A Chara,

The evenings are closing in and as we get towards the latter stages of 2025, the majority of playing action for our teams has come to a conclusion. It’s at this stage of the year where we can sit back and reflect on the year gone by, assess what went right and what could have been done better on and off the pitch. Our latest newsletter gives a run through of how our adult teams fared this year along with some other news from across the club.

It has been a very good year on the playing fields for all our adult teams. Our teams prepared really well all year and it paid dividends with all our teams reaching the latter stages of their respective championships. 

Our Premier Intermediate Footballers had a challenging league campaign but it mattered little as they ended up in the county semi final after an impressive win over Bantry Blues in the group stages and a brilliant win over Glanmire in the county quarter final. Unfortunately, the semi final proved too big a challenge as we went down to a strong Uibh Laoire outfit. Another noteworthy point is that we only lost out by a few points to eventual champions Aghabullogue in the group stages which shows we are not that far away at all. A solid year in the championship and hopefully we can take this into the 2026 league to hit the ground running.

Our Intermediate A hurlers had a very good season with a strong showing in both league and championship. In the league we had some good wins and maintained our place in the Division 6 league. In 2026, we will hope to progress to Division 5. In the championship, our lads had that controversial ‘draw’ in round one against Kildorrery before two brilliant wins over Erin’s Own and Ballygiblin. These three results left us on five points in the group which qualified us straight into the semi final. Here, we met Aghabullogue and a rip roaring contest ensued in Ballyanly. Our lads tried their hearts out and the game ended up going to extra time. Eventually, Aghabullogue ended up pulling away late on but our lads can be very proud of their performances this year and certainly have something to build on going into 2026. Hopefully we go two steps further in twelve months time!

Our Junior B Hurlers had another impressive campaign and were incredibly unlucky not to get promoted in the league. Our lads topped the league table but ended up losing the league semi final in a great game against Russell Rovers. In the championship, our lads had a very similar campaign to our Intermediate A hurlers where we ended up on five points after the group commitments were completed. Wins against Castlemartyr and St. Catherine’s along with a draw against Castlelyons made up our total points tally. Unfortunately, our year would end in the quarter final of the competition as we were defeated narrowly by Watergrasshill. A progressive year nonetheless for our second hurling team which certainly bodes well for the future as lots of players made their first adult hurling appearances for the club throughout the season. 

Our Junior A Footballers had a solid year where they maintained their place in the Division 2 league along with having a very good run in the championship. Maintaining their place in the league was no small achievement as our second football team was facing other clubs first teams for the most part. In the championship, our lads had a very good win over Dungourney in round one. A loss to Carrigtwohill in round 2 put the pressure on as we then needed a positive result against Glenbower Rovers in round 3. Thankfully we got that after a wonderful game of football in Ballinacurra. Our lads won out by a single point in what was arguably our best win of the year in the grade. We then qualified for the quarter final of the championship against Erin’s Own. The game took place in Dungourney and it turned out to be an incredibly tight contest as we lost out by a single point. Our lads were incredibly unlucky here as they ended up playing the contest with 13 players at one stage after black cards and then felt aggrieved when the full time whistle sounded as we had the ball in the opposition 21 after just a single minute of stoppage time. Make of that what you will! Again though, a very positive year with plenty of young players making their adult football debuts for the club and there were loads of green shoots for the future on show.

Our Junior C Footballers have been one of our most consistent teams over the last number of years and yet again fulfilled all their fixtures along with getting to the business end of the East Cork Championship. The narrowest of margins defeated us in round one against Carrigtwohill before two storming performances against Glenbower Rovers and Russell Rovers put us through to the knockout stages in second place from our group. This led to an away semi final to Castlelyons and our lads were unlucky not to escape with a victory after a game for the ages where NINE goals were shared in the game. Unfortunately, we scored one less goal than the Castlelyons men and this proved to be the ultimate difference. Great credit is due to Richie Condon and his selectors here for their efforts in getting this third football team fit for purpose every year. Like our Junior A Footballers and Junior B Hurlers, this grade provided a large number of younger players their first taste of adult team action for the club which is vital going forward. 

Our U21 teams were very competitive again this year. Our U21 footballers were unlucky to lose out to Glenville in early February which ended this team's year before it really got going. Our U21 hurlers had to wait until mid October to play their first round and had a hard fought victory over Watergrasshill in the quarter final of the competition. Our lads then faced St. Colman’s in the semi final last week where we lost out late on after a very close fought affair.

Our Premier Junior Camogie team were the ones who brought county championship honours back to the club this year. Our girls ended up making two trips to Mallow to play their first round of championship after a lights failure at half time on the first trip to North Cork. On the second trip to Mallow, our girls came away with a win after a close fought game. In round two, our camogie team faced Bishopstown in Rostellan. This game was certainly our camogie team's game of the year as they blew the city team away with a stunning performance of skill. These results qualified us for the semi final of the competition where we faced familiar opposition Mallow again. This time the game took place in Castle Road and our girls performed well to earn a county final place. Unfortunately, through no fault of anyone in Aghada, the week before the camogie and ladies football county finals ended up being dominated by controversy as both our finals were fixed for the same weekend. If this was in the men's game it simply would not be accepted or tolerated and there would be outrage. Normally, we hear stories of both county boards in Cork not communicating with each other when issues like this arrise but this was not the case on this occasion. In fact, the ladies football county board in Cork had highlighted a potential clash to the camogie county board on numerous occasions throughout the year, yet the camogie board refused to compromise on a simple fix. Issues like these do not help grow women's sport and you’d hope a repeat will not happen in 2026. However, if we are honest, you wouldn't hold your breath and this is why integration nationally cannot come fast enough. It is the women who play our national sport who are suffering and it needs to end!

To our camogie girls credit, they did their best to put the stressful distraction to the back of their minds and ended up facing familiar opposition in this game also as they took on Bishopstown yet again. This game had everything on the line though, so it took a life of its own and was nothing like the previous encounter earlier in the season. After a cagey opening period, our girls took over in the second half to storm to victory in Castle Road. This win now secures promotion to the intermediate grade for 2026 which is a great achievement after a couple of years trying to achieve this goal. Well done to all involved and hopefully the momentum will carry forward into 2026. Congratulations!

Our Junior Ladies Footballers had a challenging league and championship campaign but fulfilled all their fixtures and had some very good performances throughout the season. Similar to our men, this team is vital in blooding younger players as they get their first taste of adult competition. Well done to all who lined out with this team all year and they are the last adult team in action as they face Inch Rovers in the East Cork Semi Final on Wednesday night. Keep an eye on social media for full fixture details on this game! Hopefully ye can finish off the year in style girls! 

Our Senior Ladies Footballers had another memorable year in 2025. Our girls were the reigning county champions for the year and did that tag justice as they went unbeaten in the league which led to a league final against near neighbours Glanmire. After a great game of football, our girls won out by a slender margin to be crowned Division 1 Senior League Champions for the very first time. This set our senior ladies up well for the championship campaign where our girls defeated St. Vals, O’Donovan Rossa, Clonakilty and Castlehaven in the group stage. This led to a home semi final against the mighty Mourneabbey. In a physical game our girls pulled away in the final quarter to set up a rematch of the 2024 final against Éire Óg. The game was played in MTU Cork and just like last year, there was very little between the sides. After sixty minutes of play, the game finished in a draw which led to a replay six days later. After another epic titanic battle, the game ended in a draw yet again. This time the game went to extra time and unfortunately our girls lost out by a few points. A heartbreaking end to another great year for our senior ladies. The loss was certainly hard to take for all but our girls can take great pride in their efforts throughout the year. Their never say die attitude will certainly inspire generations of young Aghada players into the future. I was given an incredible statistic last week and I think it sums up what this group of players have achieved over the last few years. Our senior team has played 31 matches in Cork since mid April 2024 and have only lost once! Unbelievable really when you think about it. The year may have ended in a way that nobody wanted but our girls can hold their heads high and can still celebrate a historic Division 1 Senior League title for the winter! Have no doubt about it, these girls will be back again stronger than ever in 2026!

To sum it all up, what a year we had in 2025. We had games all over the county and it was great to see such a large support at these games. Your support really does make a difference to all our players and mentors. It is important to acknowledge our mentors on all our teams. The dedication required these days to be involved in an adult team is huge and we are so lucky to have so many people willing to volunteer their time, expertise and skills. From managers of teams to kit men, there are hours of preparation going into all of our teams every week which can be sometimes unseen. Be assured all in the club value your contributions and commitment that you make in the hope of bringing glory back to Aghada! Thank you to everyone who was involved and we hope to see ye all back in 2026! Finally, the most important people, the players! Thanks to every single player who lined out to represent Aghada and our parish this year. It was great to see so many players training every weeknight in Páirc Liam Uí Riain during the year and hopefully this number grows even more in 2026! There’s no doubt our one club is going from strength to strength with every adult team seemingly feeding off the momentum they get from each other. Bring on 2026!

A huge congratulations to our own Willie Wallace who has been selected to referee the Intermediate A Hurling Final between Aghabullogue and Bandon. This is a massive honour for Willie after yet another year refereeing games all over the county. The game is currently down for next weekend but that will now likely change due to Aghabullogue’s Munster Football Club Championship involvement. Keep an eye out for the fixture on the Cork website. Best wishes to Willie and his officiating team on the day of the game. Enjoy the occasion! 

A few weeks ago, our other club referee Cathal McAllister was in charge of another huge game between Cobh and Bride Rovers. This was the East Cork Junior A Final which took place in Midleton and it was another great honour for Cathal to add to his long list of refereeing accomplishments. Well done Cathal! (attached photo from the day of the game is taken by Denis O'Flynn).

Our club lotto keeps on rising and currently stands on €12,250. Thanks to everyone who supports our lotto every week as it is vital to allow us to cover our daily running costs in the club. Remember, you can buy our club lotto tickets in all the usual local outlets listed in the poster below and online at: https://bit.ly/3bWAiqD 

Get your ticket before next Thursday night's draw to be in with a chance of winning the jackpot! Watch it live on our Facebook page at 9:30pm on Thursday. 

As notified earlier in the week by club secretary John Murphy, our club AGM takes place on Friday, the 21st of November at 7pm in our clubhouse.  Please come along to join us as we recap 2025 and look ahead to 2026. 

Our activities on the juvenile playing fields are still continuing and our Juvenile PRO Helen Walsh has compiled a comprehensive report of all the games. Click on the following link to view: https://aghadagaa.com/articles/168164 

Our camogie action is drawing to a close and our Camogie PRO Deirdre Haughey has prepared a report on recent activities for our camogie teams. Included is a report on our U14 camogie team's recent county final triumph. Click on the following link to view: https://aghadagaa.com/articles/168165 

Finally before I finish out, I would like to complement our three PRO’s for their efforts in promoting our club on social media throughout the year. A huge thanks to Helen Walsh (Juvenile GAA PRO), Deirdre Haughey (Camogie PRO) and Lauren McAllister (Ladies Football PRO). The three women have done an incredibly professional job of covering all our juvenile teams throughout the year. The amount of photos taken and reports written has been brilliant and it is great for our young players to see their name or photo online after a great win in a match! Some of their work on Instagram and Facebook in particular was nothing short of unbelievable and we are very lucky to have people like ye in the club. Well done! 

That’s it for this newsletter. Best wishes to our junior ladies football team during the week in their East Cork Semi Final and our remaining juvenile teams in action in the club. 

Slán,

Vince