1981 Maiden Flyer Nyhan
Amid scenes of intense excitement and jubilation Barryroe won the South-West Cork Junior Hurling final at Clonakilty on Sunday 27th September afternoon, when they defeated old rivals Kilbrittain on the score of 5-04 to 1-15. The fact that the victory margin was so close made it all the sweeter.
The strong wind which aided the sun and greatly favoured the team playing from the town goal made the task of compairing the ability of one team vis-a-vis the other all the more difficult. When Barryroe, who played with the wind in the first half, turned over with a lead of six points, 4-02 to 0-08, many felt that they had enough to spare, but Denis Healy's well taken goal for Kilbrittain ten minutes into the second half really set the cat amongst the pigeons. Play opened with Pa Brennan giving Kilbrittain their first and only lead from a forty yards free in the fifth minute and two minutes later Dave Philpott put Barryroe into the lead with a well-taken goal, a lead which they were never again to lose during the course of the match. In the closing stages while Kilbrittain laid siege after siege on the Barryroe lines, the goalie and backs held out. When a long range free was cleared out over the line, the time was up, and when the Kilbrittain man failed to score direct all in Clonakilty went wild in a frenzy of blue and white.
The milling crowd surged on to the pitch to cheer their heroes off. Dr. John O'Keeffe, Chairman of the West Cork Board, presented the Flyer Nyhan Cup to Vincent O'Donovan, captain of the Barryroe team, and in congratulating them said that he noticed that their name hadn't appeared on the cup. He wished every success in the future rounds of the county championship. Receiving the cup Vincent O'Donovan thanked everybody who had contributed to their victory and called for three cheers for Kilbrittain who he said were worthy opponents and gallant losers. The scenes of jubilation in the Barryroe dressing room were over-powering and when Jimmy Ryan, coach of the Kilbrittain team, came in to offer his congratulations, everybody was most appreciative of his comments.
