Six-shooters Institute bounce back in style

Catholic Institute’s ladies rebounded from last week’s shock hammering at the hands of Bandon by trouncing Ashton 6-1 on Saturday. Ireland U18 international Naomi Carroll grabbed a brace, while Ireland A’s Kym Daly also got on the scoresheet, and Laurel Hill’s Rebecca Barry and Aoife Roisin Barry showed why their school are set to be a force again this season with assured performances capped by a goal for both. Cork Harlequins got their season underway with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Bandon, with Irish captain Eimear Cregan scoring twice, while Mark Black bagged a hat-trick as Quins’ men recorded a straightforward 6-1 win over Cork C of I B. Kay Gaffney had a productive weekend at new club Belvedere following her move from UCC last week, netting for the firsts and the seconds.

While the latter game in Division Three saw the Ballincollig outfit record a 3-1 win over Waterford, Gaffney’s strike wasn’t enough to prevent the firsts going down 2-1 at home to UL, with Jennifer O’Loughlin and Sharon Carey on the scoresheet for the Limerick students. Catholic Institute’s seconds got their defence of the Division Two title underway with a 2-1 victory over Cork C of I, while Trish Moloney’s double gave Cork Harlequins a 2-0 win over Moyne/Thurles. But the biggest win of the weekend was recorded in Division Four, with Lynda Kelly’s hat-trick helping Tipperary to a 7-0 win over Waterford. Meanwhile, Quins are the early pacesetters in the mens’s Division One, with Mark Black bagging a hat-trick as they took their goal tally to 15 in two games with a straightforward 6-1 win over Cork C of I B. Darren Beamish and Alastair Smith both claimed doubles as Bandon trounced their seconds 5-0, though as outlined above, it remains to be seen if that result will stand.

Belvedere suffered a nightmare start to life in Division Two when they were hammered 8-2 at home by Cork C of I’s thirds, with Nick Burns claiming four and Peter Creighton grabbing three, while their seconds fared little better in Division Three, going down 7-0 to C of I’s fifths. Darragh Curley’s double helped Galway to a nervy 3-2 victory over Limerick in Division Two, with C of I D running out 4-1 winner over Bandon C. In Division Three, Catholic Institute’s B team comfortably disposed of Limerick B on a 4-0 scoreline, and Quins D routed Ashton 6-1. Further afield, ex-Catholic Institute star Elaine Bromell struckon her debut for newly-promoted Bray in the Leinster Ladies’ Division One, bagging a late equaliser to claim a deserved draw for her side against fellow new girls Glenanne. Bromell’s old club Pembroke – where Karen Hales, sister of C of I’s Jenifer, still plays – drew 1-1 with fellow heavyweights Loreto, but champions Hermes were shocked 1-0 by Mick McKinnon’s Railway Union. Up north, Jason Lynch’s Lisnagarvey side were pushed hard by Mossley in the Kirk Cup, eventually winning by the odd goal in seven to qualify for the semi-finals. Men’s Div 1 Cork Harlequins 6 (M Black 3, D Hobbs, J Ahern, D Egner) Cork C of I B 1 (N Burns); Bandon B 0 Bandon 5 (D Beamish 2, A Smith 2, F O’Leary); Div 2 Galway 3 (D Kearney 2, D Kennedy) Limerick 2 (T Clarke, R Ryan); Belvedere 2 (R O’Dell, P Desmond) Cork C of I C 8 (N Burns 4, P Creighton 3, N Foot); Cork C of I D 4 (A Wilson, L Gardiner, B Hayden, J Jeffrey) Bandon C (J Kingston) Div 3 Limerick B 0 Catholic Institute B 4 (O O’Connor 2, D Crowe, S Jenkins); Belvedere B 0 Cork C of I E 7 (D Judge 3, L O’Halloran 2, W Brownlow, A Judge); Cork Harlequins D 6 (I Bateman, S Egner, S Cody, E Kennedy, J King) Ashton 1 (K Banks); Women’s Div 1 Catholic Institute 6 (N Carroll 2, K Daly, AR Burke, R Barry, R Pratt) Ashton 1 (O O’Donovan); Bandon 1 (L O’Flynn) Cork Harlequins 3 (E Cregan 2, K Bateman); Belvedere 1 (K Gaffney) UL 2 (J O’Loughlin, S Carey); Div 2 Cork Harlequins 2 (T Moloney 2) Moyne/Thurles 0; Catholic Institute 2 (A McNamara) Cork C of I 1 (C Walsh) Ashton 1 (A O’Sullivan) Bandon 1 Div 3 Cork C of I 2 (J Judge, C Ruddock) Fermoy 1 (T Fitzpatrick) Belvedere 3 (AM Dooley 2, K Gaffney) Waterford 1 (K Hefford); Div 4 Bandon C 1 (P Forde) Cork C of I C 2 (G Hill, L Neville) Tipperary 7 (L Kelly 3, C Ryan 2, R Kelly, C Ryan) Waterford 0; UL 3 Ashton 0; Fermoy 0 Cobh 2 (N Walsh, J Roberts) Div 5 Clonmel 0 Limerick 1 (S O’Brien) Belvedere 1 (S O’Leary) Cork C of I 0; Ashton 2 (A Duggan, D Power) Cork Harlequins 0; Div 6 Ashton 1 (K Butler) Belvedere 3 (A Moore 2, A McMahon); Cobh 1 (L Harris) Dungarvan 0;