West Cork Champions
29 October, 2023
Barryroe 1-12 Kilmacabea 0-14 AET
"Sometimes in life we want it all to be sort of, you know, joyous and happy, and that’s not what life’s about. The reason we have joy, the reason we have happiness, is we understand that the opposite also exists. Sometimes to get the greatest joy, you’ve got to go through the greatest suffering. Whatever it is in life, hopefully you tilt the balance to more the joyous moments rather than the suffering"
Absorbing, amazing, enthralling, exciting, you name it, this marvellous Junior Football decider leaves one lost for words, and the huge spellbound attendance were left drained at Dunmanway on Friday night having soaked up the electric atmosphere that it created and savoured the football delights of thirty plus football aristocrats. What an epic, seesawing contest it was. It will be remembered as a tale of two of the best forwards in the region. Kilmacabea’s Damien Gore finished with 0-11 while Ryan O’Donovan shot 1-08 for Barryroe. Such high scoring underlined each player’s quality considering the dreadful weather conditions.
Ryan was to the fore early on with scores on 3’, 14’ and 17’, Olan on 6’ with exquisite finish after some great approach work from Ryan. Barryroe into an early lead 0-04 to 0-01. Kilmacabea thundered back into the contest with Gore, despite being double marked, stamping his class on proceedings. It was 0-06 to 0-05 in Kilmac’s favour at the short whistle.
The pace was unrelenting in the second period, the weeping skies made it feel all the more intense. A brilliantly converted Ryan goal made it 1-07 to 0-07 early in the second half but back came Kilmacabea with two Gore scores and a Daniel O’Donovan effort levelling matters once again. Right on full-time, Damien Gore wriggled past two defenders and split the posts to make it 0-13 to 1-08. Ryan answered within sixty seconds and went one better to level it up, 0-13 to 1-10, and force extra-time.
Adam McSweeney and Brian O’Donovan points sandwiched an Ian Jennings effort to leave Barryroe 1-12 to 0-14 ahead at the end of the first period of additional time. This is too good a team that is too used to winning – and finding ways not to lose – to collapse under pressure and, anyway, it was a game where errors were forced on both sides by the sheer physicality of the struggle. That we held on, defending one last Kilmacabea push as the clock turned red, was nerve wracking for the people outside the wire, but for the men in blue, they showed incredible calmness, heart and persistence in the white-hot heat of battle.
There’s not a distillery on Earth that would produce the spirit that’s in that group of players. Well done to every single player and management team on a wonderful achievement. Make no mistake, this is Barryroe’s biggest win with the big ball. The hope is that it loses that status pretty quickly.
BARRYROE: Gearoid Holland; Michael Walsh, Sean O’Riordan, Patrick Moloney; Tomas Ó Buachalla, Darren O’Sullivan (captain), James Moloney; Robbie Kiely, Jerome O’Brien; David Murphy, Olan O’Donovan 0-01, Conn Dineen; Ryan O’Donovan 1-08 (3f), Sean Holland, Mark Crowley 0-01. Subs used: Diarmuid McCarthy, Brian O’Donovan 0-01, Adam McSweeney 0-01, Donal Ó Buachalla, Cathal Sheehy, Jack Cahalane. Remaining Panel: Alan Kiely, Daniel O'Driscoll, Steve Madden, Sean Ryan, Darren McCarthy, Conor O'Regan, Ciaran O'Regan, Geoffrey Wycherley, Aidan Walsh, Gavin O'Donovan, Killian Sheehy.
KILMACABEA: C McCarthy; L Tobin, D Whooley, M Jennings; D O’Callaghan (captain), M Collins, O Tobin; J Collins, R Hourihane; D McCarthy, I Jennings 0-02, R Shanahan; E Shanahan, L McCarthy, D Gore 0-11 (5f). Subs: D O’Donovan 0-01, O Kerrisk, J Ronan.
Referee: Shane Scanlon (Newcestown).
Match photo credit Martin Walsh
