All County Leagues 2025
May 23, ACFL Div. 3 semi-final: Blackwater 4-5, Ferns St. Aidans 1-11
Blackwater will face St. Fintan’s in the EBS Mortgages Wexford All-County Football League Division 3 decider after grinding out a victory at home to Ferns St. Aidans on Friday.
The Wexford District club have been punching above their weight all campaign, facing off against sides in the championship grades ahead of them. It will be more of the same in the decider when they meet Intermediate contenders St. Fintan’s.
However, they have worked hard to get to this point and they will be a lively underdog. If they can match the determination and guts from this performance, and make the overall execution just a tad cleaner, they could well cause a surprise.
Not that this wasn’t an excellent performance in its own right. Ferns are no mugs and will be disappointed not to be heading forward to the decider after a scrappy performance.
They did lead in the early stages, as points from Rory Scallan, Patrick Breen and Eoin Murphy had them 0-3 to 0-2 up after eight minutes.
It got even worse for the hosts when Murphy cut inside and dipped a shot with the outside of his right boot into the top corner of Robert O’Leary’s net. When Breen added another dead-ball, Ferns led by 1-4 to 0-2 at the end of the opening quarter.
Yet from that point of some sort of control, Ferns lost their mojo, as those 30- and 40-yard passes to the full-forward line were not paying dividends and Blackwater responded. It began with an O’Connor point but the attacker went better again in the 23rd minute.
It all started with clever play by Eugene Clarke from Robert O’Leary’s kick-out. The hosts worked the ball upfield without turning over possession, and several pairs of hands touched it before O’Connor rattled in a superb finish.
With their tails up, Ollie Murphy cut the deficit to one (1-5 to 1-4). Then Blackwater pounced on a short Ferns kick-out, as Joseph Rossiter and O’Connor worked the ball to Alan Malanowski and the powerful midfielder provided the finish to make it 2-4 to 1-5 to his side at the interval.
Eoin Murphy got the first score of the second period for Ferns but they wouldn’t register again until Byron Jordan pointed in the 45th minute. In the meantime, Seb Rynhart was dismissed for back-to-back yellows and Blackwater forged on.
They did it first with an outrageous Tomás Murphy volley on the turn. A pass slipped through his fingertips near to goal, but instead of panicking he let the ball fall to knee-height and smashed an unstoppable volley to the roof of the net.
In the 44th minute Malanowski fumbled the ball under pressure and O’Connor fired off the deck to the net to make it 4-5 to 1-6.
Blackwater would not score again versus the 14 men and things started to look a little ropey when three consecutive Breen dead-balls, one from two-point range, made it a three-point game with 53 minutes on the clock.
Somewhat incredibly, the hosts would have to endure almost 16 more minutes, including an eye-watering eight and a half of additional time.
Ferns had some chances to add points and close the gap further, while Darren Byrne forced Conor Swaine into a fantastic save, but no further scores were added as Blackwater advanced to the decider.
Ferns St. Aidans: Conor Swaine; Jack Brennan, Paddy O’Hagan, Jerry Sheridan; Seb Rynhart, Conor Scallan (capt.), Seán Gahan; Brian Stafford, Patrick Breen (0-6, 4 frees, 1 2p free); Keith Breen, Rory Scallan (0-1), Byron Jordan (0-2); Lukas Kinsella, Eoin Murphy (1-2), Danny Dreelan. Subs. - Stephen O’Toole for Kinsella (39), Ryan Nolan for Dreelan (39).
Blackwater: Robert O’Leary; Robert McGuinness, Shane O’Leary, Eugene Clarke; Brian Óg Curran, Adam O’Connor, Ollie Murphy (0-1); Darren Byrne, Alan Malanowski (capt., 1-0); Jamie Lambert, Patrick O’Connor (2-3, 0-2 frees), Josh Culleton; Adam Murphy, Tomás Murphy (1-1, 0-1 free, Joseph Rossiter. Subs. - Kerill Sutton for A. Murphy (41), Rian Sammon for T. Murphy, inj. (57), Ian Curran for O. Murphy, inj. (60+4).
Referee: Niall McDonald (Crossabeg-Ballymurn).
May 31, ACHL Div. 2 semi-final: Ferns St. Aidans 4-25, St. James’ 0-17
It was an afternoon when Ferns St. Aidans welcomed back Niall Murphy and Corey Byrne-Dunbar from county duty, but the chief conductor of their orchestra was a man whose time with Wexford ended in 2022 after more than a decade of superb service.
Paul Morris looked as sharp as ever with an impressive haul of 1-5 from play as Saturday’s hosts coasted into the EEW All-County Hurling League Division 2 decider at the expense of an outclassed and under pressure St. James’.
And with Ryan Nolan making the other noteworthy contribution – shooting 2-2 after his early introduction for Ian Byrne – the outcome of this mis-match was never in doubt from midway through the opening half when Ferns were already coasting with an 0-8 to 0-1 lead.
In many ways it was a free shot for St. James’ as their promotion to Division 1 was already secured, and that campaign next year will be more beneficial than anything that a potential one-off Division 2 final might have offered.
However, the game did highlight the gulf that exists between an established Senior side and opponents who have been striving to escape from the Intermediate grade.
And while the Ramsgrange men have gone close on more than one occasion, they really cannot afford to be in any way depleted if they want to mount another major championship effort.
They found the pace and movement of Ferns far too hot to handle, with the home side reeling off eight points without reply between the sixth and 19th minutes to race into a 10-1 advantage.
The one bright spark for St. James’ was provided by talented youngster Paul Walsh, first at midfield and later in the half-forward line.
He ended with an excellent haul of eight points from play, but without support even his individual quality wasn’t enough to ruffle any Ferns feathers.
As if the visitors’ plight wasn’t bad enough, trailing by 0-14 to 0-3 after 27 minutes, they conceded three late goals before the interval and the gap rose to a whopping 20 points.
Ryan Nolan bagged his first after latching on to a long ball from Niall Murphy, with Paul Morris adding the second after a Corey Byrne-Dunbar handpass.
And Nolan pounced again at the start of additional time, with his shot evading Jaydn Cheevers at his near post as St. James’ found themselves turning around for the second-half 3-16 to 0-5 in arrears.
Damage limitation was their only hope at that stage, and they did fare somewhat better in the general exchanges, but what continued to catch the eye most was the teamwork and decision-making of the Ferns contingent as they piled on the scores.
Their fourth goal arrived in the 58th minute, finished by Chris Turner from a James Tonks pass, and they will be seeking silverware when they face Rapparees in the forthcoming final in McCauley Park, Bellefield.
Ferns St. Aidans: Michael Walsh; Conor Scallan, Niall Murphy, Declan Byrne; Patrick Breen, Eoin Murphy (capt.), Seán Gahan; Gavin Bailey (0-1), Tommy Dwyer (0-1); Peter O’Toole, Paul Morris (1-7, 0-2 frees), Corey Byrne-Dunbar (0-10, 6 frees); Stephen O’Toole (0-2), Chris Turner (1-1), Ian Byrne (0-2 frees). Subs. – Ryan Nolan (2-2) for I. Byrne, inj. (13), Ciarán Roberts for Gahan (HT), Paddy O’Hagan for D. Byrne (46), Jerry Sheridan for P. O’Toole (53), James Tonks for Dwyer (57), Niall Logan for S. O’Toole (57).
St. James’: Jaydn Cheevers; Paudie Barron, Jason Barron, Paul Barron; Darragh McPhillips, Robbie Barron (capt.), Josh White-Keating; Ben McPhillips, Paul Walsh (0-8, 1 free); Alan Walsh (0-2), Tommy Walsh, Sam Foley; Michael O’Grady (0-6, 5 frees), James Walsh, Tomás Barron. Subs. – Josh Delaney for J. Walsh (HT), Liam Murphy for White-Keating (46), Eoin Shannon for Foley (46), Colum Fitzgerald for Paudie Barron (52).
Referee: David O’Leary (Rathnure).
Blackwater will face St. Fintan’s in the EBS Mortgages Wexford All-County Football League Division 3 decider after grinding out a victory at home to Ferns St. Aidans on Friday.
The Wexford District club have been punching above their weight all campaign, facing off against sides in the championship grades ahead of them. It will be more of the same in the decider when they meet Intermediate contenders St. Fintan’s.
However, they have worked hard to get to this point and they will be a lively underdog. If they can match the determination and guts from this performance, and make the overall execution just a tad cleaner, they could well cause a surprise.
Not that this wasn’t an excellent performance in its own right. Ferns are no mugs and will be disappointed not to be heading forward to the decider after a scrappy performance.
They did lead in the early stages, as points from Rory Scallan, Patrick Breen and Eoin Murphy had them 0-3 to 0-2 up after eight minutes.
It got even worse for the hosts when Murphy cut inside and dipped a shot with the outside of his right boot into the top corner of Robert O’Leary’s net. When Breen added another dead-ball, Ferns led by 1-4 to 0-2 at the end of the opening quarter.
Yet from that point of some sort of control, Ferns lost their mojo, as those 30- and 40-yard passes to the full-forward line were not paying dividends and Blackwater responded. It began with an O’Connor point but the attacker went better again in the 23rd minute.
It all started with clever play by Eugene Clarke from Robert O’Leary’s kick-out. The hosts worked the ball upfield without turning over possession, and several pairs of hands touched it before O’Connor rattled in a superb finish.
With their tails up, Ollie Murphy cut the deficit to one (1-5 to 1-4). Then Blackwater pounced on a short Ferns kick-out, as Joseph Rossiter and O’Connor worked the ball to Alan Malanowski and the powerful midfielder provided the finish to make it 2-4 to 1-5 to his side at the interval.
Eoin Murphy got the first score of the second period for Ferns but they wouldn’t register again until Byron Jordan pointed in the 45th minute. In the meantime, Seb Rynhart was dismissed for back-to-back yellows and Blackwater forged on.
They did it first with an outrageous Tomás Murphy volley on the turn. A pass slipped through his fingertips near to goal, but instead of panicking he let the ball fall to knee-height and smashed an unstoppable volley to the roof of the net.
In the 44th minute Malanowski fumbled the ball under pressure and O’Connor fired off the deck to the net to make it 4-5 to 1-6.
Blackwater would not score again versus the 14 men and things started to look a little ropey when three consecutive Breen dead-balls, one from two-point range, made it a three-point game with 53 minutes on the clock.
Somewhat incredibly, the hosts would have to endure almost 16 more minutes, including an eye-watering eight and a half of additional time.
Ferns had some chances to add points and close the gap further, while Darren Byrne forced Conor Swaine into a fantastic save, but no further scores were added as Blackwater advanced to the decider.
Ferns St. Aidans: Conor Swaine; Jack Brennan, Paddy O’Hagan, Jerry Sheridan; Seb Rynhart, Conor Scallan (capt.), Seán Gahan; Brian Stafford, Patrick Breen (0-6, 4 frees, 1 2p free); Keith Breen, Rory Scallan (0-1), Byron Jordan (0-2); Lukas Kinsella, Eoin Murphy (1-2), Danny Dreelan. Subs. - Stephen O’Toole for Kinsella (39), Ryan Nolan for Dreelan (39).
Blackwater: Robert O’Leary; Robert McGuinness, Shane O’Leary, Eugene Clarke; Brian Óg Curran, Adam O’Connor, Ollie Murphy (0-1); Darren Byrne, Alan Malanowski (capt., 1-0); Jamie Lambert, Patrick O’Connor (2-3, 0-2 frees), Josh Culleton; Adam Murphy, Tomás Murphy (1-1, 0-1 free, Joseph Rossiter. Subs. - Kerill Sutton for A. Murphy (41), Rian Sammon for T. Murphy, inj. (57), Ian Curran for O. Murphy, inj. (60+4).
Referee: Niall McDonald (Crossabeg-Ballymurn).
May 31, ACHL Div. 2 semi-final: Ferns St. Aidans 4-25, St. James’ 0-17
It was an afternoon when Ferns St. Aidans welcomed back Niall Murphy and Corey Byrne-Dunbar from county duty, but the chief conductor of their orchestra was a man whose time with Wexford ended in 2022 after more than a decade of superb service.
Paul Morris looked as sharp as ever with an impressive haul of 1-5 from play as Saturday’s hosts coasted into the EEW All-County Hurling League Division 2 decider at the expense of an outclassed and under pressure St. James’.
And with Ryan Nolan making the other noteworthy contribution – shooting 2-2 after his early introduction for Ian Byrne – the outcome of this mis-match was never in doubt from midway through the opening half when Ferns were already coasting with an 0-8 to 0-1 lead.
In many ways it was a free shot for St. James’ as their promotion to Division 1 was already secured, and that campaign next year will be more beneficial than anything that a potential one-off Division 2 final might have offered.
However, the game did highlight the gulf that exists between an established Senior side and opponents who have been striving to escape from the Intermediate grade.
And while the Ramsgrange men have gone close on more than one occasion, they really cannot afford to be in any way depleted if they want to mount another major championship effort.
They found the pace and movement of Ferns far too hot to handle, with the home side reeling off eight points without reply between the sixth and 19th minutes to race into a 10-1 advantage.
The one bright spark for St. James’ was provided by talented youngster Paul Walsh, first at midfield and later in the half-forward line.
He ended with an excellent haul of eight points from play, but without support even his individual quality wasn’t enough to ruffle any Ferns feathers.
As if the visitors’ plight wasn’t bad enough, trailing by 0-14 to 0-3 after 27 minutes, they conceded three late goals before the interval and the gap rose to a whopping 20 points.
Ryan Nolan bagged his first after latching on to a long ball from Niall Murphy, with Paul Morris adding the second after a Corey Byrne-Dunbar handpass.
And Nolan pounced again at the start of additional time, with his shot evading Jaydn Cheevers at his near post as St. James’ found themselves turning around for the second-half 3-16 to 0-5 in arrears.
Damage limitation was their only hope at that stage, and they did fare somewhat better in the general exchanges, but what continued to catch the eye most was the teamwork and decision-making of the Ferns contingent as they piled on the scores.
Their fourth goal arrived in the 58th minute, finished by Chris Turner from a James Tonks pass, and they will be seeking silverware when they face Rapparees in the forthcoming final in McCauley Park, Bellefield.
Ferns St. Aidans: Michael Walsh; Conor Scallan, Niall Murphy, Declan Byrne; Patrick Breen, Eoin Murphy (capt.), Seán Gahan; Gavin Bailey (0-1), Tommy Dwyer (0-1); Peter O’Toole, Paul Morris (1-7, 0-2 frees), Corey Byrne-Dunbar (0-10, 6 frees); Stephen O’Toole (0-2), Chris Turner (1-1), Ian Byrne (0-2 frees). Subs. – Ryan Nolan (2-2) for I. Byrne, inj. (13), Ciarán Roberts for Gahan (HT), Paddy O’Hagan for D. Byrne (46), Jerry Sheridan for P. O’Toole (53), James Tonks for Dwyer (57), Niall Logan for S. O’Toole (57).
St. James’: Jaydn Cheevers; Paudie Barron, Jason Barron, Paul Barron; Darragh McPhillips, Robbie Barron (capt.), Josh White-Keating; Ben McPhillips, Paul Walsh (0-8, 1 free); Alan Walsh (0-2), Tommy Walsh, Sam Foley; Michael O’Grady (0-6, 5 frees), James Walsh, Tomás Barron. Subs. – Josh Delaney for J. Walsh (HT), Liam Murphy for White-Keating (46), Eoin Shannon for Foley (46), Colum Fitzgerald for Paudie Barron (52).
Referee: David O’Leary (Rathnure).
