BY GER MCCARTHY
YOU’D imagine Castlehaven’s forwards would hog the headlines in a season the West Cork club has won four championship games on the trot and reached a second consecutive Premier SFC county final.cInstead, with Rory Maguire at its centre, the Haven’s defence is one of the bedrocks Seanie Cahalane’s charges have built their 2024 challenge upon.
‘It was a massive victory against St Finbarr’s and since then it has just been about getting the bodies right before starting to train hard once again,’ the Cork senior football said.c‘It is all about getting injuries right and putting the full foot forward for the final.’
The experience of last year’s run to the Premier SFC county decider and subsequent 0-11 to 0-9 win over this weekend’s opponents, Nemo Rangers, can only benefit the Haven as they look to repeat their 2012 and 2013 back-to-back county final successes.
‘Last year was a great experience even though I think we had an extra week’s recovery,’ Maguire added. ‘We will just learn what we can from last year and take it through to the final on Sunday. ‘Big games are not anything new but this game is important to the people in the parish and the families. ‘It is just about channelling that energy and nervousness in the right direction. ‘Sometimes nerves can be good. You can’t let them get in the way either because you only get one shot at this (county final).’
Maguire has had his hands full with inter-county and club commitments taking up every available minute since 2021. So, coming up to another county final, how has the 25-year-old learned to deal with the rigours of both demands?
‘It is all about recovery, sleep, and nutrition,’ Rory Maguire admitted.
‘The last few years have flown by but is it hard to know where that time has gone! Between training, gym and recovery, you are out every night of the week. It is just about realising when it is time to rest and recover. Then you can totally switch off. You can kind of leave football behind. That’s something I only started to learn this year. I just completely switch off now when I am away from the game. You would actually be way more tuned in, mentally, when it comes to playing again. Your body will recover a couple of days after a big game. It is your mind that needs a proper break. It is a case of balancing the two especially with how well Castlehaven have been going. It has been very enjoyable so the more games, the better.’
Whatever about demands, Castlehaven are determined to finish the domestic club season on the highest possible note. ‘If you win, you get to go in the Munster championship. If you lose, then you are out and you have to reassess. The club championship is going since last July but the last few weeks have been the real business end. We had four weeks off before the semi-final so the bodies should be good and ready for another game.’
Conor Horgan, Ronan Dalton, Oisin Whtye, Mark Cronin, Ross Corkery and Paul Kerrigan are the Nemo Rangers forwards most likely to start on Sunday. That’s a formidable challenge for any defence. Just as well de- fence has been one of the most positive elements of Castlehaven’s campaign. Clon are the only team to have raised a green flag against Rory Maguire and his team mates in four championship outings this term.
‘Nemo have a great forward unit,’ Maguire said. ‘They can all score. Mark Cronin has been one of Cork’s best players all year. Paul Kerrigan, I don’t know how many county medals he has, but he is another great player as well. Nemo know what it takes to win ... they are a very good team and very hard to get the ball off them. We will have to put as much pressure as we can on them.’
