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
- No report carried in newspaper
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).
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
- No report carried in newspaper
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).
