BY KIERAN McCARTHY
SINEAD O’Donovan is hopeful the success of this season’s campaign will benefit Clonakilty for years to come.
With the county senior B cup already added to the club’s trophy cabinet, Clon want to swell their collection with the Munster title as they face Waterford powerhouse Ballymacarbry in the provincial B decider in Mallow on Saturday (1pm).
The Déise women had, incredibly, won the Waterford ladies football title for FORTY-TWO years in a row before Comeragh Rangers brought their dominance to an end last month, so Clonakilty know the challenge that awaits. Still, they’ll travel in confidence after a campaign that has put the club back on the map after they won their first senior county title.
Clonakilty's Meabh Deasy.‘This year has been a great boost for us,’ explains Clonakilty forward Sinead O’Donovan, who classes herself as one of the more experienced players on the team. Along with former Cork stars Martina O’Brien and Ashling Hutchings – the latter has been a huge addition to Clon’s defence, O’Donovan adds – as well as Niamh Desmond-Collins, O’Donovan jokes that they are raising the average age of the team! But experience counts. Look at O’Donovan’s recent form – she kicked 1-2 in the county senior B final against Kinsale, and scored 1-3 in the Munster semi-final against Kilmihill last weekend. No wonder she’s enjoying her football this year.
‘After the girls won the intermediate title in 2020, I came back in 2021,’ O’Donovan explains, ‘and then we got to the county final against Fermoy the following season, but unfortunately we lost that.
‘This year has been a great boost for us. It’s great for the team and for the new players on the panel to have success like this. Fair play to the young players who have come on board because we were a bit thin on the ground, but they’ve come in, created great competition for places and helped drive this on.’
The injection of youth has certainly re-energised Clonakilty, with rising inter-county stars like Millie Condon (an All-Ireland senior camogie winner with Cork this year) and Katie O’Driscoll spearheading a new wave of talent. Niamh Kennedy, Ruth Shanley and Siobhan Callanan are three more young guns that have hit the ground running as seniors.
‘We have such a young team,’ O’Donovan explains.
‘Look at the likes of Niamh, Ruth and Siobhan, as our backs have been phenomenal, they have really kept us in a lot of games.
‘We have youth on our side, and they can keep us going for years.’
The Clon defence has provided the platform for their success. Look at their recent games.
When they dethroned reigning county senior B champions Castlehaven, they conceded just 2-8 before winning an epic on 25-metre free kicks after extra time. In the county final, Clon beat Kinsale 2-5 to 0-5. In Munster last weekend, the West Cork team won 2-15 to 3-4, conceding just seven scores. More of the same will be needed to blunt the attacking edge of Ballymacarbry.
‘They are an unbelievable team,’ O’Donovan says, ‘We are under no illusions about what lies ahead of us in Mallow. As long as we do the simple things right, and continue to do what we have been doing in terms of hard work and communication, hopefully we will get over the line.’
Clon’s approach has paid off this season, and O’Donovan traces that back to manager David Aherne in his first season in charge. He has given the players the tools they needed to succeed.
‘He brought new ideas and a fresh approach. I think we are fitter as a team, there is great morale in the group and our defence has been brilliant,’ she explains, and capturing the county senior B title was the reward.
‘It was a great boost to us, especially after losing to Fermoy in 2022 and then getting to the county semi-final last year and coming up short there. Winning a county title has brought great confidence amongst the group, and we’re not finished yet.’
O’Donovan felt a turning point in the season was their senior championship Group 1 loss to Éire Óg, 2-9 to 3-7, in August. That was the day when she knew Clonakilty could hold their own with the top teams in the county.
‘They have been in the county A final for the last few years and we only lost by a single point. We were so close in that game, so it drove us on and gave us motivation that we are good enough,’ O’Donovan explains.
‘With hard work and doing the simple things right, we knew we’d have a chance. We got to the West Cork final this year too, and the league final, so we’ve been there or thereabouts, and we felt that we could drive it on.’
Clonakilty's Siobhan Callanan has impressed in the Clon defence.Clon have driven it on, and are now exploring the Munster series which brings a certain novelty, as well as challenges.
‘Within the county we have played teams in league and championship so we are aware of who they have and how they play, whereas when you go outside the county it’s a different landscape and you’re going into the unknown,’ she says.
‘We bring it back to our own team, play our own game and continue to focus on what we have done all season to get us where we are.’
By doing the simple things right on Saturday O’Donovan is hopeful it gives Clonakilty a fighting chance against an established power in ladies football. Regardless of the result, the knock-on impact of this success and Munster adventure will boost the club in the seasons ahead. They have aspirations of challenging for the senior A county title, but the immediate focus is sparking more celebrations in Clonakilty this weekend.
