BRAGGING rights stayed in Castlehaven after the home side edged out local rivals O’Donovan Rossa by 0-7 to 1-2 in a tense Cork LGFA senior championship Group 2 encounter in sun-drenched Union Hall, reports Mairead Courtney.

In a match where defences dominated and points were precious, the outcome on Sunday remained in doubt right up until the final whistle. 

The absence of Cork senior Laura O’Mahony from the Skibbereen side was obvious and they missed her pace and penetrating runs. 

Cautious, slow build-up play was the order of the day, with both teams favouring possession retention. 

Cork minor star Ellen Connolly opened the scoring for the home side with a point after three minutes. A minute later, Skibbereen’s Lia Hogan found herself through on goal but her softly-taken shot was easily dealt with by Castlehaven netminder Amy Salter.

The Castlehaven team that defeated O'Donovan Rossa in a county senior football championship clash in Union Hall on Sunday. (Photo: Andrew Harris) 

The O’Donovan Rossa kick-out was under immense pressure from beginning to end as the Haven pressed hard and Tara O’Regan struggled to find a red jersey in space for the majority of her restarts. Mairead O’Driscoll capitalised on one such kick-out to register a point and nudge the Haven two in front. 

Much of the action was contained between the two 45s with both sides struggling to break down the packed opposition defences, and some sloppy hand-passing led to repeated turnovers. 

Allie Tobin, Aoife Whooley and Eadaoin Fitzgerald were to the fore in the Skibb defence and although Castlehaven enjoyed the majority of the possession, the organised visitors gave them few chances in scoring positions. 

There were 15 minutes gone before Skibb opened their scoring with an Éabha O’Donovan free after a Castlehaven infringement on a ‘solo and go’. 

Hannah Sheehy was next to raise a white flag for the home side after Roisin O’Sullivan’s pinpoint crossfield kick found her in space and Castlehaven would punish another Skibb kick-out as Ellen Connolly added to her tally with a point.

Some wasteful shooting from Castlehaven meant they never pulled away and when Skibb captain Sarah Hurley slotted her side's second point, it meant there were only two points between the teams at half time, 0-4 to 0-2.

Soon after the restart, captain Shelly Daly, who covered every blade of grass, stretched Castlehaven’s lead with a point from another misdirected Skibb kick-out. 

Skibb were looking livelier now and Mallaidh O’Neill, who battled tirelessly all afternoon, broke through the Haven defence before finding Éabha O’Donovan with a well-timed pass. O’Donovan showed great composure and coolly rounded Salter in the Haven goal to slot the ball into the back of the net. 

With 36 minutes gone, the game was now level, 0-5 to 1-2. There was an air of anticipation in the crowd but, amazingly, the visitors would not score again for the remaining 24 minutes. 

The Castlehaven full-back line of Grace McCaffrey, Ellen Maguire and Jessica McCarthy were outstanding throughout and starved Skibb of scoring opportunities. 

A Mairead O’Driscoll point put Castlehaven back in front after 38 minutes but three more Haven wides kept Skibb in the game and set up a nervy finale. 

Skibb did have one more chance when subs Sharon Stack and Sinead Farrell combined for a quick passing move but the shot on goal was well wide, and a point may have been a more sensible choice. 

With the clock ticking towards the 60-minute mark, Castlehaven patiently held possession for a long period before Hannah Sheehy pointed in the 59th minute to round off the scoring in this edgy encounter.

Although there were long periods with the scoreboard barely moving, Castlehaven won’t mind as they registered their first win of the 2026 season, having lost their opening tie to recently-promoted Naomh Abán. 

O’Donovan Rossa now have little time to lick their wounds as they play last year’s beaten senior A county finalists Aghada on Thursday. 

After such a bruising encounter on Sunday, a four-day turnaround to their next championship game raises questions about the consideration given to player welfare.

OUR STAR: With both defences on top, our choice is Ellen Maguire who was a commanding presence as Castlehaven full back. Midfielders Shelly Daly (Castlehaven) and Mallaidh O’Neill (O’Donovan Rossa) also shone for their teams.

Scorers - Castlehaven: E Connolly, M O’Driscoll, H Sheehy 0-2 each; S Daly 0-1. O’Donovan Rossa: É O’Donovan 1-1, S Hurley 0-1.

Castlehaven: A Salter, G McCaffrey, E Maguire, J McCarthy, E McCarthy, A Daly, M O’Sullivan, S Daly (captain), A McCarthy, H Sheehy, N O’Sullivan, R O’Sullivan, E Connolly, M O’Driscoll, C McCarthy. Sub: E Buckley for C McCarthy (48).

O’Donovan Rossa: T O'Regan, A Bohane, E Whooley, E Fitzgerald, Emily O'Donovan, A Tobin, S Hurley (captain), M O'Neill, T Murphy, S Hourihan, F Leonard, L Hogan, Éabha O'Donovan, E Healy, O McCarthy.  Subs: S Stack for S Hourihan (ht), A for L Hogan (43), S Farrell for T Murphy (43).