New Cobh Wanderers senior manager Eric McCarthy speaks with Cobh Sport:

 I have accepted the managers job for the coming season and I have asked Daragh Burke (Assistant Manager) and Davin O'Neill (player coach) to make up the rest of the management team and both have accepted the invitation.


As people are aware the club was unable to field a senior team last season.For me personally this would have been a disaster for Senior Soccer in Cobh. I was tasked with the job of putting together a strong local team to represent the town in the MSL. We applied to get back into the Munster Senior League and our application was accepted. We will be playing in the MSL 2nd Div next season ( starts 22-24th August).

Our main aim is to have a strong LOCAL team representing Cobh in the Munster Senior League. Cobh Ramblers represent the town in the League of Ireland, Springfield in the Cork AUL league but last year Cobh had NO representative team in the MSL. For me there is a huge void and if this was to remain there would be no local option for Senior players looking to play at this level and we want to change that. In addition to this,  if we do not succeed it will result in good quality senior players having to leave the town and play for nearby towns and clubs in Cork.

Ultimately we want to change this and provide a platform for future players to have two options when they become young adults, play league of Ireland for Cobh Ramblers and if they cannot play for whatever reason or are deemed not up to this standard that they at least remain in the town and play for the local Munster Senior League team.

We are working tirelessly at present in improving facilities at our grounds e.g painting club house, working on the pitch, sourcing sponsorship.

We have attracted numerous local players and a number of players have already signed for the club including Ian Stapleton, Conor Meade, Davin O'Neill, John Meade, Mikey O'Shea, Jason Greene, David Stack, Ian Stack, Kyle Downing, Eddie Nolan, Peter Nolan and more.

We started pre season last Monday and the squad are working extremely hard. We are training 3 nights a week.

We really want the local soccer people to get behind the team next season and come out and support us. We would welcome potential sponsors to contact us as well. What we are trying to do is also for the benefit of schoolboy players in the town and it should be  a big boost for Cobh football in general.



Cobh Ramblers lost 3-0 to league leaders Longford Town on Saturday night at St Colman's Park. A hatrick from David O'Sullivan gave the visitors the win in what was a tough game for Cobh. Next up is Galway FC away on Friday.

Cobh U21 Hurlers face local rivals Carrigtohill in the Championship on Sunday in Midleton. It is a 7pm throw in and should be an entertaining game. 

Ballymore Cobh Athletics Club's season continued apace last week in Ballyandreen as the beginning of the Ballycotton 5mile Road Race Series saw a good representation of Black + Amber singlets out around the roads of the East Cork townland.

The series, which is the oldest of it's kind in Ireland, will include three further 5mile races, each to be ran on the last Thursday of the coming months. Judging by last night's crowds it appears the event only continues to grow in popularity whilst at the same time maintaining a community feel which all runners can relate to.

This was the second event on the clubs summer road race calendar after another healthy turnout was in evidence last week amongst the colourful backdrop of Fota Wildlife Park which played host to the second annual staging of the 4mile Cheetah Run.

The coming months will continue to see the club grow in numbers and profile as we look to carry on the tradition of a Cobh running club, first established in 1967.

Whilst always maintaining a vibrant juvenile section down through the years, recently the adult section of the club has seen a wonderful renaissance with a large number of new members meeting up for twice weekly training runs in preparation for the summer race targets.

Weekend runs normally start from Cuskinny at 8am on Saturday + Sundays, with distance options to suit all abilities.

Midweek speed sessions take place on The Track on Cobh Community College grounds at 7pm on Wednesdays.

For more information on club training plans connect through;

Facebook - Ballymore Cobh Athletic Club Established 1967

Twitter - @BallymoreCobhAC

Cobh Wanderers over 35s retained the Cork Cup with a great win on penalties against Ringmahon at the Mardyke. They previously won the tournament last year, beating Wilton in the final and they have now won the competition two years in a row!

Cobh Pirates had a terrific day today as their J2 side were crowned the Mick Barry Cup champions. They defeated Kinsale on a scoreline of 14-3. The game was played in Musgrave Park. It is a great achievement for the side and a good end to the season for Pirates. 

Cobh Ramblers drew 0-0 with Munster rivals Waterford UNited at St Colman's Park to get their second point of the season. With ex-Rams Conor Meade and Kynan Rocks playing for the Blues it was going to be a tough game but the Cobh defence were in excellent form throughout. Goalkeeper Robert Birdsall kept Rams in the game with some brilliant stops and they held on for a well-earned win. Next up is Shelbourne away this coming Friday 

 Cobh Pirates RFC have announced  that on Saturday April 19th there will be a charity fund raiser game in aid of "Breaking the Silence", between a Cobh Pirates Invitational XV and a Munster Rugby Junior XV with a 3:30 kick-off at the Paddocks.

This will be the Munster Rugby Juniors last warm-up game before they start their Inter-Provincial campaign.
There will be some AIL players on the Cobh side, along with members of the J1 squad to provide the opposition.

There will be Bouncy Castles, Face Painters, Easter Egg Treasure Hunt, Kids tug-of-War and more at the event while various food stalls will also be present. There may be a local sporting celebrity or two present on the day !
All the proceeds go to charity and it should make for a great event! 

Cobh Ramblers were draw away to Wexford Youths in the second round of the EA Sports Cup. They were given a bye in the first round. The teams met earlier in the season with Cobh losing 3-2 down in the South East. The tie will be be played on Monday May 5th in Ferrcarrig Park at 8pm.

Cobh Junior Hurlers host Ballyhooly this Sunday at 15:30 in Cobh in the East Cork Junior Hurling League Section 1.

 Pirates J1s defeat Waterpark 

Cobh Pirates had a deserved win over Waterford side Waterpark in the Munster Junior League Division 1 on Sunday. They went ahead early on thanks to a Greg Higgins penalty but Water Park fought back and  this saw Pirates have a player sin binned. During the sin bin, Waterpark scored a try and converted it to put them 7-3 up. They kept up their dominance and extended their lead with a penalty which saw a half-time score of 10-3 against Pirates. In the second half, Cobh came into the game. A penalty from Mark Chandler put Cobh within 4 points. Pirates kept up their dominance in the second half and this led to a line break from Eamon Ronan who continued his run and scored the winning try. This converted by Mark Chandler and the final score was Pirates 13-10 Waterpark. They now host Skibereen at 2:30 this Sunday in the Paddocks. The J2s are also at home this weekend when they face Mallow the same day at 12:00 in the J2 Cup. 


Springfield Ramblers are one of the Cork Schoolboys Clubs who have withdrawn from the SFAI National Cups. This affects their u13 and u16 sides who had both progressed out of the local rounds into the last 32. The decision was fully supported by the Cork Schoolboys Leagues. Despite representatives from all the clubs meeting with FAI chief executive John Delaney, no progress was made. The decision was made due to the fact that the Dublin District Schoolboys League had not complied with the SFAI's own rules that "All teams from all regions will be included in the first-round draw and seeding of teams shall be allowed." This was not adhered to by the Dublin clubs and questions the integrity of the competition according to the eleven Cork clubs. It was hoped that other schoolboys leagues would follow but it seems that the Cork teams are the only clubs, as of yet, to pull out. The Rebels may take the matter further which could include arbitration.

It was confirmed today that the Irish Open will be coming to Fota Island Resort for 2014. It will take place from June 19-22. The tournament will be returning to Cork for the first time in twelve years. With the likes of Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Pádraig Harrington all set to feature, it will be an occasion not to be missed! Tickets are now on sale for the event at a special price of €25 per day or €50 for all four days (Adults) and €15/30 for concessions. World number six Rory McIlroy had this to say about the event,"Fota Island will be an exciting venue for the Irish Open, and exactly the kind of place to showcase what Ireland  has to offer as a golf destination." The Open should be a great boost for the local area and will allow us to see some of the world's greatest golfers on our doorstep! The Irish Open has continuously been one of the best supported events on the European Tour and this announcement can only add to that.