Iveleary Triumphs Over Glanmire in McCarthy Insurance Group PIFC

Iveleary 4-16 Glanmire 3-10 (McCarthy Insurance Group PIFC)

Jones catches fire as Iveleary show their teeth

Twelve months after heartbreak, Iveleary look in no mood to linger on the past.

Beaten so cruelly by Aghabullogue in last year’s McCarthy Insurance Group PIFC final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, the Muskerry men opened their 2026 campaign with a wild, high‑scoring win over Glanmire in Kilmurry on Friday night – a game that swung from control to chaos and back again before Iveleary finally slammed the door.

At the heart of it all was Cork senior forward Chris Óg Jones. He finished with a devastating 3-4, a hat-trick that underpinned a 4-16 to 3-10 victory and reminded everyone why this group is fancied to break into the Senior A ranks.

Cagey start, sharp response

Both sides sniffed early goal chances but lacked the finish, the tension of opening night written across every miscue. It took 10 minutes for the first score to arrive, Tiernan Hourihan clipping Glanmire into a 0-1 to 0-0 lead.

That stirred Iveleary. Once they settled, the scores came in a rush. Sean O’Riordan and Sam Pickering began to punch holes, and suddenly the Muskerry men were 0-4 to 0-1 in front, their running game starting to bite.

Glanmire, Cork IAFC champions in 2024 and Premier Intermediate quarter-finalists last season, refused to be brushed aside. Midway through the half, they got the break they needed. A penalty, a hush, then Harry Browne drilled low and true into the corner. Level again, and a contest properly lit.

Iveleary’s reply was sharp. Pickering, increasingly influential, floated over a stylish two‑pointer to nudge them back ahead during a productive spell that suggested they might push clear.

Glanmire wouldn’t let them. Their own two‑pointer from Shane O’Driscoll on 27 minutes capped a strong period, and suddenly they led 1-5 to 0-7, their work rate and direct running starting to trouble the Iveleary defence.

Jones strikes before the break

Then came the sting.

Deep in first-half stoppage time, Glanmire were turned over. Iveleary broke at pace, and when the ball found Jones, there was only one outcome. He hammered it to the net, a ruthless finish that flipped the mood in an instant.

From trailing by one, Iveleary jogged off 1-7 to 1-5 ahead. Glanmire’s tidy first-half graft had been undone in a single, brutal moment.

Iveleary surge clear

On the restart, Iveleary looked every inch a side with unfinished business in this championship.

They pushed higher, hit harder, and began to stretch the pitch. O’Riordan slipped in for a composed goal, finishing neatly to push the gap out and sap Glanmire’s belief.

Jones then struck again, his second goal arriving as Iveleary tightened their grip on the game. With eight minutes of normal time remaining, the scoreboard read 3-10 to 2-8. Iveleary in full control. The tie, it seemed, heading for a routine closing stretch.

It was anything but.

Glanmire’s blitz and the shock of parity

Like a switch flicked, Glanmire exploded.

Jeremy Kingston crashed home a goal. Brian Galvin followed with another. Iveleary, so assured moments earlier, suddenly looked rattled, their shape loosening as Glanmire poured forward.

When Harry Cogan clipped over a two‑pointer to haul them level, the ground fell silent for a beat. From eight down and apparently beaten, Glanmire had dragged themselves back to parity. Iveleary’s sideline and support could scarcely believe it.

The game was now a test of nerve as much as talent.

Iveleary finish like contenders

Stung, Iveleary finally woke from their slumber.

Ian Jones stepped up with a pair of vital points, steadying the ship just when panic threatened to take hold. His accuracy under pressure gave Iveleary the breathing space they desperately needed.

Then, in second-half stoppage time, his brother settled it. Chris Óg, already with two goals to his name, found himself in the right place once more and buried his third. Hat-trick complete, contest killed, statement made.

By the time Brian Coniry blew the final whistle, the scoreline – 4-16 to 3-10 – reflected Iveleary’s superior cutting edge, even if it barely captured the drama of Glanmire’s late surge.

Machine gathering pace

There are still hurdles ahead, and Iveleary know it. The scars of last year’s final defeat have not fully faded, and the road back to Páirc Uí Chaoimh is long.

But with Jones in this kind of form, Cathal Vaughan pulling strings, and a supporting cast that can both graft and score – Pickering’s 0-4 including a two‑pointer, O’Riordan’s 1-1, Ian Jones’ 0-5 – John McNulty’s side look built for another deep run.

Next up is Bantry Blues in the championship, another chance to tighten the screws and edge closer to the knockout stages.

It is only July, yet on this evidence, it will take a serious team to derail this Iveleary machine.