Kilmainham 2-13, Cortown 3-9 

Our second club match in two days saw us welcome our neighbours Cortown to Kilmainham on Friday 5th June 2026. Cortown were going well in this league and they were looking to secure a win to edge them closer to a final. Kilmainham were dealt with a few injuries from the previous night's match and we were missing some general starters. Numbers were very tight as we waited to see would all players who committed, actually turn up! To manager Mickey Newmans relief we had 15 and were good to go and with only one no show! 

There was a reasonable crowd at this match, with plenty of players appearing out of the woodwork to help their team. The local rivalry and family and friend connections made this extra special. Kilmainham started off very well and they were patient in possession. Michael Hoey landing a brilliant two pointer with the wind. Adam Mc Manus then hit two well taken points from play. A brilliant ball into him by Andy Arkins for the second one. Kilmainham were controlling the play well. Cortown had some lively forwards that were taking some watching. A long free was punched to the Kilmainham net as our lads fell asleep in the backs. Game on. Michael Hoey landed another brilliant two pointer to push us ahead. He was linking up well with his team-mates. Himself and Terence Daly were proving a brilliant platform for us at midfield. This game was close. Up stepped Scott Lynch. An incredible mazy run right through the heart of the Cortown defence was brilliantly finished to the Cortown net by Lynch. Andy Arkins then hit a nice point off his right to open up a bit of breathing space between the two sides as we hit half time. 

Half-time score: Kilmainham 1-9, Cortown 1-5 

We were in for a cracking second half as the roars, ‘get stuck into them’ and ‘let it in’ could be heard by both teams, supporters, mentors and players. Sound advice although I think the players may have heard those calls before. Cortown drew first blood with their second goal of the match. Poor defending in the Kilmainham defence let them in. More hesitancy in the Kilmainham defence led to Cortown’s third goal of the match. Cortown looked to have been in control. Mickey Hoey decided that he had seen enough and he took off on a brilliant run before firing to the Cortown net. Cortown were replying at the other end. The biggest cheer in Kilmainham in a very long time was heard when our very own ‘David Clifford’ aka Brian Black, dusted down his left boot to curl a lovely point over. Shane Butler then hit his third point in three consecutive matches. Miracles really do happen! Cortown kept battling, this game was going to the wire. We had some 

brilliant turnovers in the Kilmainham defence and some unlucky Cortown efforts as the game heated up. Cortown were possibly unlucky not to have had a penalty and they had efforts that came off the post. Michael Hoey tapped over a free and we had other chances to close out the match which we didn’t take. A long ball into the Kilmainham defence was fisted against the Kilmainham post and cleared, much to the relief of the Kilmainham players, supporters and management team. The referee blew for full-time. Kilmainham winning by the minimum. An exciting end to a good sporting match between two neighbours. The clubhouse was hive of activity with plenty of sneering and craic about incidents that happened during the match. All friendly banter and the way GAA should be. Cortown’s Darragh O’ Halloran stuck his head into the Kilmainham dressing room after the match and offered Fergal Black some words of wisdom! A lovely touch! 

Without these games for both clubs, so many players would not be getting football. Well done to everyone involved in keeping their respective teams and clubs going. For us it was brilliant to see our younger players like Sean Smith, Danny Newman and Jake O’ Rourke getting 60 minutes of football, while Trevor Lynch and Tom Manghan are showing no signs of slowing down. Well done to all involved, Keep her lit. 

Best for Kilmainham were: Tom Monghan, Adam McManus, Terence Daly, Dean Peppard and Fergal Black. 

Kilmainham Team: Trevor Lynch, Sean Smith, Phily Mahon, Jake O’ Rourke, Dean Peppard, Fergal Black, Tom Monaghan, Michael Hoey (1-7), Terence Daly, Shane Butler (0-1), Scott Lynch (1-1), Danny Newman, Adam McManus (0-2), Andy Arkins (0-1), Brian Black (0-1). 

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