BY SEÁN HOLLAND
SEANIE Cahalane’s journey has come full circle. After serving as a selector under James McCarthy during last year’s successful campaign, Cahalane has now stepped into the hot seat, aiming to guide his club to back-to-back titles. Having captained Castlehaven to county glory in 2012 and 2013, he is now poised to make history as the first Haven man to both captain and manage the club to a Cork senior football crown.
Shane Nolan, who often shared the pitch with Cahalane as a teammate, now finds himself being managed by the same man he looked up to as a leader. Having played alongside Cahalane through a lot of Castlehaven's successful years, Nolan has seen first-hand how his former captain’s leadership on the field has seamlessly transitioned into management.
‘As a player, you could always see that he had massive leadership qualities’, Nolan said. ‘He was captain in 2012 and 2013 and probably was fairly young then to be captain. He won the Sigerson with CIT and he'd have been in the Cork under-21 team too. So he'd have probably learned a lot from them and then brought it into Castlehaven.’
Cahalane's role as a leader in the dressing room and on the field became pivotal to Castlehaven's success. ‘He was always one of the main fellas in the group, driving everything on, making sure the standards were where they should be. If anything slipped, he'd always step up and get everyone in line,’ Nolan added. His ability to inspire others extended beyond his footballing skills - his leadership spoke just as loudly. ‘He was always a man that the players would have looked up to. I think that's helped greatly since he's become a manager.’
Now at the helm, Cahalane's calm-headed approach has carried through from his playing days into his management style. ‘He'd be very, very calm-headed,’ Shane explained. ‘He'd be very good at identifying when he needed to say a few words. So as a result of the fact that he'd be calm when he did get loud, it really had a bigger impact.’ Even now, as a manager, Cahalane remains measured and composed, knowing exactly when to step in. ‘If things are off in training, when he needs to, he's well able to get his point across.’
One challenge for any former player-turned-manager is navigating relationships with former teammates. However, Cahalane made it clear from the start that personal connections wouldn't interfere with decisions. ‘There’s no loyalties,’ Nolan said. ‘He made that point clear that he'd obviously be friendly with a lot of the fellas because the age difference isn't massive. But no loyalties at all.’ Despite managing players he shared the pitch with, Cahalane has maintained a clear boundary between friendships and football, picking his team purely on merit. ‘He's picking teams based on what's going on in the training field and everybody's happy with that.
Cahalane’s rise from captain to manager over the years has seemed seamless. He’s balanced friendships and football while continuing to lead Castlehaven with the same calmness and authority he displayed as a player. Now, he stands on the cusp of making history, aiming to lift the Andy Scannell Cup once again, this time from the sideline.
