O'Donovan Rossa close in on Munster crown after using past pain to drive forward

WEST Cork club O’Donovan Rossa have bounced back to reach this year’s Munster LGFA JAFC final following a fruitless 2022 campaign.

Mallow GAA Grounds will stage next Saturday’s Munster LGFA JAFC decider between the West Cork side and Kerry champions Clounmacon/Moyvane at 3.15pm. It has been quite the journey for the Skibbereen club and one that can be traced back a full year.

A 4-6 to 1-10 humbling at the hands of Naomh Abán saw the latter claim the 2022 Cork LGFA junior A county title at the expense of a listless Rossa.

It wasn’t so much the defeat rather than the manner of that county final loss that rankled with an O’Donovan Rossa panel.

Rossa’s were outclassed at MTU Cork that day. There was no issue with the outcome. Naomh Abán were deserving champions and the better team on the day. Simple as that.

Yet, what was fostered in O’Donovan Rossa’s dressing room in the immediate aftermath of that county final loss served as the blueprint for a much improved 2023 season. Only a narrow defeat to fellow West Cork club Rosscarbery Ladies prevented O’Donovan Rossa from qualifying for a Division 2 county league final back in July.

Despite missing out on the league decider, four wins and a draw from their seven outings allowed Rossa’s to blood some of their emerging talent ahead of an impressive junior A county campaign.

Playing at a consistent level, O’Donovan Rossa saw off Dohenys, Midleton, Douglas and Bantry Blues to finish top of the Cork LGFA JAFC round-robin championship averaging 1-14 a game.

Even more notable was the Skibbereen club’s much-improved defence that came to the fore in the 0-10 to 0-4 county semi-final defeat of Douglas. Following that, and a year on from their humbling afternoon at MTU Cork, the West Cork club returned to the same venue and overcame Dohenys 4-10 to 2-5.

Twelve months on and O’Donovan Rossa exorcised the ghosts of their previous county final appearance to join the intermediate ranks. As they have done all season, Éabha O’Donovan, Laura O’Mahony and Fionnuala O’Driscoll were prominent in attack. 

Yet, it was Rossa’s defence that cemented their place in the Cork LGFA IFC final.

Keeping Dohenys scoreless for 29 minutes was as impressive as the incessant blocking and tackling executed right up until the final whistle.

“It has been the same all year with our defenders,” O’Donovan Rossa manager James O’Donovan stated. “We have great forwards but it is the defence that gives us the platform to perform. 

"Every day, they turn up and are magnificent for us. I’m delighted for them. It takes a full team effort though. 

We have some quality players, but you are not depending on any one individual on any given day.” 

Celebrations at becoming county champions were well deserved but O’Donovan Rossa showed their season was far from over by defeating Tipperary’s Loughmore Castleiney 3-12 to 2-11 to reach the Munster LGFA junior A semi-finals.

Éabha O’Donovan’s 2-7 was central to that victory as was the talented forward’s 1-7 in the 2-16 to 1-7 Munster semi-final victory over Clare’s Newmarket-On-Fergus. Now, only Kerry champions Clounmacon/Moyvane stand in O’Donovan Rossa’s way of becoming provincial champions.

It promises to be a special occasion for a West Cork club whose time and effort invested in their youth structures are beginning to reap dividends at adult level.

Backboned by a strong defence, utilising the experience of Cork senior Laura O’Mahony plus an in-form forward line gives O’Donovan Rossa a fighting chance of adding a Munster title to their Cork LGFA JAFC trophy.