Search

20 Jan 2026

Buncrana win Inishowen derby over Carndonagh

Ciaran O'Neill top scored with 2-6 for the Scarvey men against their Inishowen rivals

Caolan O’Neill lauds Buncrana desire as they topple Carndonagh from IHC perch 

Caolan O'Neill hit 2-6 against Carndonagh

Reporter:

Gerry McLaughlin

17 May 2025 4:07 PM

Buncrana 4-16 Carndonagh 4-5

Buncrana got the better of this all Inishowen affair played in glorious conditions at The Scarvey in the Senior Hurling League on Friday night.
And while it was eventually an eleven point win for the home side, they had to come back from a four-point deficit with 20 minutes to go.


It was an even first half with both free takers Darragh McCormick (Carn) and Caolan O’Neill dominating proceedings with six scores of the opening eight in this well-contested affair.


Buncrana eased into a three-point lead.

But it was the visitors who hit the first of eight goals when a long ball was broken down by Brendan O’Carroll for the onrushing Daire Tully to sweep to the net.

Buncrana replied well, tagging on two more scores before the break, while Brendan scored one of the scores of the evening, pointing over the shoulder by the sideline of Lough Swilly.

But five minutes from the break, Tully goaled again to leave Carn leading by 0-8 to 2-5 at half-time.

Buncrana responded swiftly and hit two rapid points on the spin-but Tully grabbed his hat trick on 37 minutes putting Carn into a 3-15 to 0-10 lead.

However the tide turned with Buncrana turning on the after burners-scoring 2-5 without reply in a fantastic twelve minute period.

O’Neill was to the forefront as he was all night-along with Ruairi Doherty at wing back, scoring two fabulous scores from the wing back-really cementing Buncrana’s advantagealong with the evergreen Tom Mitchell at full forward.

Carn will feel aggrieved as a clear foul on their full back before the first goal which was a really crucial score.

Tully hit his fourth goal of the night but brought the game back to a four point deficit.

But a flurry of 2-1 from The Scarvey men left them going home with an eleven point win and two points on the board before the final game next week.

Buncrana scorers: Caolan O’Neill 2-6; Tom Mitchell 1-3; Ruairi Doherty 0-4; Conor O’Donnell 1-0; Kevin O’Rourke 0-1; Ross Doherty 0-1; David Carey 0-1.

Carndonagh scorers: Daire Tully 4-0; Darragh McCormick 0-3f; Matthew Porter 0-1; Brendan O’Carroll 0-1.

Buncrana: Tom Clare; Luke McLafferty, John Vaughan, Ruairi Scott; Caolan Mulholland, Conor Grant, Ruairi Doherty; Kevin O’Rourke, Aedan Stokes; David Carey, Caolan O’Neill, Darren Doherty; Ross Doherty, Tom Mitchell, Conor O’Donnell.

Subs used: Martin Óg Shiels, Patrick Wilson.

Carndonagh: Stephen Burns; Ben Harkin, Conor Lafferty, Ryan Davenport; Shaun McCreanor, Oran Lafferty, Paul Kelly; Michael McCarron Conor Fagan; Matthew Porter, Darragh McCormick, Liam Doherty; Michael McCarron, Brendan O’Carroll, Daire Tully.

To continue reading this article,
please subscribe and support local journalism!

Subscribing will allow you access to all of our premium content and archived articles.

Subscribe

To continue reading this article for FREE,
please kindly register and/or log in.

Registration is absolutely 100% FREE and will help us personalise your experience on our sites. You can also sign up to our carefully curated newsletter(s) to keep up to date with your latest local news!

Register / Login

Most Popular

Sponsored Content

Multimedia

We've got Donegal Covered...

Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie

Buy a paper

Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.

Buy Now
Get the news

Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.

Register Here
Iconic Media is Ireland's largest independently owned regional newspaper and media group, with an unrivalled audience in print, online and mobile. We have 19 regional newspapers and 21 digital sites.

Iconic Digital Titles

  • Carlow Live
  • Clare Live
  • Derry Now
  • Donegal Live
  • Éire Bheo
  • Inish Live
  • Ireland Live
  • Kildare Live
  • Kildare Now
  • Kilkenny Live
  • Laois Live
  • Leitrim Live
  • Letterkenny Live
  • Limerick Live
  • Longford Live
  • Louth Live
  • Mayo Live
  • Nenagh Live
  • Offaly Live
  • Tipperary Live
  • Waterford Live

    • Iconic Print Titles

  • Clonmel Nationalist
  • County Derry Post
  • Derry News
  • Donegal Democrat
  • Donegal Post
  • Dundalk Democrat
  • Homes in Donegal
  • Inish Times
  • Kilkenny People
  • Leinster Express
  • Leinster Leader
  • Leitrim Observer
  • Letterkenny Live
  • Limerick Leader
  • Longford Leader
  • Mayo News
  • Midland Tribune
  • Tipperary Star
  • Tullamore Tribune

    • This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.

    © 2026 Iconic Media