Underage Finals 2024
October 12, U16 Hurling Div. 2 Shield Final: Ferns St. Aidans 4-10, Shelmaliers 2-15
ONE OF the very best finals of the 2024 season took place in the Halo Tiles Centre of Excellence as Shelmaliers and Ferns St. Aidans played out a breathless masterpiece, with the latter eventually claiming the Irish Independent Under-16 hurling Division 2 shield title.
For the second week in a row Bobby Murray was the hero for the winners. Last time out it was his late major that proved to be the difference between two competitive sides in the Minor hurling Roinn 1 shield, and this time he scored the last three points to overturn a two-point deficit in the dying stages.
It was a remarkable effort from Ferns St. Aidans to get over the line against a talented and gutsy Shelmaliers side. They had to dig deep into their reserves to get the job done, having allowed an eight-point lead early in the second-half slip into a deficit heading into the last few minutes.
It was not only the mercurial Murray who stepped up for the victors. The defence, which had shipped 1-9 in an 18-minute spell, suddenly became a lock-down unit, not allowing another score after the 53rd minute.
It was a tough loss for the Shels but they should be proud, not only of their effort and bravery in fighting back from a large deficit, but also due to their overall play which was very impressive. One would expect big things from them in two years' time at Minor level.
They had six different scorers, with five of them raising white flags: Cormac Byrne, Tiernan Quill, Charlie Ennis, Seán O'Leary and Donnacha O'Sullivan.
Free-taker Byrne was amongst the scorers early as the Shels led by 0-2 to nil, only for Ferns' first score to be a Richard Browne goal.
It was 1-1 to 0-2 after Bill Moulds scored a point, but Jon Negru responded with a tenth-minute goal to give the boys in black and amber a major fillip.
Shelmaliers added just four more points before the interval, as Ferns St. Aidans found some critical scores.
A 15th-minute Conor Leacy green flag finish got them going again. Murray started to motor to push his side ahead, and Leacy added a second goal later in the first-half as Ferns St. Aidans went into the interval leading by 3-4 to 1-6.
That lead grew further when Murray fired in a penalty three minutes after the restart. The hot-shot and Enda Byrne added points, but their side soon went 13 minutes without a score as the Shels came roaring back.
After a string of points from the Hollymount boys, Charlie Ennis found the goal to make it 4-7 to 2-12.
Three more points from Shelmaliers put them two up, but the big finish from Murray, with three consecutive points to end the final, was just enough for Ferns St. Aidans to emerge victorious.
Ferns St. Aidans: Aidan Bowe; Adam Kehoe, Ryan Rossiter, Darragh Gahan; Kevin Leonard, Enda Byrne (0-1), Daniel Nolan; Peter Logan, Shane Whelan-Turner; Bill Moulds (0-1), Bobby Murray (1-8, 0-5 frees, 1-0 pen.), Liam Redmond; Matthew Bates, Conor Leacy (2-0), Richard Browne (1-0). Subs. - Adam Connolly, Paddy Kinsella, Ian Hanley, Jack Byrne, Kenny Murphy.
Shelmaliers: Aaron Tobin; Daryl Lawlor, Andy Connors, Cathal Donohoe; Jamie Martin, Cian Nolan, Jack Sinnott; Cormac Byrne (0-8, 6 frees), Tiernan Quill (capt., 0-1); Charlie Ennis (1-2), Seán O'Leary (0-2), Barry O'Leary; Donnacha O'Sullivan (0-2), Jon Negru (1-0), Liam O'Brien. Subs. (unused) - James Dempsey, Matthew Smith, Liam Murphy, Ryan Curran, Jude Kehoe, Luke Corrigan, Ronan Mulqueen, Corey Roche.
Referee: Jamie Farrell (HWH-Bunclody).
October 27, U16 Football Div. 3 Shield Final: Duffry Rovers 2-11, Ferns St. Aidans 1-7
DUFFRY ROVERS claimed a deserved success when they defeated Ferns St. Aidans to take the Irish Independent Under-16 football Division 3 shield in Halo Tiles Centre of Excellence.
The Coolree-based club, who led from the early stages, were able to build an advantage and hold on against a Ferns side that showed no desire to quit.
However, the class of the Duffry attacking unit and, in particular, their impressive football skill-set, shone through.
Both clubs possessed some nice footballers in their ranks, but it was the Rovers lads who mixed the relentless defensive effort with silky attacks. Across the defence they shone, with Samuel Cole and Danny Nolan particularly impressive.
In the attacking half of the field the Duffry produced six different scorers, or seven if you ask their sideline who were apoplectic after a Max Belousovs effort they were right in line with in the second-half was waved wide by a distracted umpire.
Ferns St. Aidans got themselves into an early lead thanks to Kenny Murphy's point, but it didn't last long as replies from midfielders Kyle Nolan and Jack Doyle flipped the advantage the other way.
Those scores got Rovers going and they added a Jack Quigley point before Dara Shortall poked home from close range.
The lively Under-14 Aaron Nolan made it 1-4 to 0-1, but back came Ferns St. Aidans with points from Bobby Murray and Kevin Leonard.
Just when it appeared that the boys in red and white had found a foothold, a long-range Quigley free slipped to the net and Nolan added a late point to make it 2-5 to 0-3 at the break.
Both clubs tacked on two points each in the third quarter, with a Murray brace matched by Jack Quigley at the other end.
There didn't appear to be a lot of scoreboard drama on the horizon until Murray converted a penalty and followed it with a point to leave five between the teams (2-8 to 1-6).
However, the Duffry solidified again in the final ten minutes. Ferns St. Aidans did add a Conor Leacy score, but points from Owen Cloney, Aaron Nolan and Quigley ensured the boys from Enniscorthy District went home with the shield in tow.
Ferns St. Aidans: Adam Connolly; Adam Kehoe, Ryan Rossiter, Darragh Gahan; Liam Redmond, Enda Byrne, Aidan Bowe; Peter Logan, Shane Whelan-Turner; Bill Moulds, Bobby Murray (1-4, 0-3 frees, 1-0 pen.), Conor Lacey (0-1); Paddy Kinsella, Kenny Murphy (0-1), Kevin Leonard (capt., 0-1). Subs. - Mathieu Bates for Whelan-Turner (31), Noah Ryan for Kinsella (45), Ian Hanley for Bowe (49), also Jack Byrne, Richard Browne, Evan Broaders, Rhys Meegan, Daniel Nolan.
Duffry Rovers: Rory Nolan; Ryan Bowe, Samuel Cole, Cathal Kennedy; Jim Quigley, Danny Nolan, Seán Browne; Kyle Nolan (0-2), Jack Doyle (0-1); Jack Quigley (1-4, 1-0 free), Owen Cloney (0-1), Dylan Farrell; Aaron Nolan (0-3, 1 free), Dara Shortall (1-0), Max Belousovs. Subs. - Oran Bowe for Jim Quigley (34), also Noel Browne, Tomás Foley, Sonny Tobin, William Curtis, Cian Oakes, Cian Jordan.
Referee: Pádraig Byrne (Kilanerin).
- No newspaper reports carried of other underage final appearances in 2024
ONE OF the very best finals of the 2024 season took place in the Halo Tiles Centre of Excellence as Shelmaliers and Ferns St. Aidans played out a breathless masterpiece, with the latter eventually claiming the Irish Independent Under-16 hurling Division 2 shield title.
For the second week in a row Bobby Murray was the hero for the winners. Last time out it was his late major that proved to be the difference between two competitive sides in the Minor hurling Roinn 1 shield, and this time he scored the last three points to overturn a two-point deficit in the dying stages.
It was a remarkable effort from Ferns St. Aidans to get over the line against a talented and gutsy Shelmaliers side. They had to dig deep into their reserves to get the job done, having allowed an eight-point lead early in the second-half slip into a deficit heading into the last few minutes.
It was not only the mercurial Murray who stepped up for the victors. The defence, which had shipped 1-9 in an 18-minute spell, suddenly became a lock-down unit, not allowing another score after the 53rd minute.
It was a tough loss for the Shels but they should be proud, not only of their effort and bravery in fighting back from a large deficit, but also due to their overall play which was very impressive. One would expect big things from them in two years' time at Minor level.
They had six different scorers, with five of them raising white flags: Cormac Byrne, Tiernan Quill, Charlie Ennis, Seán O'Leary and Donnacha O'Sullivan.
Free-taker Byrne was amongst the scorers early as the Shels led by 0-2 to nil, only for Ferns' first score to be a Richard Browne goal.
It was 1-1 to 0-2 after Bill Moulds scored a point, but Jon Negru responded with a tenth-minute goal to give the boys in black and amber a major fillip.
Shelmaliers added just four more points before the interval, as Ferns St. Aidans found some critical scores.
A 15th-minute Conor Leacy green flag finish got them going again. Murray started to motor to push his side ahead, and Leacy added a second goal later in the first-half as Ferns St. Aidans went into the interval leading by 3-4 to 1-6.
That lead grew further when Murray fired in a penalty three minutes after the restart. The hot-shot and Enda Byrne added points, but their side soon went 13 minutes without a score as the Shels came roaring back.
After a string of points from the Hollymount boys, Charlie Ennis found the goal to make it 4-7 to 2-12.
Three more points from Shelmaliers put them two up, but the big finish from Murray, with three consecutive points to end the final, was just enough for Ferns St. Aidans to emerge victorious.
Ferns St. Aidans: Aidan Bowe; Adam Kehoe, Ryan Rossiter, Darragh Gahan; Kevin Leonard, Enda Byrne (0-1), Daniel Nolan; Peter Logan, Shane Whelan-Turner; Bill Moulds (0-1), Bobby Murray (1-8, 0-5 frees, 1-0 pen.), Liam Redmond; Matthew Bates, Conor Leacy (2-0), Richard Browne (1-0). Subs. - Adam Connolly, Paddy Kinsella, Ian Hanley, Jack Byrne, Kenny Murphy.
Shelmaliers: Aaron Tobin; Daryl Lawlor, Andy Connors, Cathal Donohoe; Jamie Martin, Cian Nolan, Jack Sinnott; Cormac Byrne (0-8, 6 frees), Tiernan Quill (capt., 0-1); Charlie Ennis (1-2), Seán O'Leary (0-2), Barry O'Leary; Donnacha O'Sullivan (0-2), Jon Negru (1-0), Liam O'Brien. Subs. (unused) - James Dempsey, Matthew Smith, Liam Murphy, Ryan Curran, Jude Kehoe, Luke Corrigan, Ronan Mulqueen, Corey Roche.
Referee: Jamie Farrell (HWH-Bunclody).
October 27, U16 Football Div. 3 Shield Final: Duffry Rovers 2-11, Ferns St. Aidans 1-7
DUFFRY ROVERS claimed a deserved success when they defeated Ferns St. Aidans to take the Irish Independent Under-16 football Division 3 shield in Halo Tiles Centre of Excellence.
The Coolree-based club, who led from the early stages, were able to build an advantage and hold on against a Ferns side that showed no desire to quit.
However, the class of the Duffry attacking unit and, in particular, their impressive football skill-set, shone through.
Both clubs possessed some nice footballers in their ranks, but it was the Rovers lads who mixed the relentless defensive effort with silky attacks. Across the defence they shone, with Samuel Cole and Danny Nolan particularly impressive.
In the attacking half of the field the Duffry produced six different scorers, or seven if you ask their sideline who were apoplectic after a Max Belousovs effort they were right in line with in the second-half was waved wide by a distracted umpire.
Ferns St. Aidans got themselves into an early lead thanks to Kenny Murphy's point, but it didn't last long as replies from midfielders Kyle Nolan and Jack Doyle flipped the advantage the other way.
Those scores got Rovers going and they added a Jack Quigley point before Dara Shortall poked home from close range.
The lively Under-14 Aaron Nolan made it 1-4 to 0-1, but back came Ferns St. Aidans with points from Bobby Murray and Kevin Leonard.
Just when it appeared that the boys in red and white had found a foothold, a long-range Quigley free slipped to the net and Nolan added a late point to make it 2-5 to 0-3 at the break.
Both clubs tacked on two points each in the third quarter, with a Murray brace matched by Jack Quigley at the other end.
There didn't appear to be a lot of scoreboard drama on the horizon until Murray converted a penalty and followed it with a point to leave five between the teams (2-8 to 1-6).
However, the Duffry solidified again in the final ten minutes. Ferns St. Aidans did add a Conor Leacy score, but points from Owen Cloney, Aaron Nolan and Quigley ensured the boys from Enniscorthy District went home with the shield in tow.
Ferns St. Aidans: Adam Connolly; Adam Kehoe, Ryan Rossiter, Darragh Gahan; Liam Redmond, Enda Byrne, Aidan Bowe; Peter Logan, Shane Whelan-Turner; Bill Moulds, Bobby Murray (1-4, 0-3 frees, 1-0 pen.), Conor Lacey (0-1); Paddy Kinsella, Kenny Murphy (0-1), Kevin Leonard (capt., 0-1). Subs. - Mathieu Bates for Whelan-Turner (31), Noah Ryan for Kinsella (45), Ian Hanley for Bowe (49), also Jack Byrne, Richard Browne, Evan Broaders, Rhys Meegan, Daniel Nolan.
Duffry Rovers: Rory Nolan; Ryan Bowe, Samuel Cole, Cathal Kennedy; Jim Quigley, Danny Nolan, Seán Browne; Kyle Nolan (0-2), Jack Doyle (0-1); Jack Quigley (1-4, 1-0 free), Owen Cloney (0-1), Dylan Farrell; Aaron Nolan (0-3, 1 free), Dara Shortall (1-0), Max Belousovs. Subs. - Oran Bowe for Jim Quigley (34), also Noel Browne, Tomás Foley, Sonny Tobin, William Curtis, Cian Oakes, Cian Jordan.
Referee: Pádraig Byrne (Kilanerin).
- No newspaper reports carried of other underage final appearances in 2024
