Joy for Watergrasshill after capturing Féile Division 3 Shield

WATERGRASSHILL emerged as John West Féile Division 3 Shield winners at the weekend.

They played in Group B at the group stages, a group that included Castleknock (Dublin) and Glen Rovers, both who went on to play in the D3 Cup Final, with Castleknock beating their host club Glen Rovers on a scoreline of 1-12 to 0-3.

Watergrasshill opened their campaign on Friday night in Glen Rovers with a draw to Castleknock, Watergrasshill 0-09 to Castleknock’s 1-6, despite having a six-point lead at half-time. The second game against Glen Rovers went a similar way with Watergrasshill up five points at half-time, but with a very impressive Glen Rovers second-half, the Hill lost 3-7 to 0-7.

Saturday morning saw Watergrasshill at home to their guests, Cois Fharraige and won on a scoreline of 2-6 to 1-3. The action moved to Killeagh for the quarter-final with Watergrasshill beating Kilara Óg on a scoreline of 2-5 to 2-1.

The semi-final on Sunday in Ballincollig saw Watergrasshill beat Cobh 6-01 to 0-02 to book their place in the Shield Final. The Shield Final followed with Watergrasshill taking on St James’s, from New Ross in Wexford.

This was a tight game with Watergrasshill leading 1-3 to 0-3 at half-time. A very intense second half followed with St James’s scoring a goal to level the game. 

Under severe pressure, Watergrasshill dug deep and produced the point to clinch the title, 1-6 to 1-4, and see out the game.

Watergrasshill bainisteoir Martin O’Riordan paid tribute to his players, his fellow coaches of Mike Moore, Ger O’Brien and Derek Casey as well as the parents and huge support received from the club and the parish.

“Hurling is thriving in Watergrasshill with huge numbers coming through our hurling nursery. This is a big achievement for our club and is a benchmark for our other underage teams to match and beat. We recently celebrated our 90th anniversary and we have big development plans for the club. 

"The commitment from the coaches and players has been phenomenal. The Féile was not won by 15 players, but the full squad of players.”

• See Friday’s Echo for more on the John West Féile.