Blackhall Gaels 1-15, Kilmainham 1-12

Kilmainham headed for Skyrne on Saturday 25th July 2026 to battle it out with Intermediate side Blackhall Gaels to decide who would stay in division 3 of the league and who would drop to division 4 for next year. Both teams met in the opening round of the league with Blackhall Gaels running out 15-point winners. A poor result that probably kick started our year. 

Kilmainham went into this match missing star man Michael Hoey. Blackhall were playing with a strong wind in the first half. We got off to the worst possible start with a goal for Blackhall after a minute. Shane Morgan scored a good point from play. Blackhall followed this up with 2 points from play. Mickey Newman then hit a 45 off the ground for a 2 pointer to settle us. Shane Morgan scored a well worked team point after 10 minutes. We put some lovely moves together, but we dropped a few shots short. Blackhall punished us at the other end. They hit 2 two pointers and a point from play in a 3-minute spell. They were picking up the breaks around the middle and were efficient up front with a strong wind. Dylan Morgan hit a point from play on 18 minutes. Blackhall responded with 3 points from play. After some wayward passes and shooting, Ger Morgan finally made one of our attacks count with a good finish to the Blackhall net on 29 minutes. Blackhall replied with a point from play as the half-time whistle blew. Kilmainham with it all to do as Blackhall had 7-point lead. 

Half-time score: Blackhall Gaels 1-12, Kilmainham 1-5. 

Despite the half-time scoreline, our lads were in no mood to roll over. We knew the wind had been a big factor in Skyrne, and so it proved. Declan Mullen kicked a nice point from play, Dylan Morgan followed this up with a point from a free. Shane Morgan scored his 3rd point of the game. Kilmainham were dominating the middle and Blackhall were struggling to get their kick outs away against a strong wind. Blackhall hit a point from a free and another from play on the rare occasion that they got to attack. Ger Morgan had two good goal chances in a 2-minute spell, unfortunately he couldn’t convert them after good build up play. Mickey Newman and Dylan Morgan both saw free attempts go narrowly wide. Kilmainham were completely on top, but some poor execution and composure cost them with presentable scores. Dylan Morgan scored another point, Larry Morgan slotted over and Harry Newman split the posts as Kilmainham kept pushing for the win. Larry Morgan tapped over the last free to reduce the deficit to 3, after the ref indicated that there would be one more play. Unfortunately, the one more play was the resultant kick out, which was followed by the full-time whistle. Relief for Blackhall as they hang on to retain their division 3 status, disappointment for Kilmainham as we had enough chances to win most matches after a dominant second half performance. Despite this defeat and ultimately relegation to division 4, our lads have had a good league campaign overall. We have been very competitive against Senior, Intermediate and Junior A clubs in a 

highly competitive division with very little separating the teams. Our lads can be proud of their league campaign where every player has given it their all for their club. 

All focus now turns to our Junior B championship opener against Moynalty on Friday 7th August in Grangegodden at 7.30pm. Thanks for all the support of the team over our league campaign. Let's get behind the lads for their championship opener. 

Best for Kilmainham were: Shane Morgan, Seanie Mahon, Larry Morgan, Declan Mullen and Jamie O’ Sullivan. 

Kilmainham: Terence Daly, Jamie O’ Sullivan, Stephen Newman, Phily Mahon, Seanie Mahon, Harry Newman (0-1), Lewis Curran, Declan Mullen (0-1), Mickey Newman (0-2), Shane Morgan (0-3), Freddie Newman, Mark Newman, Ger Morgan (1-0), Dylan Morgan (0-3), Larry Morgan (0-2). 

Subs: Andy Arkins for Mark Newman, Scott Lynch, Dean Peppard, Fergal Black, Jake O’ Rourke, Shane Butler, Troy Flanagan. 

Subs: Andy Arkins for Mark Newman, Scott Lynch, Dean Peppard, Fergal Black, Jake O’ Rourke,
Shane Butler, Troy Flanagan.

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