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Irish Examiner
29-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Cork SHL: Barrs to face Sars in Division 1 final
With Sarsfields already qualified for the Division 1 Final of the Red FM Cork Hurling League, there was plenty of competition on Sunday morning to see who would join them. Douglas was in pole position before a ball was pucked as a win for them away to Glen Rovers would have put them into the decider. However, a win for the Glen would mean that a win for St Finbarr's away to Fr O'Neill's would put the Barrs into the final. In the end, the Glen beat Douglas and the Barrs overturned a half-time deficit to beat O'Neill's by 4-17 to 2-14 ensuring that they will play in the Division 1 final of the hurling and football league. Ben Cunningham marked his return to action with 1-1 for the Barrs while Conor Cahalane hit 1-5. Conor McCarthy had 1-4 for the Togher men, Kevin O'Flynn scored 1-1 while Ciaran Doolan clipped 0-2 from wing back. Michael Wall and Conor O'Leary bagged the goals for O'Neill's, with Billy Dunne hitting 0-3. The Glen gave themselves the best chance possible by seeing off Douglas by 3-23 to 2-18. Diarmuid Wall was the home side's top scorer with 1-7, Stephen Lynam clipped 1-5 from play, Luke Horgan helped himself to 1-2 while Rhys Dunne pilfered 0-5. Conor Kingston led the charge for Douglas with 0-6, Niall Hartnett hit 1-1, Dáire Burke raised their other green while Andy O'Connell hit 0-4. That all made Charleville's 3-17 to 1-15 win over already relegated Carrigaline straightforward. Last year's beaten finalists brought the curtain down on another fine campaign with a comfortable win. A goal from Finn O'Connell had Carrig 1-15 to 0-12 to the good five minutes into the second half, but goals from Danny O'Flynn and Cathal Carroll earned Charleville the win. Sarsfields finished their campaign with a comfortable 2-28 to 0-19 win over Carrigtwohill in Riverstown. Shane O'Regan hit 1-6 for Sars, Colm McCarthy scored 0-7 while Cork U20 star, Barry O'Flynn, fired 1-1. Sean Walsh hit 0-12 for Carrig, while O'Flynn's Cork teammate, Daniel Murnane, clipped 0-2. Finally, the already relegated Kanturk gave a walkover to Blackrock thus ensuring that they finished at the bottom of the table. In Division 2, Na Piarsaigh's 1-17 to 0-17 win over Erin's Own in Caherlag put the cat amongst the pigeons on Tuesday. It ensured Na Piarsaigh's survival in Division 2, while raising the anxiety levels in Caherlag as Erin's Own's promotion hopes now depended on Midleton beating Killeagh in Clonmult Memorial Park on Friday evening. Kevin Moynihan clipped 1-4 for Na Piarsaigh, Daire Connery hit 0-6 while Eoin Galvin and Craig Hanafin both scored 0-3. Eoin Murphy scored 0-11 for the home side, with Conor Lenihan and Barry Óg Murphy both contributing 0-2. Thus, all eyes were on Midleton on Friday as Cork U20 star, Barry Walsh, inspired Killeagh to a 1-21 to 0-21 win, thus securing their promotion and a rematch with Midleton in the final in two weeks. Walsh marked his debut in style, with 1-1 of his total coming from play while Ryan McCarthy with 0-3 and 0-2 from Andy Walsh also helped Killeagh over the line. Cormac Beausang was the Magpies' top scorer with 0-9, while Kian Farmer and Alex Quirke both hit a brace of points. Éire Óg needed a win away to Newtownshandrum and a favour from Valley Rovers and Ballincollig if they were to avoid the drop. They held up their side of the bargain as they ran out winners by 5-20 to 4-20. Eoin O'Shea and Dylan Foley grabbed two goals for Éire Óg, Mark Kelleher scored their other major while Eoin O'Mahony had a brace of goals for Newtown with Ronan Geary and Conor Griffin also finding the net. Valley Rovers beat already relegated Fermoy by 3-16 to 2-16 on Saturday meaning that Éire Óg would survive should Ballincollig beat Ballymartle in Riverstick on Sunday morning. There was to be no denying the home side, however, as their 2-13 to 1-14 win relegated the Ovens based outfit. Ryan Deasy hit 0-6 for Ballymartle, Cillian Lordan bagged 1-3 and Luke O'Callaghan 1-1 while Brian Keating had the goal for Ballincollig. In Division 3, Newcestown and Bride Rovers were promoted despite suffering final day losses to Castlelyons and Ballinhassig, respectively. Castlelyons's 4-14 to 1-16 win over Newcestown saved them from relegation. Anthony Spillane (2), Brian O'Donovan and David Morrisson scored the goals for the Imokilly side, meaning that Blackrock went down alongside Mallow despite their 3-16 to 1-10 win over Courcey Rovers They will be replaced in Division 3 by Bandon and Inniscarra. The West Cork men made it nine wins from nine by beating Kilworth by 3-15 to 2-16 on Friday, Rory Fogarty, Conor Calnan and Eolann McSweeney with the goals. A goal from Inniscarra's Mark Nagle helped them to a 1-25 to 0-21 win over Kildorrery on Saturday. At the other end of Division 4, Youghal were already relegated but they secured Tracton's company through the trapdoor by beating them by 3-21 to 1-21. In Division 5, a goal from Cailean Cox helped Ballyhea to a 1-23 to 1-18 win over Erin's Own that earned them promotion alongside Aghabullogue. Mayfield and Erin's Own will play Division 6 hurling next season. Glen Rovers' second team and Cloyne had already secured their promotion from Division 6 before the final round was played with the only question left to be answered being who would be relegated along with Na Piarsaigh. Ballygiblin's 1-16 to 1-15 win over Cloyne condemned Barryroe to the drop. It was a similar story in Division 7, with Killavullen and Diarmuid Ó Mathúna's already qualified for the final before a ball was pucked in anger while Kilshannig and Douglas will go back to their divisional leagues in 2026. Clonakilty earn place in McCarthy Insurance Group Division 1 final Clonakilty will play St Finbarr's in the final of Division 1 of the McCarthy Insurance Group Cork Football League after they played out a 1-15 to 2-12 draw against Castlehaven in Ballinacarriga on Sunday morning. Clon, who won the Division 2 title last season, needed to avoid defeat to earn their spot and key contributions from Conor Daly, with 1-3, Darragh Gough and Dara Ó Sé, who both kicked 0-4, made Micheál Maguire's second goal for the Haven late immaterial. The final will be played next weekend, and the Barrs will be looking to make it the first half of a league double with their hurlers also qualified for the Division 1 Hurling Final.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Virginia transportation department publishes Shenandoah Valley Railroad Corridor use assessment
A section of abandoned freight rail proposed to be part of a new biking and walking trail in the Shenandoah Valley. (Ben Cunningham/ Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance.) The future of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad Corridor is coming into clearer focus after the Virginia Department of Transportation recently released its highly anticipated rail with rail assessment and completed a series of related public hearings. In 2021, the agency completed its first study of Norfolk Southern's 50-mile corridor, which local leaders and community organizers, who are part of the Friends of the Shenandoah Rail Trail, hope will lead to converting the rail corridor into a trail. VDOT's second corridor review comes after the Shenandoah Rail Corridor Coalition, a smaller group of community members, questioned the possibility of restoring the Manassas Gap railroad and constructing a trail alongside it. The rail corridor, first established in the 1850s, runs from Front Royal to the town of Broadway in Rockingham County. As interest declined in freight service, the company began discontinuing sections of the corridor in 1989, moving operations to Norfolk Southern's Crescent Corridor, which runs east. Kate Wofford, executive director of the Alliance for Shenandoah Valley, said her group is 'eager' to convert the corridor to a trail, a goal shared by their colleagues, the Friends of the Shenandoah Rail Trail. 'We wanted to get going with it years ago,' said Wofford. 'So the sooner we can get started with this wonderful project, the sooner it will start bringing benefits to quality of life, local economic development, tourism (and) to the towns.' Keven Walker, executive director for the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, part of the Shenandoah Rail Corridor Coalition, was asked for comment, but did not immediately respond. The foundation is facing a lawsuit from one of its members over plans to restore the inactive Manassas Gap rail line in the Shenandoah Valley. The suit claims the foundation's involvement strays far from its mission and threatens its federal tax-exempt status. Phase 1 of the study to assess the proposal for restoring the railroad and constructing an adjacent trail details projected costs, risks, and public feedback. While the assessment did not provide a precise total cost to taxpayers, state lawmakers stipulated that 'up to $35.0 million shall be allocated to the Shenandoah Valley Rail Trail for the purposes of land acquisition, initial planning, and site' development through the 2020-2022 state budget negotiation. Some of the costs that would need to be considered are $66 million to repair the existing bridges, $4 million to $18 million to bring the rail line up to the FRA Class II standards, and funding to purchase easements and right of way and land acquisitions, given the narrow 33-foot setback from the centerline of the rail. The study identified several unknown design factors and associated risks compared to the rail-to-trail concept, including the cantilevered trail structures on existing bridges, which would require retrofitting and may present maintenance and trail user safety concerns. The agency also received feedback from county administrators and town managers from 12 localities along the corridor; all of them said their communities supported the rail-to-trail proposal. The consensus among the leaders is that business use of the rail isn't in high demand. The study stated, 'no localities indicated a strong interest from the business community for freight rail service.' However, the agency noted that two existing businesses, which were not identified in the study, have shown interest in using rail. Other industries, such as food processing, have indicated that rail does not fit their business model. Several economic development offices have received inquiries from businesses that perceive the ability to increase their customer base from trail users, the study found. VDOT is currently in Phase 2 of the project to assess the corridor. The process will continue throughout the year with experts reviewing how water moves through the targeted area to inform flood prevention plans, assessing the train tracks and bridges and conducting in-person public meetings and an online public survey. Phase 3 will conclude with a review of ownership and maintenance and a presentation of the cost estimate and assessment report, with public meetings to follow between the winter and spring of 2026. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
