BY SEÁN HOLLAND
VICTORY is sweet when you’ve known defeat. This Cill na Martra side has tasted its fair share of defeat in years gone. Having lost three premier intermediate football semi-finals in a row, that hurdle was eventually jumped in the 2023 season.
With the semi-final hoodoo put to bed, county and Munster titles followed which has the rural Mid-Cork parish now dreaming of even more. Cill na Martra captain Gearoid Golden spoke to The Southern Star about his team’s success this year.
‘At the start of the season, the goal was to win the county and to get up to senior level. It’s something we’d been trying to achieve for a few years but we always just fell short. So after winning that, everything after has been a bonus,’ Golden said.
In sport, the margin between success and failure is often minimal. No truer statement reflects the season Cill na Martra have had. On another day, they’d be facing into a pre-season once more preparing for another year in premier intermediate, but instead, they’ve senior football status secured and are preparing for an All-Ireland semi-final against Castlerea St Kevins in O’Moore Park, Portlaoise on Saturday (2.30pm).
‘It’s funny to think how small margins are in sport, like you’re behind in a county final with five minutes to go and now a couple of months later we’re in an All-Ireland semi-final,’ the Cill na Martra captain explained.
‘We were dead and buried against Bantry but that never-say-die attitude got us over the line and momentum is such a big thing in sport and that’s what we’re riding now at the moment.
‘I think having the two home games in Munster has been huge too for our confidence and momentum. Just seeing the whole club and parish coming together really helped us and gave us that belief, especially in the semi-final against Milltown-Castlemaine.’
Having to play an All-Ireland semi-final in the first week of January meant it was a quieter Christmas than normal on the celebrations side for Gearoid and his teammates. However, there was no shortage of training sessions for the Cill na Martra men to have them primed and ready to go on Saturday.
‘We’ve been tipping along nicely over the holidays,’ Golden said.
‘It was a bit of a tight training schedule alright over Christmas. Our wingback Daniel O’Connell was getting married on the 22nd of December so we trained the night before, the 21st. We trained again on Christmas Eve morning and again on St Stephen’s Day morning but fellas didn’t seem to mind as it was kind of a once-off kind of thing.
‘There’s a kind of a novelty to it. It’s a new experience for everyone in the club but we’re lucky to have John (Evans) in charge. He’s been through this kind of thing in his management career. We’ve been building up all the way and we’re peaking now this week for the game on Saturday,’
Even with the rigorous training regime over the holidays, it didn’t bother the Cill na Martra captain as he knows what’s on the line for his club.
‘There would be a lot of talk of how we didn’t get any break but when you’re actually involved as players it’s quite easy. It helps that we are winning and we’re keeping that momentum and the lads in the team are happy enough to train. Everyone is buying in for the sake of another couple of weeks. We know what’s at stake. So, hopefully, we can keep it going and get the job done on Saturday.’
