THIS weekend sees the official start of the Dubliner Cheese Carbery/Beara Football Leagues, Divisions 1, 2 and 3.
This season, there are eight teams each in Divisions 1 and 2, while Division 3 is divided into two sections with six teams in each. It has been decided that there won’t be any finals in this season’s leagues, due to the difficulties in scheduling deciders in recent years.
The teams that finish top of each division on the closing date of July 16th will be declared league winners. However, there is an added incentive to winning Division 1 as that winner would be promoted to county premier junior league for 2024 if a Carbery team were to be relegated from the premier junior.
All league games are officially fixed for Sunday mornings at 11.30am but clubs are free to fix those games any time during the weekend, making sure to notify the league co-ordinator of changes in good time. Clubs wishing to postpone games must provide a re-fixture date agreed by the opposition, within 30 days of the original fixture.
The leagues actually got off to an early start last weekend when the Division 2 game between St Mary’s and O’Donovan Rossa was brought forward. Rossas beat a Mary’s team badly hit by emigration at present, 1-18 to 1-5 the final score.
In all games, the first-named team has home venue but if that venue is unavailable, the game must be played in the other team’s venue. That applies to only one game this weekend, the Ballinascarthy v Kilmacabea game in Division 1 being played in Leap with the Bal pitch unavailable due to repair works.
That is one of the big fixtures this weekend, with both sides having an eye on the Mick McCarthy Cup this season. Also of interest is the clash of Barryroe and Kilmeen – who met in the Division 2 final last season with Carbery JBFC champions Kilmeen coming out on top.
The fixtures are as follows:
Friday, March 10th
Division 1: Barryroe v Kilmeen, 8pm. Division 3A: Dohenys v Adrigole, 7.45pm.
Saturday, March 11th
Division 2: Diarmuid Ó Mathúnas v Randal Óg, 4.30pm; Muintir Bháire v Goleen, 5pm.
Division 3A: Gabriel Rangers v St Oliver Plunkett’s, 6.30pm.
Division 3B: Ilen Rovers v Bantry Blues, 4.15pm in Church Cross.
Sunday, March 12th
Division 1: Clonakilty v Castlehaven, 11.30am; St Colum’s v Tadhg MacCárthaigh, 11.30am; Ballinascarthy v Kilmacabea, 12.30pm in Leap.
Division 2: Kilbrittain v Carbery Rangers, 4.30pm.
Division 3A: Clann na nGael v St James’, 11.30am.
Division 3B: Bandon v Garnish, 11.30am.
