Iveleary Triumphs Over Glanmire in Thrilling Opener

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

Jones catches fire as Iveleary send early message

Twelve months after heartbreak at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Iveleary have started the long road back with a performance that crackled with intent and just enough chaos to remind them nothing will be handed to them in 2026.

On a lively Friday evening in Kilmurry, they beat Glanmire in a wild, momentum-swinging McCarthy Insurance Group PIFC opener, powered by a devastating 3-4 from Cork senior forward Chris Óg Jones.

He didn’t just decorate the game. He decided it.

Cagey start, then chaos

Both sides sniffed early goal chances before anyone bothered the umpires. It took 10 minutes for the first white flag, Tiernan Hourihan finally nudging Glanmire in front.

That woke Iveleary up.

Sean O’Riordan and Sam Pickering began to punch holes, their points settling the Muskerry men and pushing them 0-4 to 0-1 ahead. Iveleary looked sharper, slicker, and briefly in control.

Glanmire, though, are not in this grade to make up numbers. IAFC champions in 2024 and Premier Intermediate quarter-finalists last season, they have hardened edges now. When Harry Browne stepped up to a first-half penalty, he buried it in the corner with authority, dragging them level and changing the tone of the evening.

Pickering answered with a lovely two-pointer, that increasingly valuable weapon in modern club football, to tilt the scoreboard back towards Iveleary. Yet Glanmire’s response was impressive. They grew into the contest, moved the ball with purpose, and when Shane O’Driscoll clipped over a fine two-pointer on 27 minutes, they suddenly led 1-5 to 0-7.

Then came the sting.

Deep in first-half stoppage time, Iveleary turned Glanmire over and broke at pace. The ball found the one man Glanmire did not want in space. Jones steadied himself and lashed it to the net. In an instant, the half flipped. Instead of trailing, Iveleary jogged off 1-7 to 1-5 in front, the kind of psychological swing that can define an opening-round tie.

Iveleary surge clear

After the restart, Iveleary looked like a side with unfinished business from 2025.

They tightened up at the back, controlled the middle third, and began to punch through lines. Sean O’Riordan slipped in for a neat finish to the net, stretching the gap and putting Glanmire on the back foot.

Jones then struck again.

His second goal, added to a growing tally of points from himself and Ian Jones, pushed Iveleary into what looked like an unassailable lead. With eight minutes of normal time left, the board read 3-10 to 2-8. The contest appeared done, the result drifting towards routine.

Then the game caught fire.

Glanmire’s astonishing fightback

From nowhere, Glanmire exploded.

Jeremy Kingston pounced for a goal. Brian Galvin followed with another, Iveleary suddenly wide open and rattled. The Iveleary support, so comfortable a few minutes earlier, watched in disbelief as Glanmire surged forward again.

Harry Cogan, already influential, stepped up with a two-pointer to haul them level. In the space of a few frantic attacks, an eight-point deficit had vanished. Kilmurry was stunned. Iveleary, for a moment, looked like a team reliving the worst of last year’s final.

The question hung in the air: had they learned anything from that Aghabullogue defeat?

Jones and Iveleary answer the bell

They answered emphatically.

Shaken awake, Iveleary went back to basics — win the breaks, use the ball, trust the shooters. Ian Jones took on responsibility, clipping over vital points to steady the ship and reclaim the lead.

With Glanmire now chasing shadows and the clock in red, the stage belonged once more to Chris Óg.

In second-half stoppage time, he completed his hat-trick, finishing with the kind of cold certainty that marks out a top-tier forward. It killed the comeback, killed the contest, and underlined exactly why he is central to Iveleary’s ambitions of finally breaking into the Senior A ranks.

He walked off with 3-4 to his name. Iveleary walked off with two points and a statement.

Early markers laid down

Around Jones, there was plenty to like for John McNulty. Ian Jones contributed 0-5, including a two-pointer, while O’Riordan, Pickering, and John Sweeney all chipped in on the scoreboard. The spine held firm when the game went wild, and the bench was used smartly as injuries and tired legs appeared.

Glanmire, for their part, leave with bruises but also with evidence that they can trouble anyone in this competition. Browne’s penalty, Kingston and Galvin’s goals, the two-pointers from Cogan, Hackett, and O’Driscoll — this is a side with weapons and resilience, even if their first-half turnover at the death and late defensive lapses cost them dearly.

Next for Iveleary is Bantry Blues, another step on a path they hope leads back to Páirc Uí Chaoimh and redemption. It is only July, the ground still firm and the evenings still long, but one thing is already clear:

It will take a serious team to stop this Iveleary machine.