IBANE GAELS 3-14
BANTRY BLUES 1-14
KIERAN McCARTHY REPORTS
AT the media evening ahead of the Carbery U21 football finals, Tomás Ó Buachalla insisted he wasn’t going to lose a third U21A final in a row – and the Ibane Gaels captain kept his word.
‘I was determined I wasn’t!’ Ó Buachalla smiled, holding the Liam Farr Cup close after his team banished the memories of defeats to Newcestown and Bantry Blues in the previous two seasons.
‘I ran my legs off, and I was even getting a cramp in the team photo!’
It was worth it. Ibane – an amalgamation of Argideen Rangers and Barryroe – reclaimed a crown they last wore in 2021. This latest Carbery success meant a lot: they got revenge against the Bantry side that beat them in the 2024 decider, and it came just two months after the passing of Ibane U21 manager Donal Holland.
‘He was up there watching over us today,’ Ó Buachalla said – and Holland would have been proud of the character these Ibane lads showed on Friday night.
Ibane Gaels' James Crowley swings away from Bantry Blues' Christopher Cronin.They trailed by five at the break, 0-9 to 0-4, after Bantry bossed the second quarter, hitting five unanswered points to take control. Wing forward Jack Sheedy kicked 0-4 in that opening half.
The Blues had also led at half time in the 2024 final – although by a more commanding 4-6 to 0-4 – so when they stretched their lead to 0-11 to 0-4 early in the second half, Ibane badly needed a spark.
Enter Luke Murphy – the athletic Barryroe teen who produced a match-winning second-half hat-trick.
His first goal, in the 35th minute, ignited the comeback, cutting the gap to 0-11 to 1-4. Connecting with an inviting Dara Walsh diagonal kick-pass, Murphy palmed to the net – a move straight off the training ground.
‘The fisted goal – that’s a move we practice in training: the full forward coming out, me going in behind from the half-forward line, and the long ball in. It doesn’t always work, but when it does, it’s effective,’ Murphy reflected.
Ibane Gaels' Dara Walsh is tackled by Bantry Blues' Conor Cronin.Within nine minutes, Ibane were level. Murphy and Bantry captain Paddy Cronin swapped frees before Cork U20 Olan O’Donovan – who would finish with 0-9 – converted back-to-back two-point frees. Suddenly it was 0-12 to 1-9.
Bantry hit back instantly. Powerful centre back Mark Óg O’Sullivan burst through the middle, played a one-two, and rattled the net. The Blues were back in front, but not with the same menace they had shown earlier. With star forward Dara Sheedy carrying a knock into the game, and his brother Jack (who finished with 0-5) struggling with injury during the second half, Bantry’s main attacking threats were blunted.
Ibane almost replied with a goal in the 45th minute, but influential half-time sub Donagh Flynn saw his effort cleared off the line. Within four minutes, though, Ibane had a lead they would never relinquish.
Olan O’Donovan (45) and James Crowley – the only Ibane scorer outside of Murphy and O’Donovan – pointed to narrow the gap to one. In the 49th minute, Murphy struck again.
Catching a Mike Collins pass, the former Cork minor hurler slipped his marker and unleashed a left-foot bullet across goal, the net shaking as Ibane went 2-11 to 1-12 ahead.
‘I jinked right, turned back inside and finished it off. That’s a move I like doing,’ Murphy smiled afterwards.
‘This was a real team effort, the ball just came my way and I finished them off.’
Momentum was now with Ibane, and Bantry had to do the chasing. The champions fought hard: points from Jack and Dara Sheedy – the latter a free after he was fouled – sandwiched a sweet score from James Crowley, leaving just one in it heading into injury time.
Ibane’s next score was the killer blow. Murphy, in the right place to collect a pass from sub Jamie Collins, buried his hat-trick goal. Game, set and title for Ibane, who still had time for Olan O’Donovan to tack on another two-point free. Redemption and glory secured.
The Ibane Gaels team celebrates after defeating Bantry Blues in the Clóna Milk U21 A FC final at Dunmanway on Friday night.‘We owed ye one from last year, lads,’ Ó Buachalla quipped in his acceptance speech. The 2024 final, when Bantry struck four first-half goals, had shaped Ibane’s mindset.
‘It was in the back of our minds because they had a lot of the same faces, including Paddy Cronin who scored two goals in the first half last year, and he got two against Castlehaven in the semi-final, so we were very aware of that threat,’ mentor Danny Murphy explained.
‘Maybe we were a bit cautious in the first half, we played with a plus-one defender, but we threw caution to the wind in the second half.’
The teams had shared the first eight scores in a game that began in daylight and ended in darkness. The Sheedy brothers led the Bantry charge, two each, while three of Ibane’s first four points came from placed balls – two from Murphy, the other from Olan O’Donovan, who also notched from play.
Bantry edged midfield early on through Stephen and Michael O’Donovan, and scores began to flow: Owen O’Neill, Luke Salter-Townshend, Jack Sheedy (2), and a Paddy Cronin free. Five in a row had the Blues in command, but Ibane regrouped at the break and tore into the second half. Like Tomás Ó Buachalla vowed nine days earlier, they weren’t to be denied this time.
OUR STAR: Take a bow, Luke Murphy. A second-half hat-trick in a West Cork final, and a haul of 3-3 – the Barryroe teen is one to watch.
Scorers
Ibane Gaels: Luke Murphy 3-3 (2f); Olan O’Donovan 0-9 (3 2ptf, 1f, 1 45); James Crowley 0-2.
Bantry Blues: Jack Sheedy 0-5; Paddy Cronin 0-3 (3f); Dara Sheedy 0-3 (2f); Mark Óg O’Sullivan 1-0; O. O’Neill, L. Salter-Townshend, D. Kingston 0-1 each.
IBANE GAELS: Luke McCarthy; Kevin Hennessy, Joe Crowley, Aidan Walsh; Daniel Moloney, Tomás Ó Buachalla, Charlie Twomey; Dermot Dineen, Sean Ryan; Jack Twomey, Olan O’Donovan, Aaron Fleming; Luke Murphy, James Crowley, Dara Walsh.
Subs: Donagh Flynn for A Fleming (ht), Mike Collins for S Ryan (ht), Jamie Collins for J Twomey (58).
BANTRY BLUES: Ben Clancy; Conor Cronin, Christopher Cronin, Ruairi O’Shea; Cillian O’Brien, Mark Óg O’Sullivan, Eli Reynolds; Stephen O’Donovan, Michael O’Donovan; Luke Salter-Townshend, Dara Sheedy, Jack Sheedy; Owen O’Neill, Daire Kingston, Paddy Cronin.
Subs: Oran Wiseman for L Saltertownshend (41), Óisin Murphy for D Kingston (51), Billy Sheehan for J Sheedy (61, inj).
Referee: Anthony O’Regan (Kilbrittain).
