Goal-hungry Cashel King Cormacs claim West U16 hurling crown

West U16A Hurling Championship Final

Cashel King Cormacs 4-17

Cappawhite 1-17

The old adage that goals win games was certainly to the fore in Annacarty as Cashel King Cormacs captured the West Tipperary U16 ‘A’ Hurling title with a nine-point victory over Cappawhite. Cashel’s 4-17 to 1-17 success added the U16 crown to the U15 ‘A’ title they won in 2025 against the same opposition.

The final scoreline did not tell the full story, however, as Cappawhite gave the eventual champions a major scare, particularly during an excellent opening quarter.

Cappawhite showed their intentions immediately and Fiachra Doody had the opening score after a searing run through the middle. Ciaran Gantley quickly doubled their advantage before adding a free and two well-struck 65s.

Ciarán Martin and Doody added further points as Cappawhite raced into a 0-7 to 0-1 lead, with Cashel struggling to match their opponents’ intensity during the opening exchanges.

Cashel gradually settled. MJ Kennedy began to exert an influence on the scoreboard, while Robert Dunne, Cormac O’Donoghue and Ben Fitzgerald helped eat into the Cappawhite advantage.

Rocco Julian and Mikey McCarthy kept Cappawhite moving, while Gantley remained dangerous, but the decisive moment of the opening half arrived in stoppage time.

Cathal Bonnar struck the game’s opening goal for Cashel, and Scott Ryan followed with a point to send the teams to the dressing rooms level at 1-8 to 0-11.

The weather had more or less held up during the opening half, with the worst of the showers arriving during the half-time interval. Cashel carried their momentum into the second period. Ben Fitzgerald opened the scoring before Scott Ryan struck Cashel’s second goal after just over two minutes.

Cappawhite responded through Doody and Aaron O’Shea, but the crucial scores continued to come at the other end. Adam Hyde found the net after 12 minutes, opening a significant gap for Cashel.

The contest was effectively decided five minutes later when substitute Dominic Flynn struck Cashel’s fourth goal, giving the eventual winners the cushion they needed.

Cappawhite refused to go away. Doody continued to lead the charge, Jesse Julian added a point and, with just over three minutes remaining, Cathal O’Neill blasted home a goal to give the Cappa support some late hope.

Cashel, however, answered through Ronan Devitt, Robert Kelly and Ben Fitzgerald to close out an impressive 4-17 to 1-17 victory.

Three second-half goals ultimately separated the sides as Cashel King Cormacs retained the upper hand in this developing underage rivalry and now progress to represent West Tipperary at county level.

Scorers: Cashel King Cormacs: MJ Kennedy 0-6, Scott Ryan 1-2, Ben Fitzgerald 0-3, Robert Kelly 0-2, Cormac O’Donoghue 0-2, Cathal Bonnar, Adam Hyde, Dominic Flynn all 1-0 each, Robert Dunne, Ronan Devitt 0-1 each.

Cappawhite: Fiachra Doody 0-6, Ciaran Gantley 0-6, Jesse Julian 0-2, Cathal O’Neill 1-0, Ciarán Martin, Rocco Julian, Mikey McCarthy, Aaron O’Shea all 0-1 each.

Cappawhite: Dylan Cryan; Micheal Duggan, Conor Crowe, Jack Hayes; Conor Ryan, Fiachra Doody, Sean O’Neill; Cathal O’Neill, Aaron O’Shea; Mikey McCarthy, Ciarán Gantley, Rocco Julian; Ciarán Martin, Jesse Julian, Darragh Downey.

Subs used: Sean Renehan for Darragh Downey (37); Liam Kiely for Ciarán Martin (52); Danny Crowe for Michael Duggan (57).

Cashel King Cormacs: Fionn Moloney; Oisin Quirke, Scott Underwood, Brian O’Dwyer; Robert Dunne, Adam O’Halloran, Joshua Mulcahy; Ben Fitzgerald, Adam Hayde; MJ Kennedy, Cathal Bonnar, Robert Kelly; Cormac O’Donoghue, Jamsie O’Donoghue, Scott Ryan.

Subs used: Dominic Flynn for Jamsie O’Donoghue (43); Ronan Devitt for Cathal Bonnar (57); Bobby Manton for Scott Ryan (58); Dara McInerney for Oisin Quirke (58).

Referee: Cian Ryan (Éire Óg Annacarty)