Iveleary Overcomes Glanmire in Thrilling Opener
Iveleary 4-16 Glanmire 3-10
(Iveleary 4-2-12, Glanmire 3-3-4)
Chris Óg Jones walked off the Kilmurry sod on Friday night with the match ball under his arm and 3-4 beside his name. Iveleary walked off with something even more valuable – the look of a team intent on righting a wrong from last year.
Twelve months after the heartbreak of losing the McCarthy Insurance Group PIFC final to Aghabullogue at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, the Muskerry men opened their 2026 campaign with a wild, high-scoring win that said plenty about their firepower and just as much about their resilience.
Iveleary lay down a marker
This was no gentle easing into championship life. From the off, both sides went hunting goals. Early chances came and went at either end before Glanmire finally settled the scoreboard on 10 minutes, Tiernan Hourihan clipping over the first point.
That only seemed to rouse Iveleary. Sean O’Riordan and Sam Pickering found their range, and the favourites moved into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead, beginning to dictate the tempo and the traffic.
Glanmire, though, are not in the business of rolling over. Cork IAFC champions in 2024 and Premier Intermediate quarter-finalists last season, they arrived with pedigree and purpose. Midway through the half, they got their reward. A penalty, Harry Browne over the ball, and he buried it into the corner with conviction to haul them level.
The game loosened. Iveleary nudged back in front, Pickering delighting the home support with a stylish two-pointer during a productive purple patch. Glanmire hit back again, Shane O’Driscoll answering in kind with a fine two-point effort, and suddenly they led 1-5 to 0-7 on 27 minutes, their work rate and running game starting to bite.
Then came the sting.
Deep into first-half stoppage time, Iveleary turned Glanmire over and broke at pace. One swift, ruthless move later, the ball was at the feet of the man no defender wants bearing down on them. Chris Óg Jones didn’t hesitate, rifling it to the net. A half that had tilted towards Glanmire finished with Iveleary in front, 1-7 to 1-5, and the mood in Kilmurry had shifted.
Jones takes charge
If the first half was a tug of war, the third quarter belonged to Iveleary.
They emerged with intent, snapping into tackles, winning breaks, and driving at Glanmire’s heart. The pressure told when Sean O’Riordan slipped through and finished neatly for Iveleary’s second goal, stretching the gap and loosening Glanmire’s grip on the contest.
Jones then struck again. His second goal, added to his growing points tally, pushed Iveleary into what looked like an unassailable position. With eight minutes of normal time left, the scoreboard read 3-10 to 2-8. The game felt done, the outcome seemingly sealed, Iveleary cruising towards a statement opening-day victory.
What followed was chaos.
Glanmire’s stunning fightback
Almost in an instant, the match flipped. Glanmire, staring at defeat, tore into Iveleary with a ferocity that left the crowd buzzing and the Iveleary defence reeling.
First, Jeremy Kingston found the net. Then Brian Galvin did the same, another green flag to jolt the contest back to life. Iveleary, so composed for so long, suddenly looked rattled. Glanmire sensed it and went for the throat.
The drama peaked when Harry Cogan stepped up and clipped over a two-pointer to drag Glanmire level. From eight down to parity in a blur of scores. The Iveleary support, and indeed everyone in the ground, stood stunned. A routine win had turned into a test of character.
Iveleary answer the question
That was the moment this game stopped being about flair and started being about nerve.
Iveleary found theirs.
They steadied themselves around the middle and began to play with purpose again. Ian Jones, cool when chaos swirled around him, landed a couple of vital points to edge them back in front. Each white flag settled Iveleary further, each one chipping away at Glanmire’s momentum.
And then, fittingly, it was left to the main man to slam the door shut.
Deep into second-half stoppage time, with Glanmire forced to chase the game, space opened up once more. Jones pounced, completing his hat-trick with another emphatic finish. Any lingering doubt disappeared with the net’s ripple. Iveleary were home, 4-16 to 3-10, their star forward crowned with 3-4 and a performance that underlined his standing as one of Cork’s sharpest operators.
A machine gathers pace
This was not flawless from Iveleary. Letting an eight-point cushion slip will bother John McNulty and his management team. They coughed up chances, lost control for a crucial spell, and invited pressure that better sides will be eager to exploit.
Yet the bigger picture is hard to ignore. They scored 4-16, had multiple scoring threats, and when the game turned wild, they still had the composure – and the class – to close it out. With Jones and Cathal Vaughan spearheading a talented group, Iveleary look every inch a side ready to punch through into the Senior A ranks.
For Glanmire, there is disappointment, but also plenty of encouragement. Their third-quarter collapse will sting, yet their furious comeback, powered by Browne, Kingston, Galvin, O’Driscoll and Cogan, showed there is steel as well as style in this group. They will trouble teams before this campaign is done.
Next for Iveleary is Bantry Blues, another step on a road they hope ends in redemption rather than regret. It is only July, the championship barely out of its wrapper, but one thing already feels clear: it will take a serious outfit to stop this Iveleary machine.
