Unfortunately, these were the only Archive reports pertaining to 2001 on the old website.
Week ended – 3rd November 2001
U16 Hurlers Claim County Title – 3/11
Shamrocks 1-7, Tracton 1-3
Shamrocks claimed their first County title in 29 years at Ballygarvan after a titanic struggle against Tracton in the C grade final last Saturday. Irrespective of the grade, this was a timely success and County titles in any grade are welcome. In an all-Carrigdhoun final, Shamrocks had the added bonus of winning the SE League final in this one as well, with the net result being that Shamrocks have now won a unique ‘treble’; all at the expense of Tracton. Both teams contributed to this great game. It was close all through and the hurling was tough but fair from first whistle til last. There was never more than one score in it until 3 minutes from time when Shamrocks moved into the winning position. After Joseph Shanahan had put Shamrocks ahead early on, Tracton scored their goal to give themselves a boost. Gradually Shamrocks started getting on top and with Chris O’Neill leading the charge from centre back with an inspirational point, Shamrocks edged ahead after David Tuohy goaled. Halftime 1-4 to 1-1 for the greens. The second half was even tighter with both sides having chances. Tracton came more into the game and piled on the pressure. But not for the first time this season, the Shamrocks defence remained defiant. Tracton twice brought the lead back to 2 points, but each time Shamrocks went down the other side of the field to score. None more so than 3 minutes from time when Niall Tuohy with a great point and Barry Mulqueen immediately afterwards sealed the win and the County Trophy. Again, a tremendous panel effort from everyone involved. The defence, as was mentioned before, were magnificent, the 2 midfielders worked tirelessly while the forwards did the business up front by getting the vital scores. Also, well done to selectors Paddy O’Mahony, Pat McCarthy, John O’Keeffe, Alan Tuohy and Patrick Andrews who put in the effort off the field during the year. Panel: T.O’Sullivan, S.O’Keeffe, R.Brien, C.Fitzpatrick, D.Hayes, C.O’Neill (0-1), R.McCarthy, S.Andrews, E.O’Mahony, B.Mulqueen (0-3), J.Shanahan (0-2), S.McGarry, N.Tuohy (0-1), D.Tuohy (1-0) , O.Boland, R.O’Sullivan, D.McAulliffe, S.Bourke, T.Barrett
Week ended – 12th November 2001
Minor Footballers – 11/11
St. Vincents 5-6, Shamrocks 0-4.
St Vincents ran out easy winners of the Carrigdhoun/Seandun Minor Football League Final at Shanbally last Sunday. Nothing went right for the Shamrocks on the day; various positional switches were of no benefit. Best for Shamrocks on the day were Barry Mulqueen in goal, who had an excellent game and could not be faulted for any of the goals conceded, Daniel Stuart, Nicky Hayes, Stephen Carroll and David Bourke.
Week ended – 3rd December 2001
U16 Footballers – 2/12
Valley Rovers 3-10, Shamrocks 2-6.
This was a tremendous performance from a youthful and severly understrength Shamrocks side. Fielding no less than seven U14 players, Shamrocks were short the same number of first team players. Shamrocks surprised the large attendance at Minane Bridge by their resolve from the start but trailed by 5 points at half-time after a gutsy performance. On the resumption, Shamrocks really took the game to Rovers and cut the margin to 2 points with 10 minutes to go. At this point, Rovers rallied and scored 6 points without reply. A game Shamrocks team were not finished however, and roared back in the last 5 minutes with some great scores, the highlight being a by now trademark Joseph Shanahan special. . However, Valleys held on for the victory. This was a courageous and skilful performance from everyone. Two years ago, the same two teams reached the U14 final and Shamrocks were comprehensively beaten on that occasion by the Rovers. However, taking everything into account, including the scoreline here, Shamrocks are now capable of beating this Rovers team and have closed the gap considerably. The more senior players on the team, Rory Brien, Chris O’Neill, Joseph Shanahan, Robert McCarthy and Barry Mulqueen led by example throughout and brought out the best from the younger players, namely Eanna Cole in goal, James Dunne, Darren Kirwan, Thomas Barrett, Sean Bourke, and Ronan O’Sullivan.
Team: E.Cole, N.Tuohy , R.Brien, J.Dunne, D.Kirwan, C.O’Neill, T.Barrett, J.Shanahan, T.O’Sullivan, O.Boland, S.McGarry, R.McCarthy, R.O’Sullivan, B.Mulqueen, S.Bourke, C.McCann.
Week ended – 10th December 2001
Minor Football – 9/11
Shamrocks 1-7, Dromtarriffe 3-11.
Shamrocks in the end did play Dromtarriffe in the County Minor A Football League quarter final last Sunday at Shanbally, but their lack of match practice offset against Dromtarriffe recent schedule contributed to their downfall. While the scoreline looks a bit lopsided towards the visitors from the Duhallow division, in reality, this was a good competitive game in difficult conditions. Dromtarriffe got 2 very soft goals in the first quarter and really these were the killer blows. Another one before half time and the game was as good as over from a Shamrocks point of view, despite some nice points from Tadhg Forde, Steven O’Neill and Mikey Prout. Shamrocks turned to play against the wind in the second half and actually did quite well, controlling the play throughout. However, they started going solely for goals after the resumption, and despite Joseph Shanahan’s effort, the Dromtarriffe goalie and defence held firm and repelled the constant wave of attacks. While it would have been nice to win the game, Shamrocks season finished a couple of weeks back and the hastily arranged game really was a game too far for Shamocks. On the day, Nicky Hayes was Shamrocks best player, while he got good support from Dave Bourke, Chris O’Neill and Eoin O’Mahony.
