Cumann Iomanaiochta agus Peile Éire Óg

Éire Óg Club History

Éire Óg Hurling and Football club is located in the parish of Ovens / Farran approximately 10 miles west of Cork city, just off the Main Cork Killarney road.

Gaelic Games were played in the parish of Ovens & Farran dating back to the period immediately after the foundation of the G.A.A. in 1884. Éire Óg's predecessor, Bride Valley, named after the River Bride which flows through the parish, affiliated in 1890, fielding teams in both hurling and football.

Following the establishment of the Divisional Boards in the mid-1920s, Bride Valley won the first two Muskerry Junior Hurling Championship in 1925 & 1926 before the Éire Óg club was formed, with players from Cloughduv and two from Knockavilla joining forces with the Ovens & Farran based contingent in 1928.

The newly formed Éire Óg team entered the senior ranks in their inaugural campaign, winning the 1928 Senior Hurling Championship defeating Mallow in the final on a scoreline of 5-2 to 3-2.

Early successes in hurling were followed by a fallow period during the late 1930s and 1940s, when the club went into decline. Thanks to the efforts of men such as the late John Lyons, John Crean, Tom Murphy, Tim Lane, Jimmy O Brien, Nicholas Irwin, Teddy O Leary, Denny O Sullivan and the Rev. Fr. Sean Murphy, Éire Óg survived the barren spell and began the journey to regain its former glories.

Underage success in 1953 sparked a revival of fortunes with a nucleus of players going on to win three divisional junior hurling titles in a row from 1960 to 1962, eventually winning the county outright in the latter year. Éire Óg won the Liam Breathnach Cup in 1964 before being re-graded to the junior ranks in 1969 where they won the Muskerry Junior Hurling title in 1971 & 1972.

Hurling dominated the landscape but Éire Óg did manage to chalk-up their first Muskerry Junior Football Championship in 1976.

In 1977, Éire Óg won the Junior Hurling County Championship and returned to the Intermediate grade and it didn't take long for them to make an impression, winning the County Championship within two seasons in 1979 before going on to compete at senior level for the following three years.

In 1985 Éire Óg won their second Intermediate Hurling County title defeating Blackrock by 0-14 to 2-07. This would mark the end of a great era in the clubs fortunes.

There was little in the way of adult success from the late 1980s to the early 2000s but this period did see a number of significant underage successes. Éire Óg secured Minor B and A Hurling County titles in 1988 & 1993.

Underage football emerged as a force during this period and significantly in 1998, our U14 footballers won the Cork Feile na nGael competition. Many of these players went on to win the clubs first Minor A Football County title four years later. In 2006 our minors landed a second county title and these successes provided the platform for Éire Ógs 2008 Junior Football County Championship win when they defeated Ballygarvan in the final.

Éire Óg also won the Premier 2 Minor Hurling County Championship that year an achievement that was matched in 2014, winning the Rebel Og Minor A Hurling County title.

In October 2014, Éire Óg won their first Intermediate Football Championship, defeating Rockchapel in the final on a scoreline of 0-14 to 0-6.

In 2019, Éire Óg, made their way to Senior A football when they won the Premier Intermediate Football Championship, beating St Michaels on a final score of 0-14 to 0-12. 

As a result of the Coronavirus outbreak, the 2020 final of the Senior A Football Championship was not played until June 2021. In the final Éire Óg beat Mallow 2-13 to 1-7, which meant that in 2021 Éire Óg played at Premier Senior for the first time in the clubs history. 

Like the Senior A Football final, the Intermediate A Hurling final had to be played in 2021 as a result of Covid. In August, Éire Óg beat near neighbours Aghabullogue in the final on a scoreline of 2-16 to 0-17. Éire Óg returned to the higher Premier Intermediate level for the first time in many years. 

Having played at various sites throughout the parish since its foundation, Éire Óg settled in its current location in Knockanemore. The current pavilion and playing fields were opened in 1987 with later developments seeing the addition of two new playing fields west of Caseys Rd. and more recently, an All Weather astro-turf pitch, ball alley and new dressing-room facilities. The progress continues to the present day with works in-progress on the development of a floodlit, sand-and soil based pitch.