Premier IHC: Colm Spillane and Castlelyons looking to take the final step

Sunday’s Co-op SuperStores Cork Premier IHC final will be Castlelyons’ third appearance in the decider in four years.

The East Cork side will go in as favourites against Kilworth in Páirc Uí Chaoimh (3pm) and, while the defeats to Blarney in 2021 and Courcey Rovers a year later were tough to take, making it back to the final represents progress.

Last year, Castlelyons were beaten at the semi-final stage by Castlemartyr and they faced the same opposition at the last-four stage this time around, with a 2-10 to 0-10 win Midleton sending them through.

Former Cork star Colm Spillane is one of the mainstays of the Castlelyons team and he admits that there was a fear that last year signalled a downturn in fortunes.

“Absolutely,” he says, “and you’d hear murmurs from people that we had missed our chance.

“We wouldn’t necessarily be an old team but it’s been the same players with a good few years.

People maybe felt that the team was in decline after last year but Noel Furlong came in with us this year and we regrouped.

“When we lost to Courcey Rovers in 2021, it was nearly December by the time we played the county final, whereas last year we were eliminated in September.

“You’ve those few months and it could have gone either way – fellas might be thinking, ‘We’ve missed our chance now and that’s it,’ but thankfully we’ve managed to regroup and we’re back where we want to be.

“So far, we’ve taken it one training session and one match at a time as we didn’t want any county final talk. Thankfully, we’re here, we feel we’re well-prepared and we’re very much looking forward to the match.”

One difference this year compared to the previous three is the fact that Castlelyons didn’t take an automatic semi-final berth. Having finished second in their group to Ballincollig, they took on Ballymartle in the quarter-finals, allowing them to generate momentum before facing Castlemartyr.

Avoiding a lay-off was a help, Spillane feels.

“The first year wasn’t too bad because the schedule was so tight and there wasn’t a massive gap,” he says.

“Last year, it was four weeks and the week before, when we played Ballinhassig, it was five or six weeks because they were involved in the junior A football. It’s very hard to keep momentum going.

“This year, we were beaten by Ballincollig and we knew that we were out again in two weeks’ time. You get your recovery, then maybe three hard training sessions and you’re tapering off again.

“You have the same routine for the semi-final and now it’s the same again for the final. It’s a lot easier to manage and more enjoyable, too.

“If you’ve four weeks to fill, you’re trying to get challenge games and are you going to play a grade above or below you? Then you might be missing players too.

“I think it is actually a disadvantage coming straight through. I don’t know what the solution is but, definitely, having that momentum helps.”

Spillane, a teacher in St Colman’s College in Fermoy, is a player who has been dogged by injury during his career but he has benefited from a clean bill of health this year.

“I’d say I haven’t missed a training session in the last five or six months,” he says.

I definitely feel as fit this year as I have in the last three or four years.

“I suppose I’m learning all the time, what to do and what not to do. Noel has been very good that way too, he has a very good S&C background – he knows when to taper off and to go a bit harder and that helps as well.

“It’s like anything – you can say it’s very unlucky and throw your hat at it or you can keep working away, finding things that work for you.

“That’s what happened this year. I’m all the time finding different stretches and routines to do. It’s just a lifestyle thing now, looking to stay healthy and injury-free, and, touch wood, it’s been very good.”

QUALITY

Former Cork coach Furling, who led the county to the 2021 All-Ireland minor win as well as taking Rusell Rovers to the 2020 Lower IHC final, was part of the Carrigtwohill team that won the 2011 SHC and Spillane feels that his addition has been a huge help.

“Noel has been brilliant,” he says.

“His level of organisation is as good as I’ve ever seen. We’ve gelled well with him, he has us well-prepared and the quality of the training sessions has been really high.

“He has that experience of winning counties, coaching teams and playing in them, and it’s nice to have that kind of experience around to guide you.”