Cork Premier SFC: Nemo Rangers captain Alan O'Donovan looking to lead by example

Nemo Rangers usually appoint captains on two-year terms.

Last year, the club’s centenary was marked with their 23rd Cork senior title, Luke Connolly lifting the Andy Scannell Cup in his first year as skipper.

However, the attacker’s wedding to his fiancée Emma and subsequent honeymoon, along with his sister Megan’s participation in the Women’s World Cup with the Republic of Ireland, resulted in his unavailability.

The former Cork player is still in Australia supporting the Girls in Green and, while he may play some part in Nemo’s defence of the Bons Secours Hospital Cork Premier SFC, he won’t be back in time for Friday’s opener against Ballincollig in Páirc Uí Rinn (7.30pm).

In Connolly’s absence, last year’s vice-captain Alan O’Donovan has stepped up to take over the role. As a player, the midfielder is a model of doing his job with the minimum of fuss and he brings the same attitude to the captaincy.

“Luke was supposed to go away in January, so they said it to me and I said, ‘Yeah, grand, I'll do it,’” he says, “and then it turns out Luke ended up staying so I thought they felt they probably couldn't take it off me!

“I don't really do anything that I haven't done before. I try to lead by example. I don't say a whole pile at half-time, after the game, before the game.”

Last year was the fifth senior medal for O’Donovan, a process engineer with Thermo Fisher in Ringaskiddy. That it marked Nemo’s 100th birthday obviously made it special, but it was a championship that was hard-earned.

“I suppose they're all satisfying,” he says, “you always think you're first one as well but we definitely enjoyed last year’s.

“We did alright at stages in the groups. We had a good win against Castlehaven and then Clon played defensively and we struggled through that game and won by a point.

“Then, we had Carbery Rangers in the quarter-final, they were defensive too and we struggled over that by a point I think as well.

“We were 0-7 to 0-6 up here at half-time against Ballincollig, came out and got a penalty and we kind of pulled away after that but it was still a very tough game. We were probably stuttering and stumbling our way into the final, nearly.

“Then, all the talk was around the Barrs and the double and all of that – that's for other people to talk about. I suppose we played our best game of the year and that was nice, to do that in a final.

“We were shocking then a couple of weeks later against Clonmel, so I don’t know what it is.”

That the year ended on such a note was disappointing, O’Donovan admits.

“Unless you go on and you win the All-Ireland, you're going to end the year on a loss!” he laughs.

“We were very, very, very disappointed after the Clonmel game but that’s the way it goes – if you don't play well, you're not going to win. We probably were a bit disappointed and it kind of dulled the county championship a bit. It is what it is, you just have to move on.”

O’Donovan, who made his debut in 2012, is now 28. Older brother Conor came on in last year’s county final but he is currently away in Australia while Cork panellist Kevin is 25. All three are sons of Nemo manager Paul, but Alan doesn’t find that too strange.

“He's been coaching teams I've been involved in since I was that size,” he says.

“So it's nothing new to me, he's the manager and that’s how it is. I probably get shouted at more! It doesn't even faze me or bother me, it's not something I even think about.”

Of more immediate import is the opening game. While Nemo beat Ballincollig in last year’s semi-final, they lost to the Mid-Cork club in the last four in 2014 and 2016 and nobody in Trabeg is taking the challenge lightly.

With Éire Óg and Carrigaline also in the group, O’Donovan is targeting a strong start to lay the foundation for later progress.

“We've been beaten by Ballincollig before and you just need to worry about the first game,” he says.

“You need two wins to get out of the group I think, so half the battle is to win the first game. That’s all I’m focused on now, really.”