Junior A Football Final
Starlights 1-7 Duffry Rovers 0-4
Well done to our Junior A footballers who had a well deserved victory over the Duffry Rovers in the Co. Final on Saturday at 1pm in Oylegate. While the outcome was uncertain until well into the second half I think it would be fair to say that the Starlights were the better team on the day.
The first half of the game was a dour enough affair with the half time score 3pts to 2 to the Starlights. However, the Stars did turn on a bit of sparkle in the second period with staunch defenders in the form of Captain Fantastic Niall Sunderland, the ever reliable Joe Carley, stalwart Gareth Kavanagh, the talented Wayne Breen and the hard working Joe Newe and skilful Brian Murphy keeping the Duffry forwards to only 2 scores and the inspirational introduction of super sub Oisin Carley getting the only goal of the game.
The combination of youth and experience in the guise of 45 year old Padge (Skinner) Walsh and the 19 year old Fran O`Gorman worked well in the middle giving good supply to our forwards gave us the scores to put the Duffry away in the closing stages. Old heads like Ronan Furlong, Declan Ivers and Damian (Milo) Mahon blended well with the fast and fit young guns Davy (Speedy) Morrissey, Rory O`Connor, Lee Murphy, Cathal Murphy for Lee and Oisin Carley for Rory to leave the final score at 1-7 to 4 pts to the Starlights.
This was a much needed win for the Club this year and this team has worked hard throughout the campaign and deserved their honours yesterday. It was heartening and an example to all young players to see Padge (Skinner) Walsh and George (Bombers) O`Connor receiving County medals at 45 and 44 respectively.
A special mention for Niall Sunderland who has been nothing short of a marvellous leader and captain - there were times during the halftime speeches that I regretted not being able to record what Niall was telling his charges - his constructive criticism and encouragement and attention to detail and total determination on the field was an example to all of them. I do remember him saying at halftime on Saturday that he wasnt leaving Oylegate without the title - and he didn’t!
In his acceptance speech he thanked the mentors Jim Nolan, Johnny Russell, Tony McClean and John Walsh for the work that they had done over the year and for preparing the team so well for the final hurdle. He had a special word of thanks for Padraig Doyle, team masseur who actually togged out for them on one occasion and for Medical person Tom Boland who was with them everyday and for Marie Lynch for looking after the jerseys. He thanked the Club for providing all the players with new tee shirts prior to the game and he thanked the Oylegate club for the use of the pitch and the referee, Co. Board Chairman Sean Quirke and the Duff and Browne families who sponsored the cup.
Later the win was celebrated in style in the Clubhouse where the entertainment was once again provided by the players and the mentors - they can do it on and off the field! Jim Nolan and Tony McClean played the music and I think as Skinner would say `The whole Panel sang it out`.
May I say as Club Secretary thanks lads for the pride and the passion - its not about cups but it is about winning them with heart and hand!
7/10/2006 Junior A Camogie League Final
Rapparees 0-9 Rathnure 3-9
The Junior A Camogie team were defeated by Rathnure on Saturday, it wasn’t our day unfortunately and Rathnure wanted it more, this was our 4th meeting this season, Rathnure beat us in the league and we beat them twice in the Championship, the main one being the County Final. Rathnure weren’t going to be beaten again and they proved that on the field.
The Rapps were very slow to get into the game in the first half but came back well in the second half when they got to within 5 points of Rathnure, but then Rathnure got another goal with about ten minutes which seemed to finish our girls altogether. Ah well we can’t win them all and we did afterall win the important one. The final score was Rathnure 3-9 V Rapps 0-9, best for the Rapps were Aideen Doyle, Jane Mythen, Michelle O’Rourke and Dawn O’Connor who played the 2nd half with a leg injury.
16/9/2005 Junior B Hurling (John Jude Cup)
Cloughbawn 3-7 Rapparees 1-6
A junior B team missing six regulars were well beaten by Cloughbawn in the final of the John Jude Doyle Cup. We dominated the opening quarter of the game but failed to rack up much of a tally on the scoreboard. Cloughbawn then struck for a goal and that invigorated their display while some of our lads seemed to tire. A second goal for the hoops before the break saw them lead by 7 points.
The Rapps needed to get a couple of scores early in the second half to get back into the game but we conceded a third goal almost straight away and the game was effectively over. We continued to struggle on manfully but we just found it too hard to score. Missing were Mick Hall, Wayne Breen, Dermot O’Shea, David Tyrrell, Oisin Carley and Pa “Fuzzy” Casey who had a very unfortunate work accident. Best for us were Pádraig Doyle, Eric Flynn, Rory Newe and Mick Nolan. Best of luck to Fuzzy in his recovery.
Team: John Tyrrell; James Newe, Podge Hall, Fiacre Ryan; Pádraig Doyle, Eric Flynn, Adrian Kirwan; Rory Newe, Graham Doyle; Joe Newe, Mick Nolan, Ger Foley; Pa O’Brien, Ed Shallow, Damien Breen. Joe Donnelly for Ed Shallow and Ed for Pa.
16/9/2005 Senior Football
Starlights 0-6 Castletown 1-6
9/9/2006 Junior A Camogie Final
Rapparees 0-7 Rathnure 0-4
6/9/2006 Minor Hurling
St Martins 3-12 Rapparees 0-7
3/9/2006 U18 Camogie
Rapparees 2-5 Buffers Alley 2-4
The U18’s beat Buffers Alley yesterday evening in the Championship – Rapps 2-5 V Buffers Alley 2-4, they now go on to meet Oulart in the semi-final on Tuesday 12th September.
30/8/2006 U18 Hurling
Rapparees 2-18 Ferns 1-1028/8/2006 Junior A Camogie
Rapparees 3-7 St Martins 2-5
The Junior A’s beat St. Martins yesterday evening to reach the County Final. The final score was St.Martins 2-5 V Rapparees 3-7. The scorers for the Rapps were Aoife Newe 3-0, Charlene Murphy 0-6, Bridget Carley 0-1.
An excellent game of camogie – St. Martins got off to a great start – they were a point ahead at half time – St. Martins 1-3 V Rapps 1-2 but the Rapps pulled out all the stops in the second half and played some fantastic skillful camogie.
They now go on to meet Rathnure in the County Final on Saturday 9th September (time and venue to be decided)
27/8/2006 Senior Hurling
Rapps 2-10 Shelmaliers 2-11
It was with bitter disappointment that Senior hurlers exited the Championship on Sunday last in Wexford Park losing out to the Shelmaliers by the narrowest of margins - 2-12 to 2-13. Looking at it positively ( if that is possible at this stage) it was a much more spirited performance than our previous debacle against St. Martins and we had plenty of chances to win it - with the play in the Shels half for most of the second period and despite scoring 2-6 we struck about 11 wides in that half any two converted would have won it for us and any more would have sown up the game and put it out of the Shels reach.
In Senior hurling you only get a certain amount of time in any game where you are on top and dominating and if you do not capitalise and penalise then the game is lost. Unfortunately, when we hit our purple patch we incapable of putting teams away and until we get our forwards to do that we will not be in contention for the honours in Wexford. With only 3 out of our 6 forwards scoring - Tomas (Mossy) Mahon hurling well and notching up a personal tally of 1-7, Richard Murphy getting his usual tally of 1-1 and Eoin Quigley. The rest of our scores coming from Adrian Fenlon and Ollie O`Connor a point each from the middle of the field and one from Declan (Skippy) Ruth. We have problems that need to be addressed and solutions need to be found - but lets not sound the death knell and lets not have undue and harsh criticism. It was heartbreaking to hear Paudge (Skinner) Walsh say in the dressing room after the game that he was finished with senior hurling - a man whose heart and soul is in the game and with the Rapparees. He has given so much over the years both on and off the field - he has done as much as he could - he has loved and served his Club through thick and thin and I don’t think that any of our players appreciated the calibre of the man with them or indeed the calibre of the men that are and have been with them over the past number of years.
Other Clubs would have happily paid for the services of men like Skinner - but his heart and his loyalty was always with the Rapps and it is devastating to see him go without attaining the success that he so badly wanted for us. We will never be able to thank him enough for the time, the dedication, the effort, the loyalty and the love he has given us - money couldn’t buy it. What’s done is done now and we will all have to pull together and strive to ensure that we come back stronger than ever in next years Senior Hurling Championship as the saying goes `Every storm begins with a breeze`. Lets start the breeze.
26/8/2006 Junior Hurling
Rapps 1-14 St Fintans 1-5
Our Junior hurling team put in a gutsy performance on Saturday evening last to avoid relegation - beating St. Fintans 1-14 to 1-5. We began well - playing with the wind and recorded the first 2 scores - passes from Maurice Donohoe and Damian Barron were converted with ease by Anthony Russell who had a marvellous game throughout. The Fintans hit back quickly with a goal but Rapps weren’t inclined to stay behind for long as Anthony Russell struck over another fine point following another great pass from Maurice Donohoe. An excellent catch by Cathal Murphy in the 13th minute resulted in another good score taken by Cathal himself. Shortly afterwards a foul on Cathal was blown by Referee Mick Gannon and the accurate Tony Boland made it 5 points to 1-1. The Fintans drew level then following a mistake between Declan Barron and Peter O’Sullivan in the middle of the field. Another good catch by Cathal Murphy who is blocked down on the strike and the ball goes out for 65 which is expertly converted by centre back Jim Holden. The Fintans take the lead shortly before the break but it is short lived with both Maurice Donohoe and Damian Barron getting in two good strikes leaving the halftime score 8 points to 1-4 to Rapps.
The start of the second half sees some brilliant defending by the Rapps backs as we turned around to play against a wind that was rising all the time. Niall Sunderland, Declan Ivers, Fiacre Ryan, Joe Carley, Damian Barron and Jim Holden were all in excellent form and held the Fintans to just one point in the entire second period. Our two men in the middle Declan Barron and Peter O’Sullivan really came into their won and fought and hassled and harried for every ball while up front our forwards continued to score with a marvellous goal coming from Maurice Donohoe and a second point from Cathal Murphy who worked hard for possession coming out to the half forward line and wonderful linking between Anthony Russell and Maurice Donohoe netting them each another 2 points. If we had hurled like this in the Championship we would never have ended up in relegation!
Anthony Russell 5pts, Maurice Donohoe 1-3, Cathal Murphy and Tony Boland - 2pts each, Damian Barron and Jim Holden 1 pt each.
20/8/2006 Junior Football
Starlights 0-13 Duffry Rovers 0-11
The Stars recorded a victory over Duffry Rovers in the quarter final of the Junior football Championship replay on Saturday evening in Killurin. It was a competitive and close game that could have gone either way. Many times during the match it looked as though there was nothing between the sides and up to the final 6 minutes one would have been excused for anticipating another draw and extra time. However, the Starlights stuck to the task and finished strong scoring 13points to the Duffry’s 11. Some of our points were actually outstanding scores - Lee Murphy’s frees were impeccable, Anthony Russell got 2 points both very fine kicks as were Davy Morrissey’s 2 points but I know I’ll be forgiven for signalling out one score on the night as the score of the season so far - and that was a brilliantly executed sideline that went straight over the bar in true Matty Forde style - struck expertly by Brian Murphy.
Throughout the game there was good consistent pressure from our forwards scoring 6 points in the first half and 7 in the second and good solid defending from our backs - particularly Joe Newe who threw himself in front of a certain goal and Niall Sunderland - Captain Fantastic - who came out as far as the middle of the field in the closing stages of the game to stop the ball going anywhere near his own goal. John Daly got in several good block downs in the middle of the field and Wayne Breen as always does the job hes out there to do. Well done to all concerned - players and mentors - this places us in a semi-final slot - and with a little bit of luck and determination we could go all the way. Scorers: Lee Murphy - 5 points, Davy Morrissey, Anthony Russell and Brian Murphy - 2 points each and Declan Ivers, Ronan Furlong - 1 point each.
18/8/2006 Junior B Hurling
Monageer / Boolavogue 1-9 Rapparees 2-11
The Junior B hurlers got over their disappointment at losing out on qualification for the District final by overcoming Monageer in the semi-final of the John Jude Doyle shield on Friday night. Having got off to a flying 1-3 to 0-0 lead we allowed Monageer back into the match with some unanswered points. However we began to pull away in the second half and won by five points in the end, 2-11 to 1-9. Best for us were John Tyrrell in goal, Wayne Breen in midfield and Mick Nolan and Fuzzy Casey up front.
Team: John Tyrrell; James Newe, Podge Hall, Fiacre Ryan; Rory Newe, Eric Flynn, Adrian Kirwan; Wayne Breen, Oisin Carley; Ger Foley, Mick Nolan, Joe Newe; Damian Breen, Pa Casey, Graham Doyle. Dermot O'Shea, Pa O'Brien and Ed Shallow.
17/8/2006 U12 Hurling
Shelmaliers 4-2 Rapparees 4-8
14/8/2006 U21 Hurling
Oulart/The Ballagh 2-8 Rapparees 0-12
This was such an improved performance from our young guns despite being beaten by Oulart by 2pts it did restore some sense of pride in the jersey and in the Club. It was a good game of hurling with many of our players trying particularly hard and I will be forgiven if I single out Fran O`Gorman not just for his accuracy getting 9 points from frees but for his persistance and determination - he was beaten three times on one ball but never let it out of his sights and drove forward after it each time eventually picking it and getting it in to his forwards - he has an attitude that no-one is going to get the better of him - and thats what we need - we need the passion with the hurling to win anything. Another player that I am going to mention is Fiacre Ryan who has come on in leaps and bounds this year and had a great game last night - I am going to put this down to hurling - Fiacre has gotten some great games under his belt at Junior B this year - and to all those young guys who think perhaps that Junior B is beneath them - take a look at Fiacre Ryan - as Feno said he was told at the beginning of the year that Fiacre Ryan couldn't hurl - he was one of the best hurlers out of the 30 last night - it just proves that hurling and constant hurling pays off. Well done to all the lads they went well - but again I have to come back to my hobbyhorse - we hurled well around the field and what did we score - again no prizes for guessing - our quota - 12points - once again not enough to beat anyone!
Scorers: Fran O`Gorman 9pts/Eoin Quigley 2pts/Mark Mythen 1pt.
14/8/2006 U14 Hurling
Rapparees 4-16 Rathnure 3-4
13/8/2006 Junior Hurling
Clongeen 0-16 Rapparees 1-9
Our juniors hurlers were out on Sunday at 5.30pm against Clongeen down in Grantstown and this was one that we had to win or face relegation. Despite showing a bit more heart and hurling than the Seniors they were beaten - Clongeen scoring 16points - and no prizes for guessing our score - 1-9 or 12points - our usual tally. Different team - different venue - different grade - same problem! We scored 1-7 in the first half to Clongeens 6points and seemed to be hurling well after the break we could only manage 2 points in the second half and one of those was from a free - any wonder we were beaten.
Scorers:
Tony Boland 3pts/Jim Holden 2 pts/Maurice Donohoe 2pts/Mark Mythen 1 goal/Cathal Murphy/Ronie Furlong 1pt each.
12/8/2006 Senior Hurling
Rapparees 0-8 St Martins 0-16
What could one say about our performance in Senior Hurling over the weekend - to begin with it certainly wasn’t senior hurling - it was closer to Junior B and indeed that is probably totally unfair to Junior B’s as they do try to hurl and generally there is a bit of passion and hunger about them - both attributes that were sadly lacking in our Senior hurlers on Saturday in Wexford Park against St. Martins in the second round of the Championship 8 points to 16.
To say that we were bad would be an understatement - we looked as though we had never hurled before! How could we let ourselves and our club down like this? Our hurlers will have to ask themselves that question - how could they allow themselves to go out and look that bad - have they no respect for themselves - never mind the club?
I could go on - but I won’t - we will have to put it behind us and try to address some of our problems before the next game or we will be exiting another championship. Our main problem - our age old problem - our problem for the past 13 years - at the very least - and our problem at all grades of adult hurling - we cannot score enough to beat anyone. That’s it - it’s as simple as that - and it has been for the past number of years - so why are we not seeking a solution? We can hurl out of our skins in every other area of the field but if the ball is not going into the back of the net or over the bar then it’s not worth a curse - the scores must go on the board. We have constantly played all our best hurlers in the backs - this is not just our way - its Wexford’s way - we have to change that - I’m not running down the defence positions but you have to be more skillful to hurl in the forwards - in the backs if you are out in front of your man you can gain possession and clear - as a forward you must be out in front - gain possession - beat your man - and score - we cannot do that so we don’t win games.
In the long term we need to change our coaching methods at U/10 but in the short term we need to do specific work with forwards – from our half forward line in there is no movement – when one of our forwards gains possession he actually doesn’t know what to do – he looks around for anyone else to pass it to and generally speaking there is no one else there as no one else wants the dilemma! We will have to adopt Brian Cody’s style of catch and strike – now I know the Kilkenny forwards struck 18 wides on Sunday – but you are far better to take the chance than be hooked – that hands the initiative back to the opposition – our forward play has to become automatic – as in catch and strike – we need a forward plan and we need players who are not afraid to take on their markers and head for goal – we need leaders on the field – we have a lot of good young hurlers on our Senior hurling panel but they need leadership on the field and someone has to take on that mantle.
11/8/2006 U16 Hurling
Rapparees beat St Annes
10/8/2006 U12 Hurling
Rapparees 6-18 Buffers Alley 1-2
9/8/2006 Minor Hurling
Rapps beaten by Buffers Alleys
31/7/2006 U21 Football
Starlights 1-9 Shelmaliers 1-13
Disappointment for our U/21 footballers last night at Bellefield going down to the Shelmaliers 1-13 to 12points in extra time - the final score is not really a true reflection of the game as there was never much between the sides throughout at half of normal time the score was 1-5 to 6pts to the Starlights and at fulltime 10 points each it was only in extra time that the Shels managed to pull away. Unfortunately, for Starlights we lost 2 key players during the game Derek Tobin and Ricky Fox - Derek in normal time and Ricky in extra time - so considering that we were playing with 14 men at times we put up a remarkable performance. Despite losing the game mentors were happy with the commitment and the fight shown by many of these young players who in fairness had not trained for this football championship at all and had only played together once prior to last night - and that was when they played the first round. This is due to the crazy system in the county whereby U/21 hurling began first and our players managed to get themselves into a semi final spot and then the powers that be decided to begin the football campaign - really encouraging for a dual club - why on earth the hurling couldn`t have been completed before the football began is defies reason and certainly is not of any benefit to either code - so why I would like to ask is it being done like this - who is it benefiting?
Best for the Starlights on the night Mark Mythen/Cillian Lett/Fran O`Gorman/Cathal Murphy/Lee Murphy/Davy Morrissey/Eoin Quigley/Derek Tobin/Ricky Fox and goalie Pa Doyle.
Scorers: - Ricky Fox I goal/Lee Murphy 4pts/Davy Morrissey 3pts/David Tyrrell and Cillian Lett 1pt each.
Well done lads you showed courage and determination and the game could have gone either way in normal time.
29/7/2006 Junior A Football
Starlights 0-10 Duffry Rovers 0-10
On Sunday evening our Junior Footballers drew with Duffry Rovers in Bree in the Championship. We have played the Duffry so often this year at all grades of the Championship we are getting fed up looking at each other! The game which finished at 10 points each was played in a wind swept Bree and although we had several chances to win it – including a penalty – which was kicked wide – we were happy enough to come away with the draw in the final analysis. There were some fine displays of football on the night by Brian Murphy, Ricky Fox, Lee Murphy, Declan Ivers and Cillian Lett and Cathal Murphy, Joe Newe, Joe Carley, Anthony Russell, Sean Kelly Davy Morrissey and John Daly worked hard to keep us in contention throughout. The first half finished at 7 points to 3 to the Duffry so the momentum had to be stepped up in the second period with Starlight scoring 7 points to the Duffry`s 3 exactly the reverse of the first period – the wind being an obvious influence on both halves.
Scorers: Brian Murphy 3pts/Lee Murphy/Anthony Russell 2pts each and Davy Morrissey/Ricky Fox and Sean Kenny 1pt each.
28/7/2006 Junior A Camogie
Rathnure 1-6 Rapparees 2-5
The Junior A’s played Rathnure last Friday night in the Championship. The final score was Rathnure1-6 V Rapparees 2-5.
The rapps scorers were Niamh Buckley 1-0, Charlene Murphy 0-3, Sarah Nolan 1-0 and Oarnait McSwiney 0-2. A fantastic game of camogie .
28/7/2006 Juvenile Hurling
Rapparees beaten by Oulart by 4 points.
27/7/2006 Junior B Hurling
Marshalstown 2-8 Rapparees 3-10
Our Junior B`s pulled out all the stops on Thursday night last in Farmleigh beating Marshalstown 3-10 to 2-8 and securing a place in the closing stages of the district campaign. Marshalstown had not been beaten in this competition and I think it came as a surprise to them that the Rapps were the only ones to topple them. Rapparees worked hard as a team last night and it was this combined effort that forced the win. The fullback line of Fiace Ryan/James Newe and Adrian Kirwan were solid throughout as were the half back line of Rory Newe/Eric Flynn and Padraig Doyle, Michael Hall and Wayne Breen fought hard in the middle for possession and up front David Tyrrell at fullforward and the dazzling Pa Fuzzy Casey and the accurate and stylish Ger Foley picked off the scores assisted by Michael Nolan Joe Newe and Oisin Carley. And John Muckers Tyrrell in the goal brought off a couple of excellent saves to keep us in contention.
When David Tyrrell came off with an injury early in the second half we thought that the death knell would sound for us but the lads picked up their game and more than compensated for the loss - with about 10 minutes to go we had a lead of 5 points and didnt drop it till the final whistle. An excellent overall team performance from a team who showed little promise at the beginning of the season - but have become a settled side who are improving with each and every game.
Scores: Ger Foley 5pts/Pa Fuzzy Casey 2-1/ David Tyrrell 1 goal and Michael Nolan/Michael Hall/Joe Newe and Oisin Carley 1pt each.
26/7/2006 Minor Hurling
Rapparees 6-22 Oulart/The Ballagh 3-5
Well done to our minor hurlers last Wednesday night who beat Oulart in the Championship 6-22 to 3-5.
Oulart were no match for this team who seemed to outclass them in every position on the field with the result that the game ceased to be a contest early in play - but our lads continued to hurl away and take their chances as though the final outcome was always in doubt - netting 5-11 to 1-2 in the first half and 1-11 to 1-3 in the second period. This is an uplifting trend - it is good to see that we play our own game regardless of the opposition - and if we get a chance to bury teams we do so - this might sound ruthless but trust me it is the way to go.
Well done to all concerned - players and mentors.
21/7/2006 Junior B Football
Starlights 1-13 Cloughbawn 1-2
Considering the fact that we didnt have a team at 8pm last night and the game was due to start - we did remarkably well to come off with a convincing win over Cloughbawn in the Junior B Football Championship last night in Bellefield - 1-13 to 1-2. I want to say a most sincere thank you to all the juveniles who turned up for us and particularly to Arran Ronan and Thomas Collins and Barry Nolan who went home and got their gear when they heard that we were short and Podge Hall and Matt Flynn who answered the call (literally) as well.
I think it would be fair to say that everyone enjoyed their game and there was some marvellous defending and some marvellous scores taken - the biggest cheers on the night would have to be for a point scored by Sean Russell and another by Pa O’Brien - Benny Mythen had an excellent game at fullback and up front Barry (Baz) Nolan got us off to a blazing start scoring 1-2 in the first 15 minutes - Ger Foley our accurate marksman scored a total of 7 points and Dean O’Connor gave a trojan performance at corner back despite suffering from a tummy bug prior to the game and Damian Breen at wing back got great possession and kept striving forward - Paul Byrne at wing forward looked dangerous in attack and picked off a lovely point for himself - our staunch defenders Fiacre Ryan and James Newe gave us their usual hard working performance and David Wall held his own in the corner back position. Oisín Carley and Tony Mackey were main men in the middle and fought hard for possession throughout.
A good team performance and a good result.
Team: Matt Flynn, Dean O`Connor, Benny Mythen, David Wall, Fiacre Ryan, James Newe, Damian Breen, Oisin Carley, Ger Foley, Paul Byrne, Tony Mackey, Barry Nolan, Pa O`Brien, Podge Hall, Sean Russell.
Subs: Arran Ronan for Podge Hall and Thomas Collins for Sean Russell.
Scorers: Ger Foley 7pts, Barry Nolan 1-2 Sean Russell, Tony Mackey, Paul Byrne, Pa O`Brien 1pt each.
20/7/2006 Minor Hurling
Harriers 1-16 Rapps 3-11
Our Minor hurlers had a good win over a strong Harriers team last night in Pairc Garman - in a most entertaining game that came right down to the wire - 3-11 to 1-16. Fair play to the lads they battled hard to the very end and held on to get the win.
17/7/2006 U21 Football
Starlights 3-3 Bannow/Ballymitty 1-8
Our U/21 footballers over came Bannow/Ballymitty by the narrowest of margins to go through to the second round of the championship last night in a sun basked Bellefield. We got off to a slow start probably because these lads had up to this been concentrating on the hurling championship and it came as a surprise almost when we got the fixture for football - thus our football left a lot to be desired in the opening stages - matters werent improved when we lost Rory O’Connor perhaps a little harshly after a tackle on a Bannow player. At this stage Bannow definitely looked the better footballers and we seemed to be struggling to stay with them finishing the first half 1-1 to 4pts. The sending off seemed to galvanize the Stars into action and in the second half we more than compensated for the missing man - the plan which was to get the ball in quick to David Tyrrell at full forward worked with him scoring 3 goals in all and definitely being the difference between the sides - but the ball had to be got in there and great credit is due to Derek Tobin/Fiacre Ryan/ Mark Mythen who drove forward time after time as did Killian Lett and John Daly and Cathal Murphy when he moved back to the middle of the field following the sending off. Pa Doyle gave his us his usual staunch performance in the goal to deny Bannow several times and only succombing towards the end of the encounter.
Pa Doyle, Fiacre Ryan, Derek Tobin, Larry Doyle, Rory O`Connor, Killian Lett, Mark Mythen, John Daly, Ronan Lamb, Cathal Murphy, Tony Mackey, Davy Morrissey, Eoin Quigley, David Tyrrell, Tom Quigley.
Subs: Lee Murphy for Tom Quigley, James Newe for Larry Doyle.
Score: 3-3 to 1-8.
Scorers: David Tyrrell 3 goals, Davy Morrissey 2pts and Lee Murphy 1pt.
17/7/2006 U14 Football Semi-final
Starlighst 8-11 Craanford 1-3
14/7/2006 U16 Hurling
St Martins Beat Rapparees
14/7/2006 Senior Hurling League
Rapparees 4-11 Shels 2-7
Team: Brian Carley; John Murphy, Garret Kavanagh, Derek Tobin; Kevin walsh, Ryan Quigley, Mark Quigley; Eoin Quigley, Tom Wall; David Morrissey, Ollie O'Connor, Fran O'Gorman; Ricky Fox, MArk Gahan, Peter O'Sullivan. Karl Cullen for Jake, Eddie Tobin for Peter and ...
13/7/2006 Junior B Hurling
Rapparees 4-16 Cloughbawn 3-7
This was a good win for the junior B's against a weakened Cloughbawn side. It seemed that we knew we were better than them however and we did not get going in the first half. We were slotting over a lot of good points in particular from Ger FOley, Mick Hall, Mick Nolan and Fuzzy Casey but they got two poxy goals to keep them in the game. The first one came from a sideline cut - the ball headed towards the square, Podge Hall missed the catch, the ball landed in the sand and the full forward kicked it in. The second one was the result of two backs going up for the same high ball and absolutely bursting each other. The ball squirmed out to the forward and he slotted it home. That left the half time score at 0-11 to 2-4 even though we dominated the game.
We went out determined to sort out the situation and we started hitting the tackles at a more serious rate. David Tyrrell had come on as full forward and hit the crossbar in the first minute before banging home two goals to kill the game. We played well and got some good passing mvoements together but Cloughbawn gave us space to do that. It will be tougher from now on.
Team: John Tyrrell; James Newe, Podge Hall, Fiacre Ryan; Adrian Kirwan, Eric FLynn, Padraig Doyle; Michael Hall, Wayne Breen; Pa Casey, Joe Hyland, Oisin Carley; Joe Newe, Mick Nolan, Ger Foley. David Tyrrell, Damian Breen, Pa O'Brien, Barry Nolan,
12/7/2006 Minor Hurling
Rapparees 1-13 Shelmaliers 2-13
11/7/2006 Senior Football League
Clongeen 1-3 Starlights 0-8
The Starlights were unfortunate to end their All County League campaign last evening just short of a League Final slot. Beating Clongeen 8 pts to 1-3 meant that they ended up with 8points in all as did Killanerin - but because they had beaten us earlier in the season - they go through to play Castletown in the Final. After a poor start to the campaign Starlights came good in the end and just missed the boat almost by default.
In a windy Clongeen last night we made very hard work of it - scoring only 5 points in the first half against the wind and only 3 in the second half aided and abetted by it. Despite having the ball in the Clongeen goal area for almost the entire first 18 minutes of the second half we had only one point to show for it - a dismal display - but doing just enough in the closing stages to pip it.
Team: Pa Doyle, Pa Murphy, Liam Boland, Derek Tobin, Killian Lett, Mark Gahan, Mark Quigley, Ollie O’Connor, Tom Wall, Willie Hudson, John Daly, Anthony Russell, Maurice Donohoe, Gary Brilly, Davy Morrissey. Subs - Rory O’Connor for Davy Morrissey, Mark Mythen for Anthony Russell, Ronie Furlong for Maurice Donohoe.
Scorers: - Willie Hudson 4pts, Gary Brilly 2pts, Anthony Russell and Maurice Donohoe 1pt each.
10/7/2006 Junior A Camogie Championship
Rapparees 3-13 St. Ibars 1-6
10/7/2006 U16 Co Football Final
Starlights 3-8 Taghmon/C 1-11 (after ET)
Taghmon/Camross proved a very hard nut to crack and it was only a goal from Paul Byrne at the end of normal time that allowed us to stay in the game. A strong wind proved detrimentral to both sides but in the first period of extra time it was the Stars who were against the wind who played the strongest and went into a deserved two point lead.
However Taghmon came back strongly at us and drew level and it was left to substitute full forward Oisin Dunbar to slot over a point and crash hiome the match winning goal to leave us victorious.
Star performances from Sam O'Shea and Jonathon Whelan at corner back, John James Dunne and Paul Byrne.
Brendan Doyle, Sam O'Shea, John Ryan, Jonathon Whelan, Dean Ryan, John James Dunne, Thomas Collins, Joe Cullen, Dean Leacy, Paul Byrne (C), James Peare, David Wall, Aaron Ronan, Darren Buttle, Barry Nolan, Ricky O'Leary, Evan O'Rourke, Fergal Mackey, Jimmy O'Leary, Oisin Dunbar, Ashley O'Connor, Adam Jordan, David Doyle, Matthew Deane, Andrew Kelly
10/7/2006 U21 Hurling
Rapparees 1-17 St Anne's 2-10
Congrats to our U/21 hurlers who did well last night in Bellefield beating St. Annes 1-17 to 2-9 and qualifying for the County Semi Final. The Annes proved to be strong opposition and our lads had to pull out all the stops to beat them - led by Derek Tobin - Captain Fantastic - who leads with courage and commitment - he was ably assisted in the fullback line by Declan Barron and Patrick Quigley who both gave excellent displays in defence as did Fiacre Ryan in the halfback line - Fiacre is improving with every outing - Fran O'Gorman and Peter O’Sullivan did well in the middle - with the very skilful and accurate Frano scoring a total of 9 points - up front there were some excellent scores taken with all our forwards trying hard to break through a staunch Annes defence - probably the best score of the game was a marvellous point by Derek Tobin from a free in his own half.
Cathal Murphy made a huge difference when he was introduced for Daithi Mernagh - getting a point almost immediately he entered the fray and working well in the full forward position contesting everything and blocking and hassling making it difficult for the Annes defence to get in any sort of a clearance - his efforts paid off when he kicked a ball that looked to be going into the top corner of the net but at the last minute rose up and over the bar - the Annes goalie made a good save on another of his shots - Ricky Fox in the corner was dangerous each time in possession notching up a total of 1-1 and Mark Mythen who started at full but moved to the corner after the arrival of Cathal Murphy - found more space in this position which enabled him to distribute good ball to the rest of the forwards.
Overall a very good performance with everyone focused and committed - well done to all concerned - players and mentors alike. It is marvellous to be looking forward to a Semi Final slot against Oulart - rather unfair of the powers that be that have so little regard for this championship that they cannot find a neutral venue for both semi finals - these U/21s are the future of all our clubs and perhaps the future of the county and yet they are not important enough for county fixtures committee to look for a neutral venue for county semi finals - what a lot they are doing for hurling in Wexford!
9/7/2006 Junior A Hurling
Rapparees 1-13 Davidstown 2-21
Our Junior A’s had a similar problem on Sunday evening when they lined out against Davidstown at Bellefield. Albeit it in much better weather conditions nothing else had improved - again we were struggling to make the 15 and once again we had to rely on minors in Tommy Foley, David Murphy and Pa O’Brien and U21 Cathal Murphy who is playing tonight and shouldn’t have had to line out but many thanks to you Cathal - without you we wouldn’t have been able to fulfil the fixture. Our Junior B’s who had played the evening before helped out here too and well done to John Tyrrell in the goal who made a couple of brilliant saves and Pa Casey who did well at corner back. Once again we struggling to make the 15 we were never going to be strong enough for Davidstown first team and the final score was 1-13 to 2-21.
Team: John Tyrrell, Pa Casey, Declan Ivers, Tommy Foley, Joe Newe, Gareth Kavanagh, Damian Barron, Ollie O’Connor, Cathal Murphy, Maurice Donohoe, Damian Mahon, Tony Boland, Pa O’Brien, Ronan Furlong, Jim Holden.
Scorers: Ronie Furlong 1-4 Ollie O Connor 4 pts, Damian Mahon 2pts, Tony Boland and Maurice Donohoe 1pt each.
8/7/2006 Junior B Hurling
Rapparees 1-7 Ballyfad 2-11
What with the Oxygen Concert in Dublin and our U/21’s playing in the second round of the Championship tonight and holidays and injuries we were seriously depleted this weekend when it came to lining out our Junior A and Junior B squads. Our Junior B’s played Ballyfad in Bellefield on Saturday evening in horrendous weather conditions and despite gallant efforts by many of our players we went down to them 1-7 to 2-11 with Ballyfad’s second goal coming in the final stages of the game. The lads did their best to stay with them and I would have to compliment Ricky Fox who despite his commitment to U/21 hurling championship on Monday - stood into the goal for us until our regular goalkeeper John Mulqueen arrived. Rory Newe who lined out at wing back and gave an excellent account of himself is also part of the U/21 squad as is Lee Murphy our corner back and Barry Nolan who played at wing forward despite being in our Juvenile County final tonight and David (Biscuit) Murphy who lined out at corner forward and scored an excellent point despite being one of our Minors who will begin their championship campaign this Wednesday night in Bellefield, and the talented cousins Tommy (Tucker) Foley at half back and Ger at centre forward who scored 6 points in total and corner forward Pa O’Brien who will also be playing minor for the club this week. I would like to say a most sincere thank you to all these guys and wish them well this week in their respective championship - but it does beg the question - where are all our adult players???? We shouldn’t be depending on our minors and juveniles to give us a dig out in Junior B – it’s about time some of our older players gave us a bit of commitment. These players did the best they could but were just not strong enough for Ballyfad despite some good hurling - particularly from Wayne Breen in the middle and Adrian Kirwan in the fullback line - struggling to make 15 we were never really in with a chance.
Team: Ricky Fox (replaced by John Tyrrell), Adrian Kirwan, Podge Hall, Lee Murphy, Tommy Foley, Eric Flynn, Rory Newe, Wayne Breen, Pa Casey, Joe Hyland, Ger Foley, Barry Nolan, Pa O Brien, Ed Shallow, David Murphy.
Scorers: Ger Foley 6pts, Ed Shallow 1 goal and David (Biscuit) Murphy 1pt.
5/7/2006 Junior B Football
Starlights 0-8 Monageer 2-5
Our junior B`s despite putting up a good fight for it after losing a player early in the game went down to Monageer last night 8pts to 2-5 in the Junior B Football Championship. This time the player was sent off for a stupid incident not injured - and we were forced to play with 14 for most of the game which definitely cost us the match. It was heartening to see so many turn up for the game - we had 23 to choose from - and I would like to say a most sincere thank you to all of them.
A very fine performance was put in by Mark Mythen at half back and Fiacre Ryan once again despite having picked up an injury in the U/21 match on Monday night played his usual tough game as did James Newe and Benny Mythen and the young and stylish Dean O’Connor is making the corner back position his own. Damian Tobin went well at centre back as did Micheal Nolan when he went back in the defence in the second half.
Ger Foley playing at midfield got some fine points 5 in all 3 from frees and 2 from play and John (Muckers) Tyrrell was really unfortunate narrowly missing the net on two occasions - Damian (Boo) Breen made some fine solo runs on the wing and again was unlucky not to get more out of them. All the lads tried hard - but it is always going to be a struggle with a man down - if we had had the full compliment I think we would have beaten them.
Team: Keith Sheehan, Dean O'Connor, Benny Mythen, James Newe, Fiacre Ryan, Damian Tobin, Mark Mythen, Ger Foley, Pa Casey, Damian Breen, Tony Mackey, Ciaran O'Connor, Ed Shallow, John Tyrrell, Michael Nolan.
Scorers: Ger Foley 5pts, Mark Mythen, John Tyrrell, and Damian Tobin - 1pt each.
Subs: Barry Nolan for Ed Shallow, Stephen Tyrrell for Pa Casey and David Wall for Keith Sheehan.
04/07/2006 Jun A Football
St Marys (M) 1-10 Starlights 1-8
A poor display of football by what appeared to be a strong team on paper dashed all hopes of retaining our League title as St. Mary’s Maudlintown beat us in Páirc Garman last night by 2 points - 1-8 to 1-10. This was a most disappointing result from a side that had been going well in this competition and had produced some very entertaining games and some fine displays of football.
From the outset we were struggling - we never seemed to settle and didn’t appear to be in command at any period - there was no drive and no passion about us and some of our more experienced footballers didn’t provide the leadership and guidance that we had hoped for. Senior footballers like Gary Brilly, Willie Hudson, Liam Boland, Anthony Russell, should have been head and shoulders above the rest at this grade and instead failed to sparkle. A most disappointing effort from last years champions.
Team: Georgie O’Connor, Joe Carley, Liam Boland, Derek Tobin, Brian Murphy, Cillian Lett, Joe Newe, John Daly, Ollie O`Connor, Anthony Russell, Ronie Furlong, Willie Hudson, Cathal Murphy, Gary Brilly, Declan Ivers.
Scorers: Willie Hudson 4pts, Ronie Furlong 1goal, Gary Brilly 3pts, Ollie O`Connor 1pt.
03/7/2006 U21 Hurling
HWH Bunclody 0-9 Rapparees 2-10
Our U/21 hurlers put in a good performance yesterday evening in Bunclody to beat the home side 2-10 to 9pts. Althought we started slow we gathered momemtum in the final 10 minutes of the first half which continued after the break and we finished by far the stronger side.
The first half was a constant battle with nothing between the sides except a goal in the 14 minutes from a ball in by Ricky Fox that Cathal Murphy got a touch and sent to the back of the net - despite stretching the lead several times to 4 points - it was short lived with Bunclody going down the field immediately afterwards and clawing it back to the goal again - the halftime score was 1-6 to 6 points. Rapps came good in the second half scoring outscoring Bunclody 1-4 to 3 points with good solid hurling from Derek Tobin who was excellent in the full back position along with Declan Barron and Patrick Quigley - who came forward time after time and made good clearance deny Bunclody any access to goal.
Ed Tobin and Fran O Gorman battled well in the middle as did Fiacre Ryan and Kevin Walsh in the half back line and up front Ricky Fox and Davy Morrissey looked dangerous in possession as did David Tyrrell who came on as a sub and got the second goal. A bit of a struggle at times - but this is their first game together and they fought hard and stuck to the task and achieved a result and are through to the next round against St. Annes in Bellefield next Monday night 10th July at 8pm.
Well done to all concerned - players and mentors - particularly Adrian Fenlon who is trainer/coach with this team - and Garret Kavanagh - it is heartening for the club to see guys the calibre of Adrian and Garret putting time and effort and years of hurling experience into our young players.
Team:Pa Doyle, Patrick Quigley, Derek Tobin, Declan Barron, Kevin Courtney, Kevin Walsh, Fiacre Ryan, Ed Tobin, Fran O`Gorman, Daithi Mernagh, Eoin Quigley, Peter O'Sullivan, Ricky Fox, Davy Morrissey, Cathal Murphy.
Scorers: Fran O`Gorman 6pts, Ricky Fox 2pts, Cathal Murphy and David Tyrrell 1 goal each, Ed Tobin and Daithi Mernagh 1 pt each.
28/6/2006 Junior B Hurling Championship
Rapparees 1-13 Duffry Rovers 2-6
The Junior B’s finally got themselves a victory to keep their chances alive in the championship. The last two weeks of almost constant matches have sharpened everyone up and it was great to get a win under our belts, especially without our main marksman, Mick Nolan.
We started well and pulled away within the first few minutes but conceding two soft goals allowed the Duffry to only trail by a point at the break. The first one came off the post and was knocked in by the corner forward the second shot was saved well by Muckers but landed under his body and the first man to react was an opposition player who tapped it in.
For the first 15 minutes of the second half it appeared that we were going to let the match slip away – despite our superiority we were making little headway up front. Then a late scoring spree of 5 points put away the Duffry men.
Best for us were James Newe who brought balls out of the back line with his teeth, Michael Hall in midfield, Oisin Carley on the half forward line, Tucker Foley who looked lively at corner forward and Milo who replaced the injured Pádraig Doyle and went on to star at first centre forward and then centre back when Eric went off.
John Tyrrell; James Newe, Padraig Hall, Fiacre Ryan; Padraig Doyle (0-1), Eric Flynn, Adrian Kirwan; Michael Hall (0-2), Wayne Breen; Ger Foley (0-1), Oisin Carley (1-1), Rory Newe (0-1); Joe Newe (0-1), Pa Casey, Tommy Foley (0-4). Damian Mahon (0-2) for Padraig Doyle, Damian Breen for Eric Flynn, Pa O'Brien for Pa Casey.
27/6/2006 Junior A Football
Starlights 1-9 Kilmore 1-8
Our junior footballers had a very hard earned win in Bellefield last night against Kilmore in the All County Football League pipping it by one point 1-9 to 1-8. This was a tough keenly contested game throughout with most of the lads working really well all around the field - they fought well for possession - defended well and took their scoring opportunities with defiance. Kilmore - a strong footballing side - stuck to their task well but the Stars eventually wore them down and sneaked ahead by the narrowest of margins.
25/6/2006 Junior B Hurling
St Fintans 2-11 Rapparees 2-9
Heading to Killinick on Sunday evening we were expecting that they would be a far stronger side what with it being their only team and former County player Larry O`Gorman coaching them - but our lads held up extremely well and it was neck and neck to the final whistle. This was a good entertaining and competitive game with our backs performing well once again - only one change in the set up here - Rory Newe was in at half back instead of Tommy Foley who failed to show as did Ger Foley, Cathal Murphy, Damian Breen, Pa Casey and Joe Newe - so it was down to the bare 15 and it is this reason and this reason only that we lost the game - when Brian Kehoe pulled up with a hamstring we were down to 14 men - at the halftime break Fiacre Ryan Snr. - there as a spectator - volunteered his services to the team to give them some chance and I would have to say was unlucky for 2 goals in the second period.
It is to our shame as a club that this had to happen - particularly when we are out in the U/21 Championship in a weeks time you would think that our young players would be eager for as much hurling as they could get instead they stay away and leave a player like Padraig Doyle at 47 hurling 3 games for us in the space of 5 days - what sort of clubmen are we breeding at all - what's going to happen when Padraig Doyle and his likes are finished hurling - where will our club be then?
This game was a lively encounter with all the lads who showed up doing their very best - we had 3 sets of brothers on the field the Newes, the Nolans and the Halls and a father and son combination with the 2 Fiacre Ryans - some good scoring - lovely to see Michael Nolan linking up with his younger brother Barry to send a lovely point over the bar.The hard working and very committed Pa O'Brien got another good score and Peter O'Sullivan and David Tyrrell got the 2 goals for us. Delighted with the performance lads - ye did well and were unlucky not to scrape it.
Team: John Tyrrell, Fiacre Ryan, Podge Hall, James Newe, Padraig Doyle, Eric Flynn, Rory Newe, Oisin Carley(0-1), Peter O'Sullivan (1-1), Brian Kehoe(0-1), Michael Nolan (0-4), Michael Hall, Pa O'Brien(0-1), David Tyrrell (1-0), Barry Nolan(0-1).
Subs: None - a volunteer from the sideline - Fiacre Ryan Snr for the injured Brian Kehoe.
24/6/2006 Senior Hurling
Shamrocks 3-6 Rapparees 3-7
Our Senior Hurlers played the Shamrocks in the league on Saturday evening at 7pm beating them narrowly 3-7 to 3-6.
Team: Pa Doyle, John Murphy, Gareth Kavanagh, John Barron, Liam Boland, Ryan Quigley, Kevin Walsh, Karl Cullen, Tom Wall, Mark Quigley, Eoin Quigley, Davy Morrissey, Ricky Fox, Davy O’Connell, Fran O` Gorman.
Scorers: Davy O’Connell and Richard Murphy 1 goal each Ricky Fox 1-1 Fran O’Gorman 4 pts and Ryan and Eoin Quigley 1 pt each.
23/6/2006 Junior B Hurling
St Marys (R) 1-11 Rapparees 1-7
This was a competitive performance from the Junior B's down in Rosslare's state of the art new complex and it was only a goal for the home side in the final minute that decided the result. We had plenty of possession and dominated proceedings occasionally but shot far too many wides.
At half time only a point separated the sides with Tommy (Tucker) Foley going extremely well alongside the more experienced Eric Flynn and the evergreen Padraig Doyle in the half back line and Fiacre Ryan and James Newe performing well alongside the solid Podge Hall in the full back line - our defence was as strong as it could be - unfortunately up front we had loads of chances but failed to make anything of them - our scores were hard to come by but Selectors were happy with the much improved hurling.
John Tyrrell; James Newe, Padraig Hall, Fiacre Ryan; Tommy Foley(0-1), Eric Flynn, Padraig Doyle; Oisin Carley, Pa Casey; Joe Newe(0-1), Cathal Murphy(0-1), Ger Foley (1-2); Ed Shallow(0-1), Dermot O'Shea, Rory Newe; Pa O'Brien, Barry Nolan, Damian Breen.
21/6/2006 Junior B Hurling Championship
Rapparees 2-5 Shamrocks 2-11
Another disappointing performance from the Junior B’s last night in Bellefield going down by 6 points to the Shamrocks. As usual our team appeared to be strong on paper but were just second to every ball on the night with the notable exception of Pádraig Doyle and at times Fuzzy Casey.
We had the breeze in the first half but struggled to make any inroads, missing a couple of scorable frees and goaling opportunities and went in 1-5 to 0-4 down. We played down the hill in the second half but rarely got the ball through the Shamrocks midfield and half backs.
Matty Flynn; Tommy Foley, James Newe, Fiacre Ryan; Joe Newe, Eric Flynn, Pádraig Doyle; Wayne Breen, Oisín Carley; Ger Foley (0-2), Lee Murphy, Pa Casey; Michael Nolan (1-2), Pádraig Hall, Graham Doyle. Rory Newe for Graham, Michael Hall (1-0) for Pádraig Hall, Dermot O’Shea for Fuzzy, Pa O’Brien and Woody Hyland (0-1) for Wayne and Lee, Muckers for Matty.
17/6/2006 Senior Football
Starlights 1-13 Fethard 0-10
Our Senior squad played Fethard in Bellefield on Saturday evening and had a convincing win - 1-13 to 10pts. Starlights were dominant from the start only allowing Fethard to come back into the game in the closing 12 to 15 minutes. With flashes of the magic that is John Hudson Stars led at half time 1-6 to 4pts. Gary Brilly linking up well with the star full forward and producing most of the scores between them. Gary had been a major addition to the squad and threatens the goal every time he’s in possession.
It was good to see Liam Boland back to form in the full back position and Mark Gahan performing well in front of him at centre. Tom Wall made some invaluable interceptions to set up a Starlights attack from what could have easily been a score at the other end. Mark Quigley showed marvellous fielding skills throughout the game as did Jason Russell making some excellent catches in the middle of the field and managing to finish well at one stage taking an fine point for himself. A good performance and well done to John Hudson for showing for his club despite imminent Inter County fixture.
Team: Pa Doyle, Pa Murphy, Liam Boland, Maurice Donohoe, Mark Quigley, Mark Gahan, Tom Wall, Ryan Quigley, Jason Russell, Anthony Russell, Cillian Lett, Willie Hudson, Ollie O’Connor, John Hudson, Gary Brilly.
Subs: John Daly for Ollie O’Connor, Rory O’Connor for Maurice Donohoe, Davy Morrissey for John Hudson and Brian Murphy for Anthony Russell.
Scorers: John Hudson 5pts, Gary Brilly 1-4 Willie Hudson, Ryan Quigley, Anthony Russell and Jason Russell - 1pt each.
16/6/2006 Junior B Football
HWH Bunclody 2-14 Starlights 0-7
Our Junior B footballers were beaten in the Championship on Friday night by Bunclody. From the onset we were no match for a much better and a much fitter side who were up for it from the throw in. When it comes to Championship, training and being in the field is essential even at Junior B level - some teams train to win this grade whilst others think its enough just to show up for matches - on Friday night the Starlights found out that it isn’t! Hardly surprising then that the final score was 2-14 to 7 points.
Thanks to all who turned up and in particular the younger guys - but we really have to ask ourselves if there is any point in continuing with Junior B if the present attitude is to prevail - perhaps we would be better of with just Senior and Junior with all players fighting to get a place - this might have more of a beneficial effect overall than the present situation.
Team: David Wall, Stephen Tyrrell, Benny Mythen, Dean O`Connor, Fiacre Ryan, Tony Mackey, James Newe, Pa Casey, Ger Foley, Damian Breen, Michael Nolan, John Tyrrell, Sean Russell, Damian Tobin, John Murphy.
Subs: Barry Nolan for Sean Russell, Pa O’Brien for Damian Breen and Sean O’Brien for Damian Tobin.
Scorers: Ger Foley 3 pts, Damian Tobin 2pts, John Murphy and Michael Nolan 1pt each.
13/6/2006 Junior B Hurling
Bannow/Ballymitty 4-9 Rapparees 1-7
Not a good performance by our Junior B’s last night down in Bannow - anything but - it was one of those nights where nothing went right for us - no matter how hard we tried - but fair play to the lads that turned up and fair play to them for battling it out to the bitter end.
And it was bitter - final result being 4-9 to 1-7. We had only the 15 despite lads staying behind in Bellefield who could have hurled for us - so when one of our players went down injured we had to hurl for 20 minutes with only 14 men - and it is a mark of the player in question - Adrian Kirwan - that he returned to the fray and despite not being able to run stayed on till the end of the game - thank you for your loyalty Adrian - its a dreadful pity we haven’t more like you - who knows maybe that’s why we’re not winning county titles!
Lots of ye tried very hard lads and I would have to say that Fiacre Ryan is one of the most improved players I seen to date this year - keep it up Fiacre you are getting better every game - Padraig Doyle at 47 seems to have the secret of eternal youth when you see him taking off after a guy who wasn’t even born when he started to hurl and Damian Breen and Pa O’Brien were determined in the full forward line.
Team: Matt Flynn, Fiacre Ryan, James Newe, John Foley, Padraig Doyle, Eric Flynn, Adrian Kirwan, Brian Kehoe, Oisin Carley, Joe Newe, Lee Murphy, Ger Foley, Damian Breen, Michael Nolan, Pa O`Brien. No subs
Scorers: Brian Kehoe 1-2 Ger Foley 2 pts, Lee Murphy, Michael Nolan and Joe Newe - 1 pt each.
12/6/2006 U14 Football
Shelmaliers 1-1 Starlights 4-11
10/6/2006 Junior A Hurling League
Rapparees 1-13 Buffers Alley 1-17
Junior hurling followed the senior game - the Opposition this time being Buffers Alley and the result being more disappointing with Rapparees losing 1-17 to 1-13.
10/6/2006 Senior Hurling League
Rapparees 2-14 Naomh Eanna 1-11
The senior hurlers won their league encounter against Naomh Éanna at the weekend 2-14 to 1-11. The match which began with a minutes silence for the late Sally Murphy of Ballyboe was a dour enough affair with Rapparees only taking control in the second period - the halftime score was 1-6 to 8 points to Naomh Éanna. It wasn’t until the final 20 minutes that the Rapps pulled up their socks and began to come to grips with the game scoring a total of 2-6 to the oppositions 5 points.
Team: - Pa Doyle, John Murphy, Gareth Kavanagh, Liam Boland, Mark Quigley, Ryan Quigley, Peter O`Sullivan, Tom Wall, Eoin Quigley, Richard Murphy, Ollie O`Connor, Ricky Fox, Cathal Murphy, Mark Gahan, Davy Morrissey.
Scorers: Richard Murphy - 2 goals, Ricky Fox 6pts, Ollie O`Connor 4 points, Eoin Quigley 3pts, Ryan Quigley 1pt.
8/6/2006 Junior A Football League
Starlights 2-15 Sarsfields 0-3
Starlights played the Sarsfields last evening in basking sunshine in Bellefield in the All County League in what was really a very one sided affair in the second half at least.
Stars struggled in the first doing everything except putting the ball over the bar and after 20 minutes had struck 11 wides - we got our first score after 16 minutes with Davy (Speedy) Morrissey getting his name on the scoreboard. Cathal Murphy was the next to register kicking one over and this was followed by another from Speedy.
It began to look as thought the Starlights had gotten their act together however they kicked another 5 wides before Rory O’Connor and Maurice Donohoe got another 2 scores and then just before the halftime whistle David Tyrrell rattled the net following an excellent pass from Cathal Murphy - leaving the halftime score 1-5 to 2 points to the Stars.
From the onset of the second half the outcome was never in doubt - with Starlights totally dominant in every area and some marvellous shooting making up for the wides of the first period - to leave the final tally 2-15 to 3 points. With some excellent scoring from Davy (Speedy) Morrissey notching up a personal tot of 6 points and Rory O'Connor getting 3 points. Good defending in the backs and good distribution from John Daly and Cathal Murphy up front - this was a good overall team performance.
Team: Georgie O'Connor, Joe Newe, Niall Sunderland, Gareth Kavanagh, Liam Boland, Brian Murphy, Maurice Donohoe, John Daly, Killian Lett, Cathal Murphy, Davy Morrissey, Lee Murphy, Rory O`Connor, David Tyrrell, Declan Ivers.
Subs: Anthony Russell for the injured Declan Ivers, Michael Donohoe for the injured Gareth Kavanagh and Ricky Fox for Lee Murphy.
Scorers: Davy Morrissey 6 pts Rory O’Connor 3 pts David Tyrrell 1-1 Ricky Fox 1 goal Cathal Murphy, Maurice Donohoe, Anthony Russell, Brian Murphy, and Michael Donohoe 1 pt each.
5/6/2006 Senior Football League
Starlights 0-9 Killanerin 0-11
Our Senior Footballers lined out last night against Killanerin in Bellefield in glorious sunshine and got off to a good start notching up 5 points in the first 20 minutes to Killanerin’s one - the scores coming from Willie Hudson - 2 points Rory O’Connor 2 points and a very well struck point from John Daly.
Stars then took their foot off the pedal - as they are prone to do - and a couple of bad passing among the backs allowed Killanerin to capitalise on our mistakes and get right back into the game leaving the halftime score 6 points to 4 to Starlights - Willie Hudson getting his third point of the half.
Killanerin began the second period a lot better than the first putting 2 points on the board before Starlights scored - with Pa Murphy coming from the fullback line up the field and kicking a marvellous point - a first for Pa I think! John Daly added another one along with Gary Brilly and that was it for the entire period while Killanerin notched up 7 points to leave the final score 11 points to 9.
It was a game that should have been won - however after a good start - Starlights looked as though they were just out for a bit of a canter - and didnt appear to be quite serious enough - despite several chances towards the end with Gary Brilly driving a couple wide and a good goal coming from sub Cathal Murphy - which was disallowed as goalkeeper was being fouled by another player at the time.
Team - Pa Doyle, Ollie O Connor, Mark Gahan, Pa Murphy, Liam Boland, Killian Lett, Tom Wall, John Daly, Jason Russell, Willie Hudson, Michael Donohoe, Rory O Connor, Maurice Donohoe, Gary Brilly, Davy Morrissey.
Subs: Anthony Russell for Davy Morrissey, Brian Murphy for Michael Donohoe, Cathal Murphy for Willie Hudson.
Scorers: Willie Hudson 3 pts, John Daly and Rory O’Connor 2 pts each, Pa Murphy and Gary Brilly 1 pt each.
5/6/2006 U14 Camogie
Oylegate/G'Brien 1-3 Rapparees 0-0
4/6/2006 Junior A Camogie
Rapparees 6-4 St Martins 1-3
Scorers: Molly Dwyer 3-0, Louise Hore 2-0, Aoife Newe 1-0, Charleen Murphy 0-3, Sara Nolan 0-1.
3/6/2006 Junior B Championship
Rathnure 1-09 Rapparees 0-12
As usual we were away from home and the sun was out so we struggled to make 15. Nevertheless this was a very good result for our lads. Star man was Milo who only came out to make up the 15 and turned the game on it's head when he was introduced at centre forward. Prior to this Rathnure had been pulling away from us but Milo proved both a target man and top scorer to keep us in the game.
If we get the missing lads back we could make a run at the District Final here.
Team: Matty Flynn; James Newe, Padraig Hall, Fiacre Ryan; Joe Newe, Eric Flynn, Ed Shallow; Wayne Breen, Oisin Carley; Graham Doyle, Mick Nolan, Kevin Waldron; Damian Breen, Muckers Tyrrell, Pa O'Brien. Milo for Pa after 15 mins and then Pa reintroduced for Wayne after 45 mins.
1/6/2006 U12 Football Championship
St Martins 3-7 Starlights 3-11
This was a great win for the lads against a big and talented St Martins side. We were down 1-6 to 0-6 at half time and made a great come back in the second half.
31/5/2006 U12 Camogie
Rapparees 1-0 Duffry Rovers 0-0
Sarah Collins scored the decisive goal
30/5/2006 Senior Hurling League
Duffry Rovers 2-10 Rapparees 1-11
A pristine display from dead balls by Fran O’Gorman was not enough for the Rapps seniors against the Duffry tonight. After running into an early 0-6 to 0-1 lead we allowed the Black Country men to get back into the game before half time to leave the half time score 0-7 to 0-4. This total of 0-7 represented 3 frees and two sideline cuts from Fran, a 65 from Ollie and a fine point on the run from Tom Wall.
The second half started well with good points from Mark Gahan and Richard Murphy to open up a five point lead. However the Duffry responded with 2 points (one from a free) and a goal to draw the game after 8 minutes. The exchanges heated u
