Galway Intermediate Football Championship cranks up a gear

Cortoon Shamrocks and An Cheathrù Rua dropped into the relegation battle, and they’ll face off next week. Kilkerrin-Clonberne and Clifden will meet in the other semi-final.

The preliminary quarter-final pairings saw An Spidéal draw Oileáin Àrann, St. Brendan’s will battle Claregalway, Corofintake on Glenamaddy, and Mìcheàl Breathnach meet Kilconly.

The four winners will face the four group winners on the weekend of September 26th/27th.

GROUP 1

MÌCHEÀL BREATHNACH 1-21

OILEÀIN ÀRANN 3-11

Mìcheàl Breathnach finished second following a third quarter scoring spree in Ros Muc on Saturday. Two Màirtìn Ò Goill goals had Oileáin Àrann 2-3 to 0-7 up at half-time.

Caomhàn Seoighe got another, but they were outscored 1-9 to 1-1 by the 50th minute. Anthony Mac Donnchadha got Mìcheàl Breathnach’s goal whileCillian Ò Curraoin kicked 0-11 in total.

The Islanders finished with orange flags from Seàn Ò Maoilchiaráin and Cillian Ò Conghaile.

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ST. MICHAELS 0-17

KILKERRIN-CLONBERNE 0-13

Mikey Maguire and Gary Higgins shared seven scores in a 10-point blitz for St. Michaels in Duggan Park on Sunday.

Kilkerrin-Clonberne needed a positive performance and led 0-10 to 0-3 at half-time. Conor Rabbitte kicked 0-5 from frees and Liam Boyle set up four more.

The crossbar and defender Cian MacNeill denied them goals, but it was still 0-13 to 0-7 entering the final 12 minutes before Maguire and Higgins led St. Michael’s winning push.

​GROUP 2

ORANMORE-MAREE 3-14

CORTOON SHAMROCKS 0-7

Oranmore-Maree maintained their 100% record in Duggan Park on Sunday as three goals saw them condemn 2020 champions Cortoon Shamrocks to the relegation play-offs.

After Ciaran Clarke had Cortoon ahead, 2-4 without reply including goals for Barry Keating and Eanna Costello put distance between them, and it was 2-5 to 0-3 at half-time.

Shamrocks were without Alan Banks and Adrian Varley, and it told in their scarce scoring opportunities though Liam Dempsey and Joe Donnellan shared five.

It was 2-9 to 0-7 on 48 minutes before Oranmore-Maree concluded with another 1-4 stint. Harry Keady’s third goal wrapped up a 16-point win.

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COROFIN 4-7

CLAREGALWAY 1-10

A contest with plenty of permutations at Cregg on Sunday saw both teams advanced to the preliminary quarter-finals, though Claregalway’s intermediate status is still in the balance.

James Cooney’s men showed great resilience to stay in touch, allowing them leapfrog Cortoon Shamrocks on scoring difference. But in this battle of ‘second’ teams, the loss means they’ll play the Junior 2 champions later this year.

All-Ireland winners Mike Farragher and Gary Sice were most influential for Corofin. Farragher set up Finn McIntyre’s first goal; Sice assisted their second from Cian Murphy.

It was 2-3 to 0-7 at half-time with Matthew Collins’ two-pointer, the pick of Claregalway’s scores. And they briefly led after the restart thanks to Eoin O’Toole’s goal.

Gavin Kelly’s orange flag for Corofin overturned the deficit before Sice did the honours for the last two goals converted by Farragher.

GROUP 3

AN SPIDÈAL 0-20

GLENAMADDY 1-12

Six points in the closing stages allowed An Spidéal overtake Glenamaddy and finish second in Kenny Park on Saturday.

Glenamaddy took the early initiative with Michael Fox prominent as Aidan Potter’s team led 0-9 to 0-6 at half-time.

The west Galway team got back on terms, including a two-pointer for Antaine Ò Laoi, and they were two up with five minutes remaining thanks to Cormac Ò Laoi and Liam Ò Conghaile.

But a Michael Heneghan penalty pushed Glenamaddy 1-12 to 0-14 up. However, two Ò Conghaile orange flags coupled with Antaine and Finnian Ò Laoi points secured An Spidéal the win.

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MENLOUGH 2-13

CLIFDEN 2-6

The rain didn’t stop Menlough in the Prairie on Saturday as 2-8 from Donal Loftus, including two first half goals inside a minute, secured their place as group winners.

Clifden remained competitive through Colm Coneys and led 0-6 to 0-4 before Loftus’ intervention. But an Andrew Nee goal left Kieran Cullinane’s men just 2-8 to 1-6 down.

Enda Conneely struck a soccer style goal upon the restart but that was Clifden’s only second half score. Menlough finished with five points to ensure victory.

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GROUP 4

CAHERLISTRANE 3-18

KILCONLY 0-10

Caherlistrane left no doubt about their championship ambitions and quarter-final status on Sunday in Tuam Stadium with a comfortable 17-point victory.

First half goals from Adam McGreal and Shane Greaney had Barry McCabe’s charges 2-6 to 0-5 ahead at the break before Ciaran Donnellan got their third on the three-quarter mark.

Kilconly, minus Paul Mannion and Teddy Kerrigan, were guaranteed a preliminary play-off but victory would have won the group. Bar David Prendergast, they struggled to find scores.

Richard and Johnny McGrath maintained Caherlistrane’s influence while Greaney kept the umpires busy as they finished the round-robin series with an impressive +40 scoring difference.

ST. BRENDAN’S 4-13

AN CHEATHRÙ RUA 2-9

The biggest result of the round came in Clonbur on Sunday as St. Brendan’s overtook An Cheathrù Rua to book their place in the knockout stages.

Jonathan Fitzmaurice’s team needed to win by eight or they’d face relegation. And after establishing an early advantage thanks to goals from James Mulrooney and Eoghan Naughton, this contest centered around that marker.

It was 2-9 to 0-4 at half-time. Eoinìn Ò Cualáin got two An Cheathrù Rua points and the 2025 All-Ireland junior winners were back during the third quarter with green flags for Oisìn Ò Lochtnàin and Ò Cualáin, leaving them just three points down.

The pressure was on St. Brendan’s. Harry Holmes got the third green flag on 38 minutes while Paddy Downey kicked four frees. However, St. Brendan’s needed the insurance goal from Mulrooney in the final minute to ensure they were safely through.