The following account is taken from the files of the Skibbereen Eagle.

March 21, 1903
'Dunmanway v Clonakilty - Football Teams Have a Free Fight in Bandon' - A Disgraceful and Scandalous Occurrence (Special to the Eagle)

'One of the most disgraceful and scandalous rows that ever occurred in any town took place in Bandon on last Sunday evening. The football teams of Dunmanway and Clonakilty came to town to play a match, but when they reached the scene of conflict it appears they were minus the referee. It seems that the members of the Clonakilty team then suggested that one of the spectators be asked to act as referee, but this was not agreed to, neither was the offer that a friendly match should be played. The Clonakilty men prepared and after giving the ball a kick, claimed the game. This somewhat incensed their opponents, but no untoward act took place until later on in the evening.

Taunts
'The parties reached the town again about five o’clock in the evening, and as it was then raining heavily, the shelter of the public house was sought. By 5.30 both sides were nicely warmed, and as the Dunmanway men entered the brake in Shannon Street to go home, the other side hissed and boohed them, and there were some taunts of cowardice for not playing the game. This evidently was too much for the Dunmanway men and they got down from the brake and ‘went for’ their opponents indiscriminately.

'For about fifteen or twenty minutes one of the fiercest and most brutal fights that was ever witnessed in Bandon was in progress. The Clonakilty men were nearly five to one as compared with those from Dunmanway, so that the latter had by far the worst of the encounter, though it must be said they gave almost as good as they received. By a strange coincidence the site on which the encounter took place was the Bridge which is notorious as having been the place of many similar fights, and none of them more fierce than that of Sunday evening during the twenty minutes that it lasted.

Blackthorn Stick
'During that time the whole of Wesley Quay and the Bridge was one seething mass of human beings each one trying to do the other all the injury they possibly could. No sooner was one person knocked down than four or five were on top of him, and those who could not get at him with their fists used their feet. It is rumoured that one or two persons used knives, but there were no complaints of any one being stabbed. One individual from Clonakilty had a blackthorn stick, which was used with great freedom and pointedness. During the progress of the melee some bandon persons who were looking on, were rather severely handled.

'Constable Anglin was the only Constable on duty in the vicinity at the time the row occurred, and he would have been seriously assaulted had not Constable Poland, who lived nearby, promptly come to his assistance. Great credit is due to Constable angling for his plucky action in endeavouring to quell the row, and, at great personal risk, he saved one or two individuals from being dangerously assaulted. He got a kick on the leg, which was intended for the skull of a person lying on the ground, and had the kick reached its destination, the results might have been fatal. It is to be hoped the constable’s action will be recognised in the proper quarter in the way it merits. One person who, it is stated, deliberately assaulted the Constables, was arrested and brought before Mr. Cloar, J.P., on Sunday night, but he thought the offence too serious to warrant him in discharging the prisoner, and so he remanded him in custody to the Petty Sessions the following day, when he was let off with the merely nominal penalty of £1 and costs.

Stones
'The fight was in progress about ten minutes when a cordon of police arrived from both barracks, and in order to divide the contestants they had to use their batons freely. At last they were separated and then the Dunmanway men made for a heap of stones opposite Mr. Lee’s, which they fired on their opponents over the heads of the police. Several Bandon men were struck by these stones and Constable Daughton was knocked down by a blow from one of them. The majority of the Clonakilty men were got off by the 6 o’clock train and the Dunmanway section left by car some time after, and peace prevailed in the town as before.

'As Lord Bandon said at the Petty Sessions on Monday it is deplorable that strangers should come to Bandon and, by their scandalous and outrageous conduct, disgrace one of the quietest and best-conducted towns in Ireland. It is satisfactory to be able to state that none of the townspeople participated in the row and that several of them rendered valuable assistance to the police. After the parties were separated several names were taken, and it is understood that summonses have been issued for next Court-day. It is strange that notwithstanding the fierceness of the encounter, no one was reported as having been seriously injured with the exception of skin wounds and nearly everyone who took part in the row had these.'

Letter to Editor
The following week, the secretary of the Dunmanway Club, Mr. M. Murray, wrote a long letter to the editor of the Skibbereen Eagle, contradicting much of what was said in the above account. Among his claims were that, as the Dunmanway team had travelled from Dunmanway to Bandon in an open brake in heavy rain, they were in no condition to play a challenge game, whereas Clonakilty had travelled in the comfort of the train; that Clonakilty could not have claimed the game as there was no referee present; that it was the Clonakilty men who had started the fighting when they assaulted two Dunmanway men who had alighted from the brake to look for some missing companions; that he saw only one single stone being thrown at the Clonakilty men. He concludes – 'In conclusion, I deeply regret that such a disgraceful scene should take place at a Gaelic meeting. I do not care about dwelling on the painful circumstances of the whole affair but I exempt Dunmanway men from blame, their part of the row was purely defence. I hope that a similar occurrence may never again be witnessed at a Gaelic meeting, where two rival teams meet in friendly competition for football honours, and not to try conclusions in a miniature war.'

There may have been substance to Mr. Murray’s claims as, at the Petty Sessions that followed, four Clonakilty men and none from Dunmanway, were fined for their part in the row.