Cill na Martra ready for the biggest day in their history

CILL NA MARTRA will take to the Croke Park turf tomorrow for the biggest occasion in their history for the All-Ireland IFC final against Armagh side St Patrick’s Cullyhanna at 3.30pm (live on TG4).

It has been a remarkable rise for the small Muskerry club, with a population of around 1,000. The journey to GAA headquarters didn’t start yesterday, with the hard work undertaken in the underage section many years ago now reaping the benefits.

Everything has come right this season, winning the PIFC title and Munster crown, with just one more trophy remaining to claim.

After Kevin O’Sullivan, who guided the club to IFC glory in 2018, stepped down at the end of the 2021 season, the big question was who would replace the man who had so much affection with the players? It was big shoes to fill, and a team who were known as nearly men after losing a PIFC quarter-final and then two semi-finals on the bounce.

Chairman Niall Ó Cróinín takes up the story.

“We were looking for someone with a big personality," he said.

Tomás Ó Murchú, a well-known Cill na Martra man, had heard that John Evans wasn’t involved with any club, so we decided to make contact. 

"Tomás and Gearóid Ó hEalaithe met with John, and by his own admission he knew nothing at all about Cill na Martra. I suppose John did a bit of research and I know he always goes on about our pitch. From his point of view, if you were a stranger and drove up the hill into the village, the pitch is the first thing you see, it’s the heart of the community. John is a Kerry man and the job probably also appealed to him because we are a one-code club. All the focus around here is on football.

“We had been trying to win the PIFC for a good few years, but county titles are extremely hard to claim. For a number of seasons we fell short and John really tapped into that. Even in 2022 in John’s first campaign at the club, we lost to Kanturk in the semi-final after extra time, but that game really has made us. John has had a huge impact on the team and the whole club.” 

RAPID RISE

For such a small parish, it’s incredible how far Cill na Martra have come over the last 20 years. It’s easy to forget that they were in the Muskerry junior A ranks in 2003. For Ó Cróinín, the journey so far has been surreal. 

“Sometimes you just have to pinch yourself,” he said.

“We won the Mid-Cork JAFC in 2002, that was our first ever adult football success, so what we have achieved since then has been remarkable. To now be a senior club is just the stuff of dreams. We have a very small parish. It’s not a populated area, no housing estates. Trying to find Cill na Martra can be tricky for many, we are bordering Macroom at the east of the parish and it goes west along to Ballingeary and Ballyvourney.

In our village, we don’t even have a shop or a post office anymore. A church, two pubs and a football field. 

"It’s quiet, but a brilliant place to live and we love it to bits, and the football is the main interest for so many people in this area. The place is absolutely buzzing, the buzz has never been better to be honest. We have had no winter. Everyone has a smile on their face.” 

The excitement has reached fever pitch and anyone with blue and white blood that can possibly make it to GAA headquarters tomorrow will be there. There are nerves that come with such a massive occasion, but deep down there is confidence that the Mid-Cork side can clinch All-Ireland glory. 

“We know we are underdogs and we don’t mind that. If our lads play to their potential, it will take a good team to beat us. I am sure the players will do themselves justice. Whatever happens, we are so proud of them.”