The Southern Star Sport Podcast

ON this week's podcast we're looking back at two difficult results for the Cork men's senior football team which leaves them bottom of Division Two and facing into a potential relegation battle. The last time we spoke about Cork, we were feeling optimistic, looking ahead to a Division Two campaign with promotion a distant possibility on the horizon. Two weeks later, two defeats to Donegal and Lout...

ON this week's podcast, we are celebrating the West Cork Sports Star Awards, which took place in the Celtic Ross Hotel on Saturday night. A record crowd gathered in Rosscarbery to celebrate the diversity and excellence of West Cork Sport, on a night where Jack Crowley was crowned the Overall West Cork Sports Star for 2023. We chat about Crowley's brilliance ahead of this Friday's Six Nations opene...

ON this week's podcast we welcome former Cork footballer and selector John Hayes to look ahead at Cork's league season. John Cleary's men get their campaign underway this Sunday away at Donegal, and are aiming at promotion to get back to Division One for the first time in nine years. To get there, they'll have to finish ahead of the likes of Donegal, Armagh and Meath, and while it will be a tough...

ON this week's podcast we are chatting to Cork footballer Melissa Duggan ahead of what will be her eighth season involved with the senior panel. Cork get their Division 1 league campaign off to a start this weekend with a home match in Mallow against Galway – throw in is at 2pm on Sunday. Duggan joins Kieran to talk about why she loves pre-season, how she's become one of the leaders in the dressin...

ON this week's podcast we are joined by Cill na Martra selector Gearóid Ó hÉalithe ahead of his club's biggest game ever – the All-Ireland Intermediate football final against Cullyhanna on Sunday. Cill na Martra are a small club and parish but have exceeded all expectations this season to make it to the final, and have been rewarded with a big day out in Croke Park. Gearóid reflects on the incredi...

ON this week's podcast we are looking back at a remarkable year in West Cork sport. 2023 was a banner year for West Cork across all sports, with local GAA clubs bringing a huge number of titles back West, Skibbereen rowers Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy doing what they do best and winning a third consecutive World Rowing championship, Jack Crowley starring at the Rugby World Cup, Fiona Everard...

ON this week's podcast we are celebrating Castlehaven's remarkable win over Dingle in the Munster senior football final – we're joined by captain Mark Collins to reflect on what some people are describing as the best win in Haven's history. They battled through some biblical conditions to beat Kerry club champions Dingle in a penalty shootout following a drawn game – 13 points a piece – in which H...

ON this week's bumper podcast we are joined by by Kate O'Connell, Jessica Beechinor and Lisa Harte of the O'Donovan Rossa ladies football team who are looking forward to an All-Ireland junior football final following a brilliant win in Skibbereen on Saturday. The Rossa ladies beat Gusserane of Wexford by 2-12 to 0-6 in a home All-Ireland semi-final, which drew a big crowd at Rossa Park. The reward...

ON this week's podcast we're chatting to the former Carbery hurling manager Joe Ryan, who is stepping away following a year in charge, about his time in charge, how he sees the divisional team’s role in West Cork hurling and what changes he might make to the setup as well. Divisional teams are facing a lot of debate in Cork hurling at the moment, so Ryan is well-placed to talk about the challenges...

ON this week's podcast we are joined by special guest Fiona Everard from Enniskeane, who last weekend became the 123.ie National Cross-Country senior women's champion in Gowran, Co Kilkenny. Her victory came just 12 months after she won the novice category at the national championships, so it's fair to say she has come on leaps and bounds this year. Kieran caught up with Everard to reflect on a br...

ON this week's Star Sport Podcast  we have two special guests who are coming off the back of brilliant weekends for their respective clubs. First up we hear from O'Donovan Rossa's Laura O'Mahony. The Skibb ladies won the club's first ever Munster LGFA crown at the weekend with a victory over Kerry champions Clounmacon/Moyvane, and are looking forward to a trip abroad in the All-Ireland series...

ON this week's Star Sport Podcast we are chatting to David O’Sullivan, the captain of the Barryroe team who recently won their first ever Carbery Junior A football title following a brilliant win after extra time in a tight game against Kilmacabea. The men in blue didn’t have long to celebrate after their victory because they were back out at the weekend in the Bon Secours Junior A championship, w...

THE West is well and truly awake on this week's Star Sport Podcast as we chat to Mark Collins, captain of the PSFC winners Castlehaven and Eoghan Collins, captain of the SAHC winners Newcestown. Both men were in great form after their respective club's brilliant wins in Páirc Uí Chaoímh over the weekend. Castlehaven claimed their first men's senior title since 2013, while Newcestown completed the...

WEST Cork is ready to take over the capital this weekend, as Castlehaven, Bantry Blues and Newcestown all take part in county finals in Pairc Uí Chaoimh. On this week's podcast we welcome former Cork footballer Haulie O'Sullivan on to look ahead to what should be a great weekend of football and hurling, and to give his take on where each match could be won and lost. Castlehaven are back in the big...

ON this week’s podcast we’re welcoming two special guests – first up is Ciarán Crowley, who is a joint-captain of the Clonakilty side who became Carbery Junior A Hurling champions at the weekend with 1-17 to 11 points victory over St James in Newcestown. We’re also joined by Tadhg Twomey of Newcestown ahead of his club’s county senior A hurling final against Blarney this weekend – Twomey recently...

WHAT a weekend of GAA it was in West Cork, with Castlehaven and O'Donovan Rossa both bringing home county LGFA titles, and multiple men's teams securing places in county finals. Kieran and Dylan roundup the results and talking points from some of the biggest games of the year so far, including Castlehaven's victory in the premier senior football championship against St Finbarrs and why we're looki...

OUR special guest on this week's podcast is Mairead O’Driscoll, who has been one of the stalwarts of a team who has performed well, with this year being Haven's first year up in senior, and they have done well to get to the senior B final. Kieran caught up with this week’s special guest earlier this week ahead of what is a huge weekend for Castlehaven who take on Fermoy in the Cork LGFA Senior B f...

ON this week's podcast we're joined by Munster and Ireland rugby legend Laura Guest to talk about Ireland's monumental clash against South Africa in the World Cup at the weekend – a game which featured West Cork's Jack Crowley, who came on and kicked three points to help confirm a massive victory. Laura Guest is the region's most successful rugby player ever. She's played in three World Cups, coac...

ON this week's podcast we are joined by one of West Cork and Ireland's greatest athletes in Fintan McCarthy. The Skibbereen man recently became a three-time WorldRowing Champion alongside fellow Aughadown native Paul O'Donovan at the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, beating out the field to come first in the men's lightweight doubles final. Paul and Fintan are in an ideal position now. Olym...

ON this week's podcast we're joined by the now former Cork Camogie manager Matthew Twomey to chat about his time in charge of Cork, why he decided to step away from management, what it meant to beat Waterford in this year's All-Ireland final and more. We also look back on a brilliant weekend of West Cork sport, which included Castlehaven and Clonakilty sealing their spots in the knockout stages of...

ON this week's podcast we hear from Colm O’Shea of Doheny’s, who head into this weekend’s senior A football championship clash against Ilen Rovers knowing that a win will guarantee them a spot in the semi-final, so while they have qualified from their group, there is still a lot to play for. We’ll be hearing from Colm on that, his thoughts on where football is in general at the moment and why Dohe...

ON this week’s podcast we’re celebrating the news that Inishannon’s Jack Crowley will become the first West Cork man to participate in a Rugby World Cup in just a few weeks time following his inclusion in Andy Farrell’s squad. We have two guests joining us to chat all things Jack – first up is Dan Murphy, who is president of Bandon Rugby Club where Crowley began his rugby career. He joins to chat...

ON this week's podcast we're joined by the latest in the West Cork to Munster rugby production line – Abbie Salter-Townshend. The Skibbereen woman and scrum-half made her first competitive Munster senior appearance in the province’s 41-14 bonus-point victory away to Ulster in the Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship opener. Last weekend, the she featured again, as eight-try Munster hammer...

ON this week's podcast we're joined by Carbery boss Tim Buckley, who is looking forward to defending the Tadhg Crowley cup this season. The West Cork divisional side take on Duhallow on Thursday 24th at 7.30pm in Páirc Uí Rinn in the College/Divisional section semi final and Matthew has been chatting to Buckley ahead of that game about his love of knock-out football and lots more. Kieran is away o...

ON this week's podcast we have two newly-crowned All-Ireland champions, Fiona Keating and Saoirse McCarthy, who joined us from Flannery's bar in Cork city to tell us all about how it felt to end Cork's 5-year wait for the O'Duffy Cup. Cork hammered opponents Waterford in the final on Sunday by 5-13 to 0-9, and were dominant throughout. The West Cork contingent performed well, with Fiona Keating gr...