THERE were plenty of highs for Clonakilty LGFA during 2024, not least winning the Killarney 7s and capturing the Cork senior B title. There were lows too, losing West Cork and Division 1 county league finals as well as narrowly missing out on a senior A county semi-final appearance.
Yet, a new-look squad, under the guidance of David Aherne and his management team, delivered one of the most productive seasons in the Brewery Town’s LGFA club’s history.
Senior captain Méabh O’Donovan, forward Sinéad O’Donovan and defender Siobhán Callanan recall three important matches and the effect those games had on Clonakilty’s season.
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July 4th, 2024, Cork LGFA Division 1 county league final in Ahamilla, Clonakilty
Clonakilty 0-9 St Val’s 2-4
‘St Val’s denied Clonakilty the 2024 Cork LGFA Division 1 senior county league title in Ahamilla. Two clubs expected to feature prominently in the upcoming Cork LGFA SFC served up an engaging encounter despite wet and slippery underfoot conditions. Goals in either half from Amy Sheppard and Aisling Kelleher proved pivotal for a St Val’s side that were on the back foot during the second and third quarters’ – Ger McCarthy, Southern Star match report.
Méabh O’Donovan: That loss was probably one of the best things that ever happened to us. That and losing the West Cork final (to Kinsale). It showed us, like, we’re so close but that we can’t let opportunities like that pass us by.
Sinéad O’Donovan: We left that match after us.
Siobhán Callanan: I was devastated.
Sinéad: Upon reflection, I think we watched back the video and we actually didn’t play as bad as we thought. Val’s are such a good team though. It’s no secret that we lost a lot of players throughout the year for various reasons. Resilience, hard work and the young ones stepping up and, I suppose, all of us just really coming together as a tight-knit group. It started there.
Siobhán: I was very upset at the end of that game because I don’t think we played our best. I still feel like we should have won it. It was a learning curve and we had to push on to win what we won in the end.
Méabh: In senior football, you’re going to get punished for any little mistake you make out on the pitch. It was kind of a big eye-opener for a lot of our younger players that day. Losing to St Val’s was the making of us because you need to experience the losses to eventually get to the wins.
Clonakilty's Sinéad O'Donovan.
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October 10th, 2024, Cork LGFA senior B county semi-final in Ahamilla, Clonakilty
Clonakilty 0-14 Castlehaven 2-8 (Clon won 2-0 on free-kicks aet)
‘Two of West Cork’s most talented senior teams served up a thriller in Ahamilla. Clonakilty and Castlehaven couldn’t be separated after extra-time as their Cork LGFA senior B county semi-final ended 0-14 to 2-8. Amid difficult conditions, Aisling Moloney and Síofra Pattwell were the only successful converters in a free-kick shootout that saw the hosts progress to the county decider’ – Ger McCarthy, Southern Star match report.
Siobhán: We all had faith in each other and I knew it the second we were picking (our free takers), I knew they were going to do it.
Sinéad: Oh God, I remember I just said “is this game going to go on forever?”
Méabh: I had gone off halfway through extra-time. I’d completely cramped up my two calves. I felt a bit helpless there on the sidelines.
Sinéad: We’ve had this mental block, I think, against Castlehaven over the last few years so it was great to get that monkey off our backs.
Méabh: We were just all secretly praying, I’d say. You know, just kudos to the girls who actually went out and attempted their free-kicks because they must have been shattered, tired and under pressure.
Siobhán: It’s always a hard game against the Haven. We were buzzing afterwards especially after beating one of our West Cork rivals.
Méabh: That was probably one of the hardest games we played all year. So if we got over that we felt like we’re more than capable of winning this now (senior B).
Méabh O’Donovan with her West Cork Sports Star award for the month of October.
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October 20th, 2024, Cork LGFA senior B county final in MTU Cork
Clonakilty 2-5 Kinsale 0-5
‘Goals from Sinéad O’Donovan and Aisling Moloney helped Clonakilty win their first-ever Cork LGFA senior title at a windswept MTU Cork . An all West Cork LGFA senior B final saw the Brewery Town outlast divisional rivals Kinsale 2-5 to 0-5. A gale wind and intermittent heavy showers put paid to any hopes of high scoring. This was no day for fancy football’ – Ger McCarthy, Southern Star match report.
Méabh: We were all just so ready for it that day, you know, especially after the hype from the semi-final win over Castlehaven. We were really excited to just go out there in MTU and put it up to Kinsale.
Siobhán: Oh, this was very special. We were delighted to win it. There was no better feeling than that at the final whistle, winning that senior B was unreal.
Sinéad: The last few years, our scoring hasn’t been great. Confidence in the group has certainly come along in heaps and bounds this year. David (Aherne, manager) has drilled it into us that it doesn’t matter who's getting the scores, it’s who’s in the best position. That was definitely the case against Kinsale that day.
Siobhán: As defenders, we take a lot of faith in keeping clean sheets. We support each other and help each other out the whole time. Just constantly working hard for each other and giving positive feedback.
Méabh: Everyone was ecstatic at the final whistle. It was great, we just couldn’t believe that we actually did it in the end. So yeah, a feeling of utter joy, really.
Sinéad: There was some atmosphere on the pitch and in the dressing room after. We celebrated that one alright (laughs), celebrated really well that night and the night after!
Siobhán: Coming back through Clonakilty that night, that was a very good feeling. I had Katie (O’Driscoll) and Millie (Condon) in my car. We had great fun and seeing everyone out to welcome us home was special. It was all a bit unreal!
Méabh: We went back to Clonakilty that night and drove around the town a couple of times, beeping, an old tradition. The Mayoral Council organised a lovely homecoming for us too. We were in town for that and then headed out to the clubhouse for the night to celebrate further. Those celebrations continued on for a few days after as well. So yeah, we did a good job celebrating it anyway!
