St. Colmcille’s qualified for this final having suffered only one loss in the competition and that was to our final opponents from Ringaskiddy. In fact that encounter played at the end of August in Carraig na bhFear was a humdinger of a contest ending in a scoreline of 5-10 to 3-11. The large attendance present in Aghada last Sunday (10th of October) were expecting another rip-roaring contest and they certainly weren’t disappointed.
In the lead-up to the game St. Colmcille’s were rocked by the withdrawal of goalkeeper Brian Barry through sickness. As Barry had been an ever-present between the sticks throughout the last two seasons, this was a gap that needed filling and quick. And so Fachtna Kelleher found himself making his debut as a hurling goalkeeper in this final! Kelleher had plenty time to get used to his new position and the larger bás in this final because all the early action was at the opposite end of the field – midfielder Cian Dunne stormed into this contest from the get-go and set the tone for a period of early dominance from St. Colmcille’s.
The captaincy for the final was literally decided by the toss of a coin, between two great leaders of this team, full back Jack Harte and full forward Alex Flynn, with Flynn getting the nod. This title certainly didn’t weight heavy on Flynn’s shoulders, although there may have been a question of jitters early on as a couple of efforts went outside the post. However from the moment he found the net for his first goal, Flynn really exerted his influence and proved unmarkable for our south-east opposition. The space afforded him by playing a two-man full forward line, plus a tactic deployed by the St. Colmcille’s management, which saw the half forward line dropping back towards midfield allowed Flynn all the space he needed and more.
Outside him Ciaran Ryan hurled very well also and ensured there was quality ball going inside.Back in midfield Shane Harrington settled into the game early and did an outstanding job of marking the Shamrocks key scorer, who the team were only too familiar with from the contest six weeks before in Carraig. We saw the threat he posed early on when he rifled a 21 metre free into the net to give Shamrocks a timely boost. However in open play Harrington won the battle hands down which was instrumental in swinging the encounter our way. Alongside him, Dunne was launching attack-after-attack, while a direct switch of positions by Billy Cambridge and Davyn Maher benefited both players, and Maher proceeded to win some great possession from our puck-outs. Inside him David O Donovan worked well to ensure that no ball was cleared easily. It all ensured that St. Colmcille’s reached the short whistle with a commanding lead – Flynn adding two more goals to his tally and knocking over a couple of points for good measure.
Given the success of tactics in the first half it was no great surprise that St. Colmcille’s continued to direct the sliothar the way of Flynn in the second period and he continued to deliver. Mike Murphy’s introduction brought even greater energy to the St. Colmcille’s attack. When Shamrocks did attack they found the half-back line of Jamie Murphy, Darragh McGuire and Alex Sheehan very difficult to penetrate, with each of this trio well in control of their direct opponent. Behind them Ciaran Tattan and Jack Harte have partnered together all season long, in both football and hurling, and yet again on Sunday they were rock solid. Harte even managed to get in on the scoring act with a long distance free. Davyn Maher showed his eye for goal too with a well executed finish from a cross field ball. However dominantly the conduit used was Flynn and he proved unstoppable.
This is a group of players that have really gelled over the last two seasons, and have now complemented their win in Under 12 football in 2020 with a hurling title in 2021 – just rewards for their hard efforts. However it hasn’t been all fun and games, with this team suffering great heartache, when young Rowan O Connell died tragically last April, just weeks before the 2021 season was scheduled to commence. In their last game together, the 2020 final, Rowan had worn the number 10 shirt and in his honour, the players decided that this jersey should be stood down for the season. In each game, in both codes, the number 20 jersey was worn by the left wing-forward, with the number 10 jersey displayed respectfully on the side-line.
Overall it was a successful season under the management of Mike Flynn, Conor Kelleher and Aidan Sheehan. A massive credit to the three lads for steering the team to success for the second year running. The panel of players were
Rónán Aherne, Billy Cambridge, Mark Reynolds, Shane Harrington, Chris O Keeffe, Cian Dunne, Alex Flynn, Jack Harte, Ciarán Sneddon, Ciarán Ryan, Tom O Sullivan, Mike Murphy, Cillian Burns, David O Donovan, Fachtna Kelleher, Ciarán Tattan, Davyn Maher, Jamie Murphy, Charlie Horgan, Dillon Manley, Alex Sheehan Darragh McGuire & Brian Barry.