BRUFF GAA CLUB NOTES
Lotto
There was no winner of last weeks Lotto Jackpot. The number drawn were 11, 14, 18 and 19. The Lucky Dip winners were €50 Joan Dempsey and €20 went to each of the following: Maura Cullinane, Teresa McEniry, Aoife Browne, Aiden F & Eilis, Gerard Murnane, Paddy Mulcahy, Tom, Ceile & Nicole, Ken Moloney and BReda Condon. This week the Jackpot is €7, 300! Thank you for your continued support.
Intermediate Football
The Intermediate Footballers played Athea last Sunday evening in the final round of the Championship. The team was Barry Manton, Pat O’ Neill, Graham Whelan, Gregory Dempsey, Eric Finn, Andy O’ Neill, Michael O’ Donnell, Bobby O’ Brien, Ryan Glynn, John Carew, Colin Madden, Anthony Neylon, Ross O’ Brien May, Christopher Browne, John O’ Sullivan, Sean Finn, Paudi Mulcahy, John Cooke, Cian Madden, Michael Lundon and Brian Finn (injured). Two subs used. The scorers were Christopher Browne (1-6, 0-3F), Ross O’ Brien May (0-2), Eric Finn (1-0), Michael O’ Donnell, (0-1), John Carew (0-1), John O’ Sullivan (0-1) and Sean Finn (0-2). The final score was Bruff 2-13 Athea 0-13.
John and Theresa Moran Memorial Cup
Bruff GAA hosted the John and Theresa Moran Memorial Cup Under 14 Tournament last Saturday. The teams involved were Newport, JK Brackens (Templemore), Chareville and Bruff. In the first semi final JK Brackens defeated Chareville 1-10 to 2-5. The was a very entertaining match. The second semi final soon followed, Bruff had a dream start when Tommy O’ Rourke continued his rich vein of form rattling the onion bag within the first few minutes. At half time Bruff led by four points. Michael O’ Riordan made a timely introduction, scoring two quick points and laying off a sublime pass to Tadhg Boddy who drove the ball into the roof of the net from a tight angle; as Jason Hayes commented “You can’t teach that!” Bruff won their semi-final. The final score was Bruff 2-6 Newport 0-4. The Shield Final was between Charleville and Newport. Chareville turned on the style and won in convincing fashion over Newport. Before the Cup Final Triona Daly sang the national anthem, it was absolutely delightful. JK Brackens raced into an early lead of 1-3 to no score. Bruff got into their stride after ten minutes with a well taken point from Jack Fitzgerald and a poachers goal from Charlie Cronin, who rushed onto the ball and rattled the onion bag to bring Bruff back into the game. JK Brackens responded again and went into the break four points up. The second half was a fiercely competitive affair. With five minutes left, JK Brackens led by five points and had one hand on the cup. This is where the boys “never say die” attitude shone through. A Michael O’ Riordan point was followed by an Owen Meany strike to the net. The assistant referee board went up with one minute injury time to be played. Bruff worked the ball in and Michael O’ Riordan won a free. Owen Meany stood over the ball and with the strength of two men hit the sliotar between the posts, with that the referee blew for full time. This resulted in the final going to extra time. Bruff started extra time like one of Jack O’ Neill’s greyhounds and flew into a three point lead, thanks to points from Jack Fitzgerald, Michael O’ Riordan and Tommy O’ Rourke. Jason Hayes S&C coaching coming to the fore. The second half of extra time was a siege on the Bruff goals, as JK Brackens tried and tried to get an equalizer. With the last puck of the game, JK Brackens hit the crossbar and the ball rebounded out to Ben Gunning, who like Tom Condon grabbed the ball and with that the referee’s whistle blew. There were great scenes afterwards with players, mentors and family members invading the field to congratulate the squad. We moved to the clubhouse where John A Moran said some lovely words about all the teams and complimented their skill and that the will to win from all sides was great to see! He presented the shield to Chareville and then announced his player of the tournament and said it was harder than picking the Rose of Tralee as so many put on great displays. John A announced that good things come in small packages and declared Jack Fitzgerald as player of the tournament. John A then presented the cup to Owen Meany who gave a great speech, thanking parents, trainers, all the teams for coming long distances and a big thank you to the Moran family for sponsoring the tournament. A big thank you to everybody who made the tournament so successful; Eamon and Edwina Cronin, Bruff Bord Na nOg, John Finn Catering, the referee John Paul Kiely, the umpires and all the parents for the food. Thank you also to Charleville, Newport and JK Brackens for travelling to participate in the tournament. It was a huge success, The John and Theresa Moran Memorial Cup!