BY GER MCCARTHY
SEANIE Cahalane has led his club back to another Premier SFC county final in his rookie year as Castlehaven senior manager. When asked why he accepted the role of Castlehaven manager off the back of 2023’s James McCarthy-led Premier SFC and Munster SFC title-winning campaign,
Seanie Cahalane laughs before offering an honest reply. ‘It is all about giving back to the club,’ the Castlehaven manager confirms. ‘I was asked and then consulted with my wife, she was excellent and backed me. Look, it is a big honour to manage such a prestigious club like Castlehaven. It is all about giving that small bit back to the club and that it what it is all about.’
Maintaining the processes that delivered county final success in 2023 has been key in the build-up to Sunday’s showdown with Nemo Rangers. ‘We are just trying to keep the same build-up, keep the same processes,’ Cahalane said. ‘It has been enjoyable so far. ‘Nemo are an outstanding club. We know we are not going to get anything easy. ‘It goes back to the 2022 final against the Barr’s who were red hot favourites, they came at it with an unbelievable aggression that day. They were really, really up for it (winning 1-16 to 2-9) so we are anticipating the exact same thing the next day.’
Last year’s 0-11 to 0-9 win over Nemo in the Premier SFC county decider may have no bearing on Sunday’s outcome. Cahalane admits that experiencing the build-up and hype around a county final appearance should help Castlehaven’s players.
‘We have been through a county and provincial final so the lads are well used to the preparation and all that stuff,’ the Castlehaven manager added. ‘You just try to keep guys grounded. We have good experience in the team. We have Mark (Collins), Damien (Cahalane), Brian (Hurley) and Michael (Hurley). These fellas have been through it all.
‘There is a good mix of youth and experience in the team. So, the more experienced lads rub off on the younger lads, which is great.’ Emerging from a tough group involving Clonakilty, Carbery Rangers, and St Michael’s before seeing off St Finbarr’s means Castlehaven are reaching the kind of consistent level needed to win a county final. ‘We had a good group stage,’ Cahalane admitted. ‘The second half of our Carbery Rangers game was poor and we were a bit disappointed with that.
‘The last day against St Finbarr’s, we were happy enough with our performance. There were certain elements we were disappointed with. We will be focussing in on that and getting those right for Sunday.’
