Premier SFC: Castlehaven and Clonakilty set for battle royal, 20 years on from final

Come 5.30pm or so on Sunday evening, a big West Cork name will have fallen in the Bon Secours Hospital Cork Premier SFC.

When Carbery Rangers, Castlehaven and Clonakilty were drawn together in Group A along with Valley Rover, the ‘group of death’ tag was quickly applied and with good reason.

The 14 county finals from 2009 onwards have seen one of the West Cork trio involved on eight occasions, but while the Haven and Ross did meet in semi-final action, there was no all-Carbery affair.

That’s hardly surprising given that such occasions have been thin on the ground. Since the 1930s, when Clon met Beara in four finals, including three on the trot, the 1968 decider – a win for the Carbery divisional side over Clon – was the only all-West Cork final until Castlehaven met their neighbours O’Donovan Rossa in 1994. The Haven won that after a replay in front of a crowd of more than 20,000 but three years later they fell to Beara, also after a replay.

The Haven had come to the fore in 1970s, going from junior B to a senior final in the space of nine years, losing out to St Finbarr’s in 1979. It took another decade for them to claim the Andy Scannell Cup, beating the Barrs, before adding another against Skibb in 1994.

Since then, they have remained a force in Cork football, more often than not the strongest West Cork contenders.

With five county titles, the Haven are second on the roll of honour of West Cork clubs (the Carbery division have won four with Beara claiming six) and the only name ahead of them is Clonakilty. After six final defeats in the 1930s, Clon finally went all the way in 1939 and won five in six years in the 1950s (losing the final in the other year) before another title was added in 1952.

While there were final appearances in 1961, 1968, 1983 and 1985, it took until 1996 for their name to be etched on the trophy again. In such a light, it’s understandable that their paths have not crossed Castlehaven’s too often in the latter stages but the twain did manage to meet in 2003.

The previous year, both clubs had been eliminated before the knockout stages, losing third-round ties on June 30 against Naomh Abán in the case of Clon and Mallow for the Haven.

When the draw for 2003 was made, it pitted the West Cork rivals together and eight points from Paudie Hurley gave then Haven a 1-16 to 1-9 win over Clon in Rossa Park in Skibbereen.

From there, the Haven beat Clyda Rovers, Bishopstown in the quarter-finals and Douglas in the semis to make a first final in six years. Their opponents would be the men from the Brewery Town, who had got back on track with a replay win over UCC and then seen off Youghal, Imokilly and O’Donovan Rossa in the semi-final.

The final took place in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on October 19. Speaking to John Horgan in the Evening Echo beforehand, Haven manager James McCarthy tried to downplay the derby element: “It makes no difference that it’s another West Cork team. It might be for the locals but, for us, if you are to win a county you must be prepared for anything.

“It’s going to be tough, but we are not going up to lose.”

His words proved to be prophetic on both counts. With Colin Crowley in inspired form in attack and Alan Sheehy, Ray Cahalane and captain Liam Collins strong in defence, the Haven were good value for a 0-5 to 0-3 half-time lead. While Conrad Murphy’s pointed free for Clon opened the second-half scoring, the Haven replied with a goal from Crowley and pushed on impressively.

With ten minutes left, they were 1-9 to 0-4 to the good, but Clon weren’t for giving up. Points from Murphy and a great Pádraigh Griffin goal had them within touching distance but the Haven were able to hold their lead and were still ahead by two, 1-9 to 1-7, when the final whistle went.

In the following day’s Echo, Micheál Clifford quoted the victorious captain Liam Collins, summing up the attitude of the Castletownshend/Union Hall side. “When we lost here in ’97, we vowed that when we came back here again we would not lose.

“That was one thing that we promised ourselves.”

Ahead of Sunday, both the Haven and Clon will be promising themselves that, but, bar a draw combined with a Carbery Rangers failure to beat Valley Rovers by seven points or more, one of them will be out.