ON THIS week's podcast, we are looking back at a memorable year in West Cork sport, hence why the end of year list has been increased from 10 to 20 places. 2024 was one to remember for West Cork sporting fanatics between success at the Olympic Games in Paris where the Ballineen Bullet Phil Healy and Skibbereen rowers Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCar…

ON THIS week's podcast, up and coming GAA referee Shane Scanlon explains why he took up the whistle. The Newcestown native has taken charge of some big games in his young career including this year’s Cork premier SHC final between Imokilly and Sarsfields. Scanlon chats about his career to date, the number of referees needed for club championships, …

ON THIS week's podcast, we catch up with Macroom native Erika O’Shea after her Australian Football League Women’s triumph with the North Melbourne Kangaroos. The Roos won the title against the 2023 victors, Brisbane Lions, in the final by 39-9 and went the whole season unbeaten, no team in the AFL men's or women's have done that before. O’Shea just…

ON THIS week's podcast, we are joined by Goleen midfielder Matthew Sheehan as the Carbery junior B champions face into a county final against Douglas. The Mizen Peninsula club have already won two championship trophies (confined junior B and Carbery junior B titles) as well as a West Cork division 2 league win. Their county junior B final is in Pai…

ON THIS week's podcast, Kieran is joined by O’Donovan Rossa hurling trio Alan Foley, Flor Crowley and Rob Long. The club is celebrating 20 years after their Cork junior BHC victory in 2004. On November 14th, 2004, Crowley, who was captain of the team, collected the junior B cup in front of a huge Skibbereen following. Recently, 25 players from the …

ON THIS week's podcast, Tom Savage from Three Red Kings joins us to discuss the current state of play involving Jack Crowley. The Bandon RFC graduate and Innishannon man has been in competition for the Irish number ten jersey for the past few weeks with Leinster players Ciaran Frawley and Sam Prendergast. Crowley played 58 minutes against New Zeala…

ON THIS week's podcast, O’Donovan Rossa forward Kate O’Donovan chats after the Skibbereen club’s Munster intermediate LGFA title win. Rossa beat St Ailbes from Limerick by 0-10 to 0-7 and produced a particularly impressive second half display. That's five championship titles in the last five for super Skibb, who have only lost one game in that time…

ON THIS week's podcast, Diarmuid O'Mathunas captain Jeremiah Hurley discusses their first Carbery junior AHC win in 14 years. The Castletownkenneigh club beat Ballinascarthy by 1-14 to 1-12 in Enniskeane to bring the Flyer Nyhan Cup back to Mathunas. Hurley talks about the emotion of the win, the support from the Mathunas’ fans, balancing hurling a…

ON THIS week's podcast, Castlehaven captain Mark Collins joins us on the show after their 0-16 to 0-11 win over Nemo Rangers, winning their second county premier SFC title in a row. They repeated the feat of 2012/2013, manager Seanie Cahalane captained the team 11 years ago and is now the winning manager. The Haven were full value for their win aft…

ON THIS week's podcast, former Cork footballer and Southern Star Sports columnist John Hayes previews the county premier SFC final between Castlehaven and Nemo Rangers, on Sunday in Supervalu Pairc Ui Chaoimh at 3.30pm. The Haven are going for their second Andy Scannell Cup in a row and face a Nemo side chasing their first crown since 2022. The sid…

ON THIS week's podcast, Kieran chats to O’Donovan Rossa captain Laura O’Mahony after the Skibb side’s county intermediate LGFA triumph over Naomh Aban, 0-12 to 1-8. O’Mahony talks about the rise of the club from being in junior C in 2018 to competing in Senior in 2025. Rossa won the junior Cork, Munster and All Ireland crowns in 2023 and have won 1…

ON THIS week's podcast, Kieran McCarthy chats to Cork Camogie and Courcey Rovers star Saoirse McCarthy. McCarthy was in Croke Park this week for the Launch of Eir as an Official Telco partner of the Camogie Association and three year sponsor of the U16 Camogie All Ireland Championship. She talks about how Camogie brings people together, adapting to…

ON THIS week's podcast, we chat to Ballinascarthy forward Brian O’Donovan ahead of their Carbery junior AHC semi final against St James on Sunday at 2.30pm in Enniskeane. O’Donovan has been in two of the last three Southern Star Team of the Week’s across hurling and football. He is one of the most lethal finishers in the Carbery championship and on…

BEARA'S Billy Murphy has a new role as their new schools coach and how they can develop as a division. He talks to Kieran McCarthy on this week's podcast. We also cover a big weekend of county football action as Clonakilty, Carbery Rangers, Dohenys and Bantry Blues. The current state of play in the Carbery junior A championships will be talked abou…

PAUL O'DONOVAN was recently awarded for his incredible 2024 with a monthly West Cork Sports Star award, and we took the time to catch up with him in a year that has gone pretty well, it's fair to say. A second Olympic gold medal, a seventh World Rowing championship, starting work as a doctor – it's been a busy year. Thousands flocked to see O'Donov…

THIS week's podcast is a preview special as we look ahead to this weekend's Cork football championship matches as the final round of the group stage takes place. It looks set to be an exciting couple of days of football as there is still plenty to be decided across the different divisions, with a number of West Cork clubs looking to either qualify …

PAUL O'Donovan might have chosen to take some time off after winning his third Olympic – and second gold – medal in Paris during the summer. He would have been well within his rights to rest, recover and let everything sink in. Instead, he travelled to Canada just a couple of weeks later and won his seventh World Rowing title. He also started worki…

CELEBRATIONS raged across Cork last week as the All-Ireland winning senior camogie team returned from Dublin with a second O'Duffy Cup in as many years. The Rebels’ reign is well underway. That’s now back-to-back All-Ireland senior camogie titles. With Cork also winning the All-Ireland intermediate crown, the first leg of the double, at Croke Park …

PHIL Healy is the special guest on a special episode of the Star Sport Podcast, as The Ballineen Bullet joins Kieran McCarthy to reflect on a whirlwind couple of weeks at the Paris Olympics. Phil was welcomed home to the twin villages of Ballineen and Enniskeane in style last week, as she was paraded through the streets in a vintage Rolls Royce! Sh…

PHIL Healy ran an incredible race last Saturday night, clocking a time of 50.94 in the women's 4x400m relay final to help get Ireland to within eighteen hundredths of an historic bronze medal. It was an emotional race for Phil and her teammates, who were in tears afterwards, wondering what could have been. Now that the dust has settled, we can look…

PHIL Healy is a two-time Olympic finalist! The Ballineen Bullet along with Sophie Becker, Kelly McGrory, and Sharlene Mawdsley qualified in third position in heat two of the 4x400m women's relay to qualify automatically for the final. The Irish quartet ran a fantastic race, just finishing marginally behind Jamacia and the Netherlands with a time of…

WE have a very special treat for Southern Star fans as we caught up with two-time Olympic gold medallist Fintan McCarthy to chat about his experiences at the Paris Games. One-half of the dominant Irish lightweight men’s double alongside Paul O’Donovan, Fintan reflects on the A final, the build-up, sharing the moment with his family and friends, and…

They only went and did it! Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy are Olympic champions once again following victory in the men's lightweight double sculls final this morning. It's a massive achievement for the Skibbereen pair, who will go down in the history books as some of Ireland's greatest-ever athletes. Paul O'Donovan is now the only Irish person…

SKIBBEREEN will have three rowers competing in Olympic finals on Friday morning after Paul O'Donovan, Fintan McCarthy and Aoife Casey – with Rochestown's Mags Cremen – all qualified after impressive performances in their semi-finals. On today's podcast we look back on an exciting morning for West Cork, Cork and Ireland as Star Sports editor Kieran …

SKIBBEREEN rowers are heading into one of the biggest weeks of their sporting career, as competition at the Olympics hots up. All four rowers from West Cork were out in action on Sunday, with Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy dominating their heat to qualify straight into the men's lightweight double sculls semi-final on Wednesday morning. We chat…

THERE are four rowers from West Cork heading to the Paris Olympics – Paul O'Donovan, Fintan McCarthy, Aoife Casey and Emily Hegarty. All four have come through Skibbereen Rowing Club, and all four are part of an Irish rowing team which is confident of bringing medals back from France later this summer. On this week's podcast, Star Sport editor Kier…

ALL roads lead to Croke Park on this week's Star Sport Podcast, as former Cork senior hurling manager John Meyler joins us to preview Sunday's All-Ireland hurling final between Cork and Clare. Cork are hoping to get their hands on the Liam McCarthy Cup for the first time in 19 years, but have a formidable Clare side in their way, who are themselves…

GOLEEN captain Padraig Reidy was in great form, along with his teammates, this week as they ended a long wait for the county confined junior B football title with a victory over Ballyphehane in Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday. The men from the West had lost four county finals in recent years and were determined not to let that number grow as they found t…

FORMER Cork footballer and Star columnist John Hayes joins the podcast this week to talk about Cork's loss to Louth in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final at the weekend. Hayes says he doesn't think he's 'ever been quite as annoyed' at a result as he was on Sunday, and breaks down where he thinks Cork went wrong, why they struggled to create …

EUROPEAN silver medallist Phil Healy – the Ballineen Bullet – joins us on this week's podcast to chat about her incredible achievements at the European Championships in Rome. Healy was part of the women's 4x400m team who thrilled the Irish crowd last week with a brilliant performance in the final, securing their silver medals with a new national re…

NICOLA Tuthill is this week's podcast guest, fresh off the plane home from the European Championships in Rome. The Bandon hammer thrower – still just 20 years old – finished in ninth position at her first ever senior European Championships and joins us to chat about an amazing experience, beating her personal best in recent weeks and her future pot…

CLONAKILTY Soccer Club are West Cork League Premier Division champions for the first time, and to celebrate we are welcoming Shane Buttimer to the podcast this week to chat about how it felt to get the title over the line. It was a nerve-wracking match on Sunday against defending champions Drinagh Rangers, who needed to beat Clon to secure first pl…

WITH one game to go in the West Cork League Premier Division, two points separate Clonakilty Soccer Club and Drinagh Rangers. The pair meet in their final game of the season this Sunday, and Ger McCarthy joins us on this week's podcast to preview what will be a tense affair. Clonakilty SC are top of the league on 46 points, with Drinagh travelling …

James O'Donovan has had a brilliant few weeks. The Bandon bowler won gold in the Moors competition at the European Bowling Championships in Germany before making his Netflix debut in Bodkin, and now joins us as a guest on the Star Sport Podcast! We chat to O'Donovan about the trip to Germany, his delight at winning a gold medal in what was a tough …

IT'S a Cork GAA special on this week's Star Sport Podcast as we look forward to a bumper weekend of action across all codes. This Saturday, Cork ladies' footballers meet Kerry in the TG4 Munster senior championship final on Saturday in Mallow (4pm). While Cork are the defending Munster champions, Kerry are the form team, and the favourites heading …

CLONAKILTY won their first Beamish Cup title in 16 years at the weekend, beating Drinagh Rangers 3-2 in a victory that was widely celebrated in the town. On this week's podcast we are joined by Liam Anthony White – a member of the cup final winning team in 2008 and again in 2024 – who chats about what it means for Clonakilty to win, their hopes for…

DANIEL Davey of Davey Nutrition is the special guest on this week's Star Sport Podcast, ahead of his upcoming trip to West Cork for a live event at Glenilen farm in Drimoleague. The event, Raise Your Game, will focus on insights from Davey aimed at helping to empower you to maximise impact and potential in all aspects of your life. It takes place a…

CORK'S minor football manager Haulie O'Sullivan joins us on this week's podcast to chat about his sides chances in the upcoming Munster championship. The former Carbery Rangers manager named a strong panel earlier in the month, and is looking forward to his side's opener against Kerry next Tuesday. There is a strong West Cork contingent on the mino…

FORMER Cork footballer John Hayes joins the Star Sport Podcast this week to chat about the Rebels' upcoming Munster SFC semi-final against Kerry. It's been slim pickings for Cork against the Kingdom in recent years, with one win in their last 10 championship meetings. Can they bridge the gap in Fitzgerald's Stadium on Saturday? John Hayes thinks th…

ON this week's podcast we're welcoming Cork hurler Shane Kingston, who joins to chat about his team's chances in the upcoming Munster Senior Hurling Championship. Cork get their campaign underway away to Waterford next weekend, on Sunday April 21st. Having had their season ended in May last year, Kingston says Cork are determined to make sure their…

THIS week's Star Sport Podcast is a preview special, as we take a look at two big games taking place in Cork this weekend – Clonakilty SC vs Drinagh Rangers in the Beamish Cup final, and Cork vs Limerick in the Munster SFC quarter-final. West Cork soccer fans will be hoping the weather doesn't postpone the Beamish Cup final this weekend – as Storm …

OUR guest on this week's podcast is Andrea Stock, the latest West Cork rugby player to get called into an Irish rugby squad. The former Bantry RFC player from Durrus is in the 34-strong Ireland women’s squad for the upcoming Guinness Women's Six Nations, swelling the West Cork interest as Skibbereen’s Enya Breen has also been included. Ireland get …

THE Star Sport Podcast is on tour this week for a special episode recorded in the Access Credit Union buildings in Skibbereen. We're welcoming four key members of O'Donovan Rossa's All-Ireland winning ladies football team onto the podcast this week – Derek Tobin, a selector with the team, Cork minor and defender Allie Tobin, Sinead Farrell who is a…

PHIL Healy is the special guest on this week's Star Sport Podcast, fresh from helping the Irish women's 4x400 relay team to a fifth place finish at the World Indoor Championships last weekend. It was a brilliant performance from the team, who also set a national record in their semi-final with a time of 3:28:45 after a stunning first leg by Healy. …

ON this week's podcast we are joined by former Castlehaven manager James McCarthy, who recently stepped away from the job after last season's success. McCarthy led the Haven to the county and Munster senior football titles, before falling at the semi-final stage of the All-Ireland championship to St Brigid's of Roscommon. It has been a successful f…

WE have two special guests on this week's podcast – Bantry Blues manager Ivan Kingston joins to reflect on his team's first U21A championship win in 12 years, and St Oliver Plunkett's manager Margaret Keohane joins to look forward to a Munster junior B final which takes place this weekend. Kingston chats to Seán Holland about his great group of pla…

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…

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 b…

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 Donega…

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, …