first goal to the net a minute later and soon added two more. The second was another clean head-high smash home before a more orthodox effort made it 3-5 to 0-5 in the 17th minute.
Ferns would tack on just two more points in the period, through Murray and Bill Moulds, while Noah Byrne added his name to the St. Patrick’s scorers, with Hogan bringing his tally to eight as his team trailed by 3-7 to 0-9 at the interval.
St. Patrick’s still went into the second-half with some hope but that belief was seriously dented when Leacy scored his fourth goal in the 33rd minute. The Ballyoughter lads just managed a solitary Hogan point in the third quarter as the game meandered on.
Murray scored the only Ferns point in that spell but they did ease further in front when Jack Young’s 46th-minute point was soon followed by Murray racing through the Pat’s defence to lash in his first goal.
The Camolin-based club were able to tack on points from Hogan (two), Adam Furlong and Byrne in the latter stages, but a 57th-minute Murray major added further gloss on an excellent morning for the boys from Ferns.

Ferns St. Aidans: Aidan Bowe; Kevin Leonard, Ryan Rossiter, Adam Kehoe; Freddie Davis, Kenny Murphy (0-1), Darragh Gahan; Jack Young (0-1), Enda Byrne; Liam Redmond, Bobby Murray (2-5, 0-4 frees, 0-1 ’65), Bill Moulds (0-1); Peter Logan (0-2), Conor Leacy (4-0), Shane Whelan-Turner. Subs. - Mathieu Bates for Redmond (48), Davy Redmond for Whelan-Turner (58), Charlie Murray for Moulds (58), also Aaron Sharlott-Ronan, Ben Cleere.
St. Patrick’s: George Murphy; Dylan Cooper, Seán Dunne, Gerry McCormack; Oran Hayden, Alex Carton, Jack Murphy; Adam Furlong (0-1 ’65), Noah Byrne (0-2); Leo James, Steve Kavanagh, Cian Ronan; Tom Waugh, Eoin Kenny, Eoghan Hogan (0-11, 9 frees). Subs. - Liam Doyle for Kenny (30+1), Aaron Goff for Ronan (31), Mikie Murphy for Hayden (31), Hayden for Cooper, inj. (47), Luke Byrne, Alex Devereux, Noah James, Cormac Kinsella, Koby Byrne, Adam Jones, Jamie Furlong, Aaron Bailey.
Referee: Stephen Burke (Na Fianna Clonard).