As part of the club's Health and Wellbeing programme Bennettsbridge GAA club are hosting a Basic Life Support Training session on Saturday 3rd of February between 2pm and 6pm in the Community hall. This is an open invitation to the community. The cost is €50 (payable on booking). This is a practical interactive session which covers adult & child CPR and airway obstruction and is accredited by the Irish Heart Foundation. There is only a limited number of places so to book please contact Andrea on 0871226882.

What a difference a game makes. After suffering a heavy defeat against James Stephens in the first round the pressure was on to come up with a strong response. And no better bunch of lads to produce it when it matters most. Danesfort hit the first point of the game but a pointed 65 by Nicky Cleere brought parity. From the puck out The Bridge won possession and when the ball was delivered to Kevin Blanchfield he made one of his driving runs and finished the ball to the net. Danesfort responded with 5 unanswered points before 4 points from frees and another 65 put the Bridge back in front. Then another darting run from Kevin Blanchfield cut through their defence before he layed the ball off to Brian Lannon who made no mistake. It was now 2-05 to 0-6 and things were looking good but back came Danesfort and 3 Richie Hogan points from frees gave them hope. But on the stroke of half time Sean Morrissey made a run through their defence and he again fed the ever ready Brian Lannon for his second and our third goal of the half. This was the last piece of action of the half and The Bridge went in the happier. It was stressed at half time that we needed the first score and after we went but after 7mins we had hit 4 wides and the others hit 2 points. A quick fire 3 points to one over the next 4 minutes meant it was the same advantage as half time. It would take another 8 minutes to score again but they were not making much inroads into the lead and in the end it was a deserving 5 point advantage to our boys. A great deal of credit to the lads who have worked very hard over the past fortnight but they will need to improve as much more over the next 2weeks before they face Clara on the 20th May.  Final Score Bennettsbridge 3-13 Danesfort 0-17.  Our team was. E Cleere, S Byrne, R Lennon, P O'Neill, E Morrissey, J Cleere, A Cleere, D Wafer, K Blanchfield (1-1), B Lannon (2-0), N Cleere (0-9), S Morrissey (0-1), W Murphy, L Blanchfield (0-1), K Brennan (0-1), Subs used D Walsh.

The scoreline tells the story as Bennettsbridge were outplayed and out muscled in this first round of the St. Canices Credit Union Hurling League 1^st. Round. The games opened at an even challenge with both sides trading scores before The Village edged into a 3 point lead after 10 minutes. The Bridge side rallied and after 20 minutes it was all square. The Bridge were now putting on the squeeze and lead by 7-5 after 25 minutes. However the half finished badly with the town side outscoring us by 1-6 to a single point. The half time score read 1-11 to 0-8 which did not by any means reflect the game. The second half was more clear cut however with The Village outscoring our boys by 0-11 to 0-7. Tried as our lads might they were unable to get that vital score they needed to ignite them to mount a challenge. They now have just 2 weeks to turn around their fortune against Danesfort in the second round. Our Team was E Cleere(0-1), P O’Neill, R Lennon, C Wafer, E Morrissey, J Cleere, A Cleere, K Blanchfield(0-1), S Morrissey, B Lannon(0-1), N Cleere(0-10), M Shiel, K Brennan, L Blanchfield, D Walsh(0-1). Subs used W Murphy(0-1), B O’Neill, Pa O’Neill.

It was a case of all hands on deck last Saturday morning when work began on the club development. This time it was preparing for the soon to be delivered Hurling Wall. Work began early with plenty of tractors, trailers and track machines arriving to remove the soil and dig foundations before concrete arrived for the foundations to support the wall. Stone and concrete was delivered from the local Roadstone quarry while most of the topsoil was spread where there was a dip behind the goal. The remainder was deposited under the motorway just up the road. A big thank you to those who provided their machines along with those who came with their shovels to do whatever was required. Also to the ladies for the refreshments which were most appreciated on the day. The area is currently fenced off and with the wall being delivered and erected on Monday next it is hoped we will be using it in a few weeks.

The curtains came down on a long road which saw the club play continuously for almost 3 years. On this occasion it was the turn of the U21 team to finish off the season for the club and now they can enjoy a well deserved rest over the winter. Playing strongly fancied James Stephens was hard enough but when we were missing one of the teams powerhouses in Liam Blanchfield it was very difficult indeed. But as we have seen and said so many times this bunch of lads will never give up and they did not on Sunday either. Playing in icy conditions with a strong breeze we went in at half time 0-5 to 0-3 ahead after having the wind in our backs. It was a concern given the fact the wind was only getting stronger and so it proved but only because they got a fortunate goal half way through the half. When Connor Murphy hooked the Village wing forward the ball dropped short and finished to the net. Scores were hard to come by but that never stopped our lads from trying but try as they might the truth is we just could not break down their tight defence. So after all the thrills and spills over the last 2 plus years we can all go home and put our feet up for the winter. The final score was Bennettsbridge 0-07 James Stephens 1-07. Our team lined out : B Tynan, Brian O’Neill,S Byrne, Bill O’Neill, S O’Dwyer, J Cleere(0-1), C Murphy, L Dowling, K Blanchfield(0-1), M Shiel, S Morrissey, K Brennan(0-5), D Coyne, H Corkery, R Cleere. Subs used. R O’Connor and D Blanchfield.