BY JOHN MURPHY
ST JAMES’ player/manager Alan O’Shea was overcome with emotion in the minutes after his team’s latest success.
Streaks of perspiration streamed down his face as he savoured this famous win, still in shock and knowing what it meant to this tightly-knit community. They celebrated with aplomb all around him, their roars of delight in Ahiohill could be heard almost back in Ardfield.
‘I am still in shock really, trying to take all this in,’ said O’Shea, who also helped to orchestrate St James’ historic first Carbery JAFC title in 2019.
‘It is nothing short of incredible what these fabulous bunch of players have achieved. To put it in a proper context, who would have predicted that Argideen Rangers and ourselves would be here contesting this final?
‘We were written off by the media and others but it does not worry us. These lads are phenomenal footballers, well capable of delivering the goods, so we just ignore the comments and get on with it.’
‘There is a massive prize at stake for us, contesting the county Premier Junior Football Championship in 2023 and also this year’s county JAFC quarter-final. It is brilliant, we had a few young lads out there today that we blooded in the red heat of championship battle. They have blended in extremely well and are a huge plus. It keeps everybody on their toes and competition for places as well. To sum it all up, this is even better than 2019, a huge achievement for a resilient bunch of footballers.’
St James' player/manager Alan O'Shea celebrates his team's title win. (Photo: Paddy Feen)Liam Evans has given a lifetime of service in the Ardfield cause, being honorary secretary since 2004, while operating three years as underage secretary prior to that. Evans is one of the unsung heroes, whose actions speak louder than words, and he was smiling from ear to ear on Sunday evening.
‘We had a lot of new lads out there today since our first win in 2019. They said we were an old team but we had goalkeeper Niall Hayes, Cristoir Hayes at centre-back, Denis White who came in at corner-forward, and they have done very well,’ Evans explained.
‘We have come in under the radar this year, nobody expected ourselves or Argideen to be here today. Considering that we had no U21, minor or U16 teams during the last six years, to pull off two junior A championships in that period is fabulous.’
Captain Fantastic Conor Hayes, before he rushed away to join the ongoing celebrations, shared his thoughts.
‘At the start of this season nobody gave us a chance, we were no-hopers, written off. We knew ourselves when we played teams like Castlehaven, St Mary’s and others that we were able to play adequately at that level, so we just drove on, confident in our own ability,’ Hayes says.
‘We have quite a few young lads coming up, they are a huge bonus. There is a huge buzz in the parish, we are a tight community and these wins do wonders. All the young lads are anxious to get involved and it all rubs off on a feel-good atmosphere. We are excited at the prospect of participating in next year’s county premier junior football championship, and it is a great new challenge.’
