The White’s Cross Junior A footballers finally wound up their season recently – they now enjoy a brief break before facing into preparations for 2007.  Having already clinched the championship and league competitions, a win in the McSwiney Cup would give the Club a clean sweep of competitions in the City Junior A division, a feat only ever achieved twice previously. 

The final threw up a novel pairing as we sized up against near-neighbours Carraig na bhFear.  The Clubs had not met in a competitive clash at any level in well over 20 years, since White’s Cross Club decided to leave the Imokilly barony and compete instead in the Seandún division – although some would argue that the many ‘friendly’ matches played against each other in the interim had a most competitive edge!  Carraig sought and received permission from the Seandún division to compete in this year’s cup competition. On route to this year’s final White’s Cross defeated Bishopstown, Mayfield and St. Finbarrs.

In the final itself, in what was a very competitive hour’s football, a goal was always going to be a decisive score in the heavy conditions that prevailed.  White’s Cross got this vital score after 11 minutes when centre-forward Kevin Buckley got a fist to a high delivery from Edwin Buckley.  This complemented an earlier Donnacha Murnane point and was added to later by similar scores from Murt Kelleher (2), Bryan O Sullivan, Edwin Buckley and Conor Kelleher, leaving the score 1-6 to 0-2 at the short whistle.

However this was a slender enough lead given the gale wind blowing against our lads in the second thirty.  The White’s Cross backs stood firm however with Eoin Murnane, John O Connell, John Meade and Victor O Sullivan all excelling, to such a degree that Carraig failed to score from play over the entire 60 minutes.  Instead they relied on pointed frees from Colm O Reilly and Eamonn Bowen for all their scores.  At the other end man-of-the-match John Drummy tacked on a point to give White’s Cross victory 1-7 to 0-5.  This was the Club’s four consecutive year winning the McSwiney Cup final, but more importantly it clinched the treble in A football competition in the Seandún division.