1941

Drimoleague win first title

Year of objections

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South-West Junior Football Draws 1941

Clonakilty Jnrs v Carbery Rangers, Lowerton v Durrus, Schull v Bantry Jnrs, Bandon v Timoleague, Skibbereen v Scart, Doheny Jnrs v Drimoleague, Enniskean v Glengarriff.

SW Junior A Football Championship 1941

Round 1 - Bantry Jnrs 3-6 Durrus 1-1 May 25^th in Durrus

An exciting game despite the discrepancy in scores.

Round 1 - Timoleague 3-8 Dohenys Jnrs 0-1 June 22^nd in Timoleague

This was a surprise result but on the day Dohenys second team proved no match for the home side. Timoleague missed many scores in the first half but still led by 2-4 to 0-1 at the break, having played with the wind. Dohenys tried hard in the second half but their forwards failed to penetrate a solid Timoleague defence. Timoleague were in complete control in the closing stages in a “sensational” win.

Round 2 - Bandon 3-3 St. Mary’s 1-5 June 29^th in Bandon

The fortunes of each team and the standard fluctuated over the hour. St. Mary’s dominated the opening half, with Kehily, Moriarty, Hennessy and Shorten outstanding in defence. Slyne and O’Regan did very well at midfield but up front the Enniskeane/Ballineen men lacked scoring forwards and could only muster three points in the first half. Before half time Bandon broke through for two scrappy goals from Gabriel and Cummins. It was 2-1 to 0-3 at the break. With Denny Slyne, a Mount Mellerary College player, dominating midfield, St. Mary’s attacked in the third quarter and took the lead with a goal. However, it was a youthful Bandon side which finished stronger, E. Gabriel kicking a goal and two points for a 3-3 to 1-5 victory. Veterans Red Crowley, “Sandy” O’Driscoll, in goal, and young centre back, Seán Crowley, were prominent for Bandon.

St. Mary’s subsequently objected to Bandon on the grounds that eight of the Bandon team had made themselves illegal by playing in a friendly match against the military in Bandon. During the Emergency the military was posted to every town in West Cork and friendly games were frequently played against the local clubs. However, as those military teams were not affiliated and some of their players were not GAA members, official GAA teams were banned by rule from playing against them. This was the first time such an objection had been lodged and the SW Board was unsure how to proceed. A five-man sub-committee was set up to judge the case and they awarded the game to Bandon by three votes to two. St. Mary’s appealed the decision to the Co. Board.

Round 2 - Drimoleague beat Bantry July 13^th in Drimoleague

This was a disappointing display by Bantry’s second team. In bad conditions, Drimoleague’s tactic of pulling first time on the ball instead of picking, worked very well.

Round 2 - Clonakilty 0-4 Timoleague 0-2 July 20^th in Kilbrittain

A scrappy game, with the spectators invading the pitch several times during the second half. Referee, D. Roche of Kilbrittain handled the situation well. Scorers for Clon were M. O’Driscoll 0-2, W. Football and P. McCarthy 0-1 each. W. McCarthy scored the two points for Timoleague.

Timoleague later objected to Clonakilty but after a wait of six weeks, they withdrew the objection.

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County Championship

Drimoleague were nominated to represent the division and they met Bere Island on October 5^th in Bantry. Bere Island, who had beaten the pick of Beara the previous week, were strong favourites to win but for the first twenty minutes Drimoleague were on top. However, they failed where it mattered most, in scoring, despite numerous chances. The Beara men, on the other hand, availed of every chance and led by 2-2 to 0-2 at the break. Drimoleague again did well in the third quarter but in the last quarter, Bere Island, with the wind, got completely on top to win by 5-10 to 0-2. The referee was Paddy Barron.

Bere Island were later beaten in the county final by Millstreet, 1-2 to 0-3.

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SOUTH-WEST JUNIOR A FOOTBALL FINAL 1941

November 30th in Enniskean

Drimoleague 0-5 Bandon 0-1

On a day of cold, heavy showers that led to a lot of ground play, Drimoleague captured their first ever SW title with a well-deserved win over fancied Bandon. The lighter Bandon combination held the upper hand in the opening twenty minutes but great defending, particularly by Collins and Casey, prevented any scores. The game was won and lost in the ten minutes before half time when Drimoleague, after missing a number of chances, suddenly found their feet. Five unanswered points by P. J. Crowley, S. Hourihane, Seán Leary, K. O’Donovan and D. O’Connell gave the Scorchers a lead of 0-5 to nil at the break.

Bandon did a lot of pressing in the second half with goalkeeper “Sandy” O’Driscoll, Red Crowley, L. Kelly, Jones and Seán Crowley fighting hard but their only reward was a point from C. Deasy. K. O’Donovan and C. McCarthy for Drimoleague fought a great battle with Jack Lane and Jer Collins of Bandon. With both defences well on top no further scores were registered, Drimoleague winning by 0-5 to 0-1.

Referee, Gus Keohane, Enniskean.

Drimoleague: J. Forde (goal), J. Collins, W. Dineen, John O’Donovan, V. Collins, V. Casey (capt..), P. Twomey, Kevin O’Donovan, C. McCarthy, D. O’Connell, S. Hourihane, J. Forbes, E. Forbes, S. Leary, P. J. Crowley.

Bandon: A. “Sandy” O’Driscoll (goal), L. Kelly, Red Crowley, Con Harrington, C. O’Brien, Seán Crowley, J. Jones, Jack Lane, Jer Collins, P. Quinlan, C. Deasy (capt..), D. Harrington, P. J. Murray, Lawrence Cummins, Ted Gabriel.

Bandon later objected to the eligibility of some of the Drimoleague players but the objection was ruled out at the meeting of the SW Board.

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County Junior Football Final 1941

Millstreet 1-2 Bere Island 0-3, December 8th in Kenmare

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"It was decided to take only one car for those who had no bicycles and the rest of the team to cycle."

Club Minutes, 1941