GOLEEN’S season of success is not over yet. The 2024 Carbery and county confined junior B football champions face Kerry club Beale in the Munster junior B football championship final this Sunday in Ballyagran, Limerick (2pm).
A late injury-time point from midfielder Tadhg Cullinane helped Goleen beat Limerick club St Kierans, 0-8 to 0-7, in the provincial semi-final last weekend, and set up the opportunity to add another trophy to their collection. Incredibly, it’s now 18 wins in their last 20 games.
Other scorers for the West Cork side in the Munster semi-final included Michael O’Reilly (0-4, 3f), Páidí O’Regan (0-2) and captain Pádraig Reidy. There were nervous moments, though, as they trailed 0-6 to 0-4 at half-time, before they turned it around and levelled it up within five second-half minutes. The game turned scrappy in the second spell and it was deadlocked at 0-7 apiece from the 49th to the 65th minute before Cullinane came up trumps. Captain Padraig Reidy was delighted with the victory.
‘The conditions were tough but the main thing in a semi-final is getting over the line and into the final. We’re delighted to be able to represent Goleen and the county of Cork in the Munster final this weekend,’ he told The Southern Star.
‘Never in our wildest dreams did we think of being in a Munster final. We set out to win the county and everything has been a bonus ever since. There is such a buzz around the community this week. Going into the shops, walking around the village, everyone is on about it.
‘It was amazing support we got last weekend against St Kierans. They were only down the round in Limerick and I think there was more Goleen support there. They always back us in everything we do. It is a privilege to represent the community and have all their backing.’
The only two Cork clubs to win this competition are, coincidentally, from the west in Clann na nGael (2006) and Randal Óg (2021). The Mizen men will be hoping to make it a Carbery hat-trick this year.
‘We’ll take inspiration from the two West Cork teams and hopefully add a third team to the winner’s list. To be able to represent Cork and West Cork is a great honour. We’ll do all we can to try and get over the line on Sunday,’ Reidy added.
Beale beat Tipperary side Burgess in the semi-final by 2-15 to 0-4, so they are going to be tough opposition like many Kerry clubs are. The Kingdom’s clubs have dominated this competition with 12 wins.
‘From what we know of them, they’re quite a good team. We’ll probably be going in as slight underdogs but we’ll be up for the challenge,’ Reidy said.
