Division 1 campaign will stand to Killeagh as they gear up for Senior A championship
Glen Rovers' Gearoid Mulcahy pulls away from Killeagh's John Ogbebor during their Division 1 HL match in Killeagh. Picture: Howard Crowdy
Killeagh’s return to the Division 1 Hurling League ended disappointingly with relegation, but unlike their last stint in the top flight, this one came with a victory.
That win was against Fr O’Neill’s, the other side to join them in relegation to Division 2 for 2027.
That performance was a good one, but the troubling aspect for Killeagh was that only against O’Neill’s and Glen Rovers last week were they really competitive.
The biggest issue for the east Cork club has been the concession of goals. The ended the campaign with 23 goals against, eight more than O’Neill’s, who conceded 15. The 205 points against doesn’t make it look any better, either.
But of course, the league is seldom about results, at least at club level, and there are a number of positives Killeagh can take from the first half of the season.
For one, they scored well in a few games, largely thanks to Ryan McCarthy, who was by far their best forward this season.
He accounted for over half of the team’s goals this season and finished as their top scorer, while also clocking the second-highest number of minutes with 489. Younger brother Dylan McCarthy was next on the scoring list with 1-24, while Eoghan Keniry finished third-highest with 1-13 from play.
Those three have been prominent for a while now – even if Ryan McCarthy’s role has changed over the last few years – but where this league campaign will serve Killeagh well is the level of quality shown from players whose names would not ordinarily jump out.
They used 37 players in total and John Ogbebor was one who settled in really well, getting better and better as the campaign went on. He made two sub appearances early on before making his first start against Fr O’Neill’s, in which he scored 1-1 from corner-forward.
He’s started every game since, playing between the half- and full-forward lines, before spending the previous two games at midfield, and has showed up well.
Certainly one of the brightest sparks for Killeagh over the past 12 or so months has been Evan Lane, and he was excellent again in this year’s league campaign at midfield.
They’ve got a lot of versatile options that have bolstered their squad depth. Throw in Barry Walsh who is currently with Cork, and cousin Ben who rejoined after the U20 campaign, and they’ve got a really strong squad. The management reshuffle also saw them bring in the experienced James O’Connor, which can only help.
Certainly they’re equipped with the tools to challenge at Senior A and they’ll be better off having faced the top teams in the league, but their group is a very tricky one to navigate, with Na Piarsaigh, Erin’s Own and Fermoy.
Ryan McCarthy 6-30 (0-17 f, 0-3 65s, 1-0 pen),
Dylan McCarthy 1-24 (0-14 f, 0-2 65s),
Eoghan Keniry 1-13,
Andy Leahy 0-15 (0-7 f, 0-1 65),
David Buckley 2-8,
Evan Lane 0-12,
John Ogbebor 1-4,
Shane Smiddy 0-5,
Brendan Delaney 0-3,
Ciarán Leahy, Colm Leahy, Dinny Walsh, Padraig O’Brien, Seán Walsh 0-2 each,
Cathal Fitzgibbon, Fionn Murphy, Gary Leahy, George Walsh-Wallace, Rob Sinclair 0-1 each.
Keane Kelly-Budds (500), Ryan McCarthy (489), Ciarán Leahy (457), George Walsh-Wallace (450), Fionn Murphy (436), Evan Lane (435), John Ogbebor (428), Cathal Fitzgibbon (393), Jamie Fogarty (379), Seán Long (352), Shane Smiddy (338), Eoghan Keniry (321), Dylan McCarthy (314), Andy Leahy (307), David Buckley (307), Rob Sinclair (296), Padraig O’Brien (281), Gary Leahy (252), Brendan Delaney (250), Colm Leahy (216), Fionn Brennan (194), Ben Walsh (187), Mikey Fitzgerald (147), Seán Walsh (123), Robbie Treacy (97), Dinny Walsh (79), Philip O’Neill (61), Jack Coleman (56), Cian O’Riordan (55), Richie Long (49), Dara Motherway (43), Andy Walsh (41), Darragh O’Brien (34), Paudie Mackey (23), Padraig Leahy (21), Oran Cunningham (4).
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