Dia dhaoibh,

We are into March and the playing fields are full of action again with leagues getting started across all sections of the club.

Premier Intermediate Football League Vs Na Piarsaigh

Aghada 3-16

Na Piarsaigh 0-10

Last Sunday our premier intermediate footballers got their league campaign off to a flying start with a dominant display over Na Piarsaigh. Aghada got off to a flyer with a Danny Creedon point after great link play between Cian Fleming and Diarmuid Byrne. This score was quickly followed up with another two points from Aaron berry and Jamie O’Hanlon. From the latter’s score, Aghada really pressurized the City sides kickout which reaped rewards when Diarmuid kicked a beauty of a score. Aghada were in full flow now and from the next kickout Cian Fleming and Tim Hartnett put ferocious pressure eon the Na Piarsaigh corner back who spilled the ball which allowed Aaron Berry to race away and bury the ball to the back of the net. The large Aghada support was great to see and they were really enjoying the football on show at this stage. There was still time for more before the break with Aghada adding three further points from the boot of Danny Creedon. The first of these was a free after Cian Fleming was fouled after great work by Kyle O’Shea. Danny’s second point is the period came from play after brilliant work by Aaron Stafford and Diarmuid Byrne. The final point of the half came from a placed ball after Diarmuid was fouled. At the break, Aghada were in a great position leading Na Piarsaigh 1-07 to 0-03.

The second half continued like the first with the home side in control. Ciaran O’Shea was having a solid game between the sticks while Ed Leahy, Jordan Tynan and Ronnie Power were flying in their defensive positions. The score of the game came when great work by Danny Creedon led to a fabulous effort by Diarmuid Byrne which flew between the posts. This was followed by two lovely scores by Tim Hartnett and Jamie O’Hanlon. The substitutes were starting to have an impact now with Charlie Terry setting up Aaron Berry for a fine score. Spectators thought they were in Anfield next as Shane Bennett rolled the ball to the back of the net after a pass from Berry. Mo Salah wouldn’t have finished it better!

Aghada were in control and with the forwards work rate extremely high, Charlie Terry popped over his first of two points. Score of the day followed after affine team move was finished by Cein O’Driscoll. Even the backs were roaming forward now, and Kyle O’Shea finished a great run by burying the ball to the back of the net after great play by Fintan Cody. Aidan O’Connell was then extremely unluck after crashing a shot against the cross bar after being supplied with a brilliant pass from Jack Norris. Shane Bennett then finished the scoring off for Aghada to round off an excellent start to the year.

Well done to everyone involved including Philip Moore, his management team and the players who put on a great display of football.

Panel: Ciaran O’Shea, Jake O’Donoghue, Aaron Stafford, Shane Bennett, Ed Leahy, Ronnie Power, Diarmuid Byrne, Kyle O’Shea, Charlie Terry, Dan Leahy, Jordan Tynan, Jamie O’Hanlon, Cein O’Driscoll, Danny Creedon, Max Ahern, Aaron Berry, Donagh Collins, Cian Fleming, Tim Hartnett, Aidan O’Connell, Fintan Cody, Jack Norris.

Junior A Football League Vs Castlemartyr

Aghada 4-06

Castlemartyr 2-11

The junior A footballers were the second game up last Sunday. The opponents were Castlemartyr who we were facing for the first time since our famous league semifinal last year where Charlie Terry struck with a last-minute goal to ensure victory for Aghada. That day Aghada had to fight their way back into the game but on Sunday our lads looked like they were in control especially when Castlemartyr were reduced to 14 men after about 20 minutes. However, to Castlemartyr's credit, they put on a great fighting performance and were leading by two points going into injury time. Player-Manager Mattie O’Connor had introduced himself to the fray at this stage and when it looked like the game was up for Aghada, somehow the ball was worked to Mattie who struck a shot that rebounded off a few bodies before ending up in the back of the net. This was to be the last play of the game and incredibly Aghada had taken victory right at the end of the game AGAIN. The game was a lively contest that had everyone in attendance on tender hooks right to the final whistle.

There were some great performances on both sides but its inly right to give a shout out to both goalkeepers who made some incredible stops throughout the game. Well done to our own Cian O’Shea who made one particularly stunning save where it looked like the Castlemartyr full forward had a certain goal but somehow Cian actually prevented him even kicking the ball with a brilliant tackle. So, a second league victory for the lads it was and a great start to the league. A brilliant day all round.

Panel: Cian O’Shea, Richie Condon, Kane Looney, Jack Corkery, Pete White, Jack Norris, Sean Byrne, Darragh Ryan, Cein O’Driscoll, Fintan Cody, Luke O’Connell, Max Ahern, Eoin Motherway, Alan Hogan, Mattie O’Connor, Scott Whyte, Aidan Slye, Ben Stafford, Oisin Counihan, Aaron Atkinson, Conor Maloney.

Upcoming Fixtures:

Monday 14th March: Junior Hurling League Vs Youghal in Rostellan at 8pm.

Wednesday 16th March: Junior C Football League Vs Erin’s Own in Rostellan at 8pm.

Thursday 17th March (St. Patrick’s Day): Premier Intermediate Football League Vs Castletownbere in Castletownbere at 12pm.

Monday 21st March: Junior A Football League Vs St. Catherine’s in Rostellan at 8pm.

Rebels Bounty:

Rebels Bounty has been a fantastic success for our club again this year. The club would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who joined the draw and supported Aghada GAA club. At the final whistle on sales day, the club had a brilliant 348 tickets in the draw. This is a fantastic figure and great credit is due to draw coordinator John Motherway and also to Pa O’Connor who put great work in to raise funds for the club through tickets sales. As well as the two lads, it was great to see the effort put in by the camogie and ladies football clubs. The effort put in by all was greatly appreciated and I’ve no doubt that these funds generated will allow us to maintain and further improve our facilities further in Rostellan. So finally, on behalf of the Aghada GAA executive committee a big thanks to every single one of you who purchased a ticket in this year’s Rebels Bounty draw. We look forward to watching the draws eagerly throughout the year and hopefully we’ll have a few winners to congratulate. And don’t forget, later in the year, we will be having a draw for our own for Aghada Rebels Bounty members.

Congratulations:

Congratulations to Alan Morrissey who got married on Friday to Rachel Healy. Alan has put in great work with teams over the last number of years across the juvenile and adult club. We wish Alan and Rachel many years of happiness together.

Club Shop:

With the matches back up and running, it’s time to make sure your kitted out for the year ahead. The girls in the shop have some lovely gear on offer. Make sure you call in and follow their social media channels. Please see message from Ger which details some information on some items that are currently available for order online. Some lovely gear here in the club colours:

MFC LINK NOW LIVE!

https://link.mfc-sports.com/teamwear/code/JAACI6

● Link in Bio on social media

● Link will close 23rd March @ 9am

● Bulk order, Online only, not available in the club shop

● Initials Included in price

● Delivered to door 5/6 weeks approx.

● Sizing up to 5XL

Please note;

'Lycra Melange' items are a slightly lighter green colour & fabric

'White shorts' are a sheen fabric (O'Neills are more matte)

'Navy T-shirt' is light Silver/Grey on top (not white)

Defibrillator:

The Aghada GAA defibrillator is currently out of action. This will hopefully be addressed shortly but in the meantime in case of emergency the nearest defibrillator is located at Lower Aghada Medical Centre. (The code for the local defibrillators in the area is 0814). We will update when the Aghada GAA defibrillator is back up and running.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade:

The Whitegate parade is back this year and any young (or old!) Aghada members who wish to be part of the club contingent in the parade please be outside Go Go’s at 12;15PM on Thursday.

Club Lotto

Our club lotto is taking place on St. Patrick's Day. The jackpot this week is €6,750. Tickets are available in all the usual outlets and online at this link: https://play.clubforce.com/play_newa.asp?ll_id=2408#Anchor

Be sure to tune in at 9:30pm on Thursday for some tunes from Johnty and all the local shout outs!

Well, that’s it for now. Best of luck to all the teams in action next week. Our Premier Intermediate footballers face the short journey to Castletownbere on St. Patrick’s Day. If you’re looking for a nice day trip, why not support the lads! Finally, it’s Seachtain na Gaeilge at the moment so why not use your cúpla focail down in Rostellan and on St. Patrick’s Day.

Slán go fóill,

Uinsionn Ó Ruacháin

Oifigeach Caidreamh Poiblí

Vince Rohan

PRO - Aghada GAA

Website for most up to date fixtures news and results - http://www.aghadagaa.com/