'19 is a funny age' - Abbeyfeale Golf Club Abbeyfeale ’ 19 is a funny age’ Facebook Twitter WhatsApp Telegram Beara and Castlehaven contested this year’s Bon Secours Cork U19 Premier 1 county final despite playing only one game to reach the decider. The decision as to what’s best for the future of the Cork GAA U19 age-grade football remains a tricky subject. Beara claimed the Premier 1 crown following a three-point win over Castlehaven at the weekend. The divisional side gained a walkover from Douglas and defeated Nemo by a point to reach the final. Runners-up Castlehaven followed a similar route, defeating Valley Rovers after a walkover from St. Finbarr’s. “What happened in this year’s U19 championship is that you had teams pulling out because lads were involved in their club’s intermediate and senior setups,” Beara selector and former Cork senior All-Ireland winner Ciarán O’Sullivan commented. “19 is a funny age. I have no issue or problem if the decision comes to change the grade. The thing is, for us being a divisional team, a lot of the Adrigole lads involved had already played a huge amount of football this year. Urhan are only out in their county championship next weekend. So things are different for us in Beara. “I haven’t thought a whole lot about the subject of what’s best for U19 footballers. Clearly, some people aren’t happy with it.” O’Sullivan believes that Cork GAA should be careful that U19 players are not being asked to do too much. “Unless a U19 championship is moved to earlier in the year? Would that help?” O’Sullivan added. “I don’t know if that is possible. Beara couldn’t train for this year’s U19 championship because the Castletownbere and Adrigole lads were involved with their club’s championships. The majority of our players are from those two clubs so we couldn’t train while everything else was going on. “That’s just Beara’s reality as a division. At times, I think there is too much going on for U19s so should it go back to another age? I’m honestly not sure.” Castlehaven U19 manager does not believe the U19 championship can continue in its current format. “I don’t believe the U19 age-grade will work (going forward) because you have too much of a crossover,” Crowley said. “For small clubs, you already have a good few U17s playing at the U19 level. Then, your best U19s are playing senior. That leaves a smaller group caught in the middle, so to speak. “Castlehaven U19 had two training sessions, by ourselves, every year. Our seniors were only beaten last Sunday so it was a case of turning up and playing the (U19) games. “This is my own personal view before the Castlehaven club meets to discuss the topic. I believe the best way forward is to go back to minor and fellas not be allowed to play adult if you are under 18. “I personally don’t believe the U19 grade is going to work. I would also say that the U21 grade is an awful loss and something that should be looked at again.” . Related Facebook Twitter WhatsApp Telegram Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Advertisement Recent Posts 6 seconds ago ’ 19 is a funny age’ 1 min ago Black History Month Why do so few people from Black and Asian communities swim News 2 mins ago Sports minister says Hockey Canada leadership still must change after interim board chair resigns 3 mins ago Meet the 2022 Epson Tour Graduates LPGA 5 mins ago Chandler couple in the swing offering tennis golf lessons Back to top button Abbeyfeale Golf Club