THE victorious Douglas GAA footballers who captured the intermediate county title in 1997 recently gathered in their club pavilion to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their famous success.

Douglas defeated Castletownbere by three points following a replay on the last Sunday in November 1997 to seal county final glory and a place in the senior ranks.

Trevor Lyons who was a goalkeeper on the victorious Douglas football panel played a very prominent role in organising the recent reunion and locating the players from that special time in their history.

Douglas emerged victorious on a final scoreline of 0-9 to 1-3 against a strong Castletownbere team which contained several players who helped the Beara senior footballers win the county title earlier that year.

“The replay was played on the last Sunday in November. The pitch was in great nick. Both finals were played in Skibbereen.

“We took 15 busloads of supporters for both county finals. Castletownbere got a late equaliser to force a replay. In the replay, we led all the way. They had around 11 players who helped Beara win the senior county title that year.

“We had great craic going back to the city. We had a good week of celebrations,” he said.

It was a huge breakthrough win for the club as it enabled Douglas to secure senior football status for the first time since the 1960s. 

“Douglas won the junior county in 1962 and went up but struggled so came back down.

It was a huge win for the club. We were defeated by Carrigaline in the first round in 1996 and by Erin’s Own in the first round in 1995. There was no backdoor in those days.

“We were kind of struggling in football and the club needed a lift.”

He credits the impact of their coach Peter Fagan for playing a big role in their success in 1997.

“Peter did it his way that year and we responded. He was an outsider and he treated us all the same. He was a big influence on us. Norman Lawton was the manager. Mick O’Regan, Finbarr Bermingham, and Martin Kelleher were also involved.

“We had a nice mixture of youth and experience in our squad. We had nearly 30 lads training regularly. We had a talented squad. Teddy O’Donovan was the first-choice goalkeeper.

“Donal O’Callaghan was our captain. He played with both the Cork minor and U21 teams.

“We beat Kilshannig well in the first round. We needed a Ronan McCarthy equaliser to secure a draw in our second-round game against Glenville and we barely beat them in the replay.

“We beat Valley Rovers in the quarter-final, St Michael’s in the semi-final, and then Castletownbere in the final. We played seven games that season to win the county title,” he added.

Cork senior footballer Ronan McCarthy played a huge role in propelling Douglas to intermediate county final glory that year.

“Cork were beaten by Clare in the Munster championship that season which meant that Ronan was with us for the whole summer.

“He was a huge player for us. He was miles ahead of everybody. Nobody stayed with him throughout that year. His physique was unreal.”

Douglas has maintained their senior status since their intermediate county success in 1997. He said they have now established themselves firmly as a senior team.

“We won our first game up at the senior level. We beat the Dohenys after a replay. We were defeated by Carbery subsequently in the next round. We hung on then for a few years in the senior grade.

NEXT LEVEL

“We were in a relegation fight in 2007 but thankfully we defeated the Barrs. We reached a county final but we were defeated by Nemo. We have achieved a lot of success at the minor and U20 levels but that hasn’t been translated onto the senior stage yet.

“Getting to the next level is the next aim.”

Now a club referee in both hurling and football, he is confident the club is poised for a bright future.

“We have loads of club members. Between the men’s football and hurling, camogie and ladies football teams, and the underage teams, we must be one of the biggest clubs in Cork. We are very successful at underage level.

“We won the minor double this year. We have great facilities and a big population. It is just a matter of tying everything together. There are great people driving on the club behind the scenes.

“We have plenty of people helping from a coaching and administrative perspective.”

Winning the intermediate county football final in 1997 served as a catalyst for the intermediate hurling team to win the county title in 2000.

“Winning the football title was a huge monkey off our back. It also gave the hurlers confidence that they could emulate the footballers.”

The recent reunion celebrations was a great night said the Douglas GAA stalwart.

“We had a great night. We watched the game against Castletownbere. Barry Deasy flew home from London.

“We had a sing-song and the players recalled old games and stories. It was great to get the players and management team together again.

“We have all gone greyer, balder, and heavier!! It is hard to believe 25 years have passed. We have great memories of a special year.”