Carraig na bhFear hurlers refocus on county title after first East Cork success since 2012

AFTER securing only their third junior A hurling title in the Imokilly division, Carraig na bhFear have had the luxury to celebrate in style before contemplating their next challenge. 

Victory over St Ita's by the minimum margin triggered great scenes of delight at Rathcormac 10 days ago, but now thoughts are beginning to turn towards chasing further glory. The Imokilly winners will look on with considerable interest when Harbour Rovers and Newmarket clash in Glantane this weekend with Carraig awaiting the victors in the last four a week later.

Titles in 2008 and 2012 were secured prior to this year by the new East Cork champions, but there was a feeling that the club may have underachieved in the interim. Those setbacks were certainly blown away in a sea of emotion after this year's triumph, which felt extra special in view of the recent loss to Lisgoold in the junior A football decider. 

Both panels are tightly knit units with a huge dual involvement under the stewardship of dedicated local management teams.

Reflecting on the recent divisional win Man of the Match James Forde admitted that bringing home the Jamesy Kelleher Cup was a dream come true.

"I've been involved with the team since 2008 when I was a waterboy and can remember looking up to my heroes like Con Burns and our current manager Colm O'Reilly. Catriona Foley was another player to look up to at the time as she was an All-Ireland camogie star with Cork and here we are now with all three as part of our management team.

"We put in a huge amount of work to secure this title. We began by joining forces by running with the local athletics club last November and that has proven to be a massive help to us. When the players saw the management team that were getting involved, it certainly inspired us to put in a massive effort."

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A scorer of eight points on East Cork final day, he acknowledges the astute work of tactician Con Burns in getting Carraig na bhFear over the line against a very determined St Ita's outfit.

"Con did a lot of work beforehand. We knew if we stuck to the game plan and were shooting from the right places, we would be there or thereabouts at the end. Credit to St Ita's who have superb players, to beat them we needed a super game plan. 

"Thankfully Con and the crew came up with it. This year the message has been to keep looking forward and to keep strong mentally and not look backwards. When Ita's came back at us, we were strong enough to keep driving ahead.

These days are great for the players, but equally so for the younger generation who were draped in red and green. Hopefully, they will be inspired by this and that wins like this year can impact on the juvenile club."

For team manager Colm O'Reilly,  "it was great to get over the line and enjoy the celebrations. 

"With all the work that had been done by this group, there was a great sense of both delight and relief for everyone involved. We all know championships are the main focus and despite the recent league success, this is the one we wanted."

Last Friday Carraig na bhFear returned to training, with the mind set firmly fixed on keeping their season moving.

"It's our aim to maintain this run. Every game takes on a new life and of course, at the moment we don't know who will be up against. However, either way, we will be looking to the lads to perform on the day. There is certainly a good focus in this group at present.

As usual, there is no shortage of strong contenders in the mix for county glory and this junior championship will be very hard-earned. Apart from the aforementioned Harbour Rovers-Newmarket game this weekend, Nemo Rangers play Belgooly and Ballinora meet Clonakilty in the other quarter-final games.

With semi-finals on the following weekend and the final two weeks later, November will prove to be a momentous month for one of the seven remaining contenders. Carraig na bhFear are certainly hoping to have a big say.