Iveleary Triumphs Over Glanmire in High-Scoring Clash

Iveleary 4-16 Glanmire 3-10
(Iveleary 4-2-12, Glanmire 3-3-4)

Óg Jones lights the fuse as Iveleary launch another tilt at glory

Twelve months after heartbreak, Iveleary are back on the road with the look of a team intent on righting a wrong.

In Kilmurry on Friday evening, the Muskerry men opened their McCarthy Insurance Group PIFC campaign with a wild, high-scoring win over Glanmire, a game that veered from routine to chaos and back again before finishing in a 4-16 to 3-10 victory.

At the centre of it all stood Chris Óg Jones. Sharp, ruthless, and constantly on the move, the Cork senior forward walked off with 3-4 to his name and the match ball in his grasp.

Early sparring, then Iveleary strike

Both sides went straight for the jugular. Goal chances flashed and disappeared in the opening exchanges, the tempo frantic but the finishing not yet up to speed.

Glanmire blinked first on the scoreboard. Ten minutes in, Tiernan Hourihan clipped over the opening point and settled the east Cork side. It didn’t last.

Iveleary, stung into life, began to punch holes. Sean O’Riordan and Sam Pickering found their range, and suddenly the Muskerry men were 0-4 to 0-1 in front, moving with the assurance of a team that has lived in these championship trenches.

Glanmire, though, are not in Premier Intermediate territory by accident. IAFC champions in 2024 and quarter-finalists at this level last year, they steadied, then struck. When Harry Browne stepped up to a penalty midway through the half, he buried it low and true into the corner, dragging his side back level and changing the mood of the evening.

Glanmire’s surge – and the sting in stoppage time

The game opened up. Iveleary nudged ahead again, Pickering arcing over a stylish two-pointer that underlined his growing influence. Glanmire answered in kind, Shane O’Driscoll responding with a fine two-pointer of his own as the east Cork side began to control territory and tempo.

By the 27th minute, Glanmire led 1-5 to 0-7. They looked composed, organised, and increasingly confident.

Then they were hit with a gut punch.

In first-half stoppage time, Iveleary turned the ball over and broke with purpose. The move ended where it so often does for them: at the boot of Chris Óg Jones. He thundered the ball to the net, a ruthless finish that flipped the scoreboard and the psychology of the contest. Instead of trailing, Iveleary jogged to the dressing room 1-7 to 1-5 in front.

All Glanmire’s measured work undone in a heartbeat.

Iveleary take control – and almost throw it away

After the restart, Iveleary began to look like the side that came so close at Páirc Uí Chaoimh last year. They hunted in packs, moved the ball quickly, and pressed Glanmire back.

Sean O’Riordan slipped in for a neat finish to the net, stretching the gap and loosening Iveleary shoulders. The pressure mounted, the runs grew bolder, and Glanmire’s defence started to creak.

Then Óg Jones struck again. His second goal arrived as Iveleary turned dominance into what looked like a decisive lead. With eight minutes of normal time left, the scoreboard read 3-10 to 2-8. The tie appeared done, Iveleary cruising, Glanmire hanging on.

That illusion lasted only moments.

Glanmire’s blitz leaves Kilmurry stunned

Like a switch flicked in the evening light, Glanmire roared back to life. Suddenly, every break ball seemed to fall their way, every run carried menace.

Jeremy Kingston burst through and rattled home. Brian Galvin followed with another goal, the Iveleary defence carved open twice in rapid succession. Panic spread through the Iveleary ranks, belief surged in Glanmire’s.

When Harry Cogan clipped over a two-pointer to level it, the ground fell momentarily silent, then erupted. From eight down to parity in a blur. Iveleary, so assured minutes earlier, looked rattled and vulnerable.

The Jones brothers close it out

That was the moment this Iveleary team answered a question about themselves.

Shocked but not broken, they reset. Ian Jones stepped forward, taking on responsibility and, crucially, taking on shots. He landed vital points, steadying the ship just as the game threatened to slip away entirely.

With Glanmire now chasing shadows and the clock against them, the space opened again for the deadliest finisher on the field. In second-half stoppage time, Chris Óg Jones completed his hat-trick, crashing home Iveleary’s fourth goal and finally killing off Glanmire resistance.

The scoreboard, 4-16 to 3-10, told of Iveleary firepower. The journey there told of their nerve.

Iveleary’s intent is clear

Around them, there is still the memory of last year’s agonising defeat to Aghabullogue in the final. That scar hasn’t faded, but it has clearly hardened this group.

With Óg Jones and Cathal Vaughan fronting a talented core, and with players like O’Riordan, Pickering and Ian Jones chipping in at key moments, Iveleary look built to push for the Senior A ranks.

Bantry Blues await next in the championship, another step on a long road. It is only July, the real pressure weeks away, the hurdles still many.

But on this evidence, it will take a serious team to stop this Iveleary machine from going that extra mile this year.