Junior C County Champions

Fr. Griffin’s Éire Óg are the 2020 Junior C West Board and County Champions!

FGEO 0:9

Barna 0:5

Having had a blistering start to the campaign in 2020, our Junior C team were favourites to claim the county title before Covid cut the season short. Thankfully, it was decided to resume and finish the 2020 West Board championship in the past month, and with the North Board not resuming, the winners here would also be crowned County champions.

A hard fought first half saw FGEO do well against a stiff breeze and a defensive Barna side, with our lads satisfied to be just a point down at halftime, 0:3 to 0:2. We knew with the breeze behind us and the quality of forwards in our side we had every chance to push on in the second half.

That is certainly how it panned out as Paul Concannon’s men dominated the second period of the game, outscoring Barna by 7 points to 2 with some terrific performances all over the pitch. Special mention must go to Dean Higgins who was lethal from placed balls, knocking over 6 points off the ground. Strong running from Kevin Lee and Donal Barry in midfield gave Barna all sorts of problems and led to many frees being drawn from which we pulled ahead.

Going in to the final 15 minutes after the water break, a resilient defensive effort from FGEO saw Barna repelled in their attempts to find a goal to get them back in to the game. Mairtin Cullinan marshalled the troops at the back and with solid performances from the entire defence, our lead was never troubled in the second half. Cullinan and his son, Adam Mooney, started and finished the game together to give the day a special significance for the team and their family.

It was a hugely deserved victory for this team who beat all challenges that came their way over the past year in this very long campaign.

Paul Concannon’s team came through some tough challenges to make it to this stage, and were dominant in their recent semi final game:
Rd 1 FGEO 3:13 Barna 1:06
Rd 2 FGEO 1:13 Leitir Mor 0:06
Rd 3 FGEO w/o Renvyle scr
Semi Final FGEO 9:11 Gael na Gaillimhe 0:06

The game was played at the newly reopened Barna GAA pitch at Cloghscoltia – a place of special significance to our club as Fr. Griffin’s monument stands just a few hundred metres away.
In the week of his anniversary, the victory in the county final by the club which bears his name is a fitting way to mark the occasion.

This represents the club’s first silverware since 2018 when we captured the Junior A West Board and County titles that year.

By bennylawless Sat 20th Nov