Iveleary’s Statement of Intent: Jones Hat-Trick Secures Victory

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

Jones hat-trick fires Iveleary’s statement of intent

Twelve months after having their hearts broken in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Iveleary have come out swinging.

On a warm Friday night in Kilmurry, the Muskerry men launched their McCarthy Insurance Group PIFC campaign with a wild, breathless win over Glanmire, powered by a ruthless 3-4 haul from Cork senior forward Chris Óg Jones.

This finished as a seven-point victory. It didn’t feel like one. Not when an apparently settled contest suddenly exploded and Glanmire, dead and buried at 3-10 to 2-8 with eight minutes left, somehow dragged themselves level and left the ground stunned into silence.

Then Jones and Iveleary snapped back to life.

Cagey start, clinical finish

Both teams flirted with early goals before anyone bothered with a point. When the deadlock finally broke on 10 minutes, it came from Glanmire’s Tiernan Hourihan, steadying himself to clip over the first score of the night.

Iveleary responded with purpose rather than panic. Sean O’Riordan and Sam Pickering picked off tidy points and the favourites eased into a 0-4 to 0-1 advantage, their running game beginning to bite.

Glanmire, though, are no strangers to a rise in standard. Cork IAFC champions in 2024 and Premier Intermediate quarter-finalists last year, they didn’t come to Kilmurry to make up numbers. Midway through the half, they forced a penalty and Harry Browne drilled it low to the corner with conviction, dragging his side level and injecting real edge into the contest.

The response from Iveleary was sharp. Pickering struck a lovely two-pointer in a productive spell that nudged them back in front, but Glanmire kept swinging. With Shane O’Driscoll curling over a classy two-pointer of his own, they suddenly led 1-5 to 0-7 on 27 minutes, their bench roaring every turnover, every tackle.

Then came the sting.

Deep in first-half stoppage time, Iveleary forced a turnover and the ball was worked quickly to Jones. One step, one glance, one rocket. The net bulged, Glanmire’s good work vanished in an instant, and Iveleary jogged off 1-7 to 1-5 ahead, momentum firmly in red and white hands.

Iveleary surge clear

The second half began with Iveleary playing like a team still haunted by last year’s final – and determined to make sure history does not repeat.

They tightened the screw around the middle third, turned ball over high, and when the chance came, O’Riordan finished coolly for their second goal. Jones, now purring, added his second not long after, and the scoreboard began to reflect the control they had imposed.

With eight minutes of normal time left, Iveleary led 3-10 to 2-8. The game looked finished. Glanmire looked spent. The Iveleary support relaxed, perhaps a little too early.

Glanmire’s blitz from nowhere

Then the night flipped.

In a frantic burst, Glanmire tore through a suddenly slack Iveleary rearguard. Jeremy Kingston buried a goal. Brian Galvin followed with another. The Iveleary lead evaporated in seconds, the body language on both sides transforming almost immediately.

When Harry Cogan clipped over a two-pointer to drag Glanmire level, 3-10 to 3-10, the entire ground was shellshocked. Iveleary’s earlier dominance was gone, the scoreboard wiped clean, and all the psychological baggage of last year’s final seemed to crash down on them at once.

Were they about to wobble again on the big stage?

Jones brothers close it out

Not this time.

Iveleary steadied themselves, slowed the chaos, and leaned on familiar shoulders. Ian Jones stepped forward first, landing vital points to restore a gap and reassert control just when the game threatened to run away from them.

Then, as the contest ticked into second-half stoppage time, his brother delivered the final word. Chris Óg, who had already tortured Glanmire’s defence, struck for his third goal, sealing a hat-trick and slamming the door on any lingering doubt.

By the end, the scoreline – 4-16 to 3-10 – looked comfortable. The path there was anything but.

A machine gathering pace

For Iveleary, this was more than just an opening-day win. It was a test of nerve, passed under pressure, and a reminder of the firepower at John McNulty’s disposal. With Jones, O’Riordan, Pickering, Cathal Vaughan and Ian Jones all prominent, they look every inch a side equipped to finally punch through into the Senior A ranks.

Glanmire, for their part, showed enough resilience and attacking punch to suggest their own season still has plenty of life. That late three-goal burst will not be quickly forgotten.

Next up for Iveleary is Bantry Blues in the championship, another step on a road they hope leads back to Páirc Uí Chaoimh and redemption. It is only July, but on this evidence, it will take a seriously good team to derail this Iveleary machine.