Clondrohid hoping to make an impact in the Muskerry JAFC this year

Clondrohid’s football history is a long and proud one, but they haven’t had too much to shout about over the last two decades or so.

They are the first club in Muskerry to capture a Munster title and also along with Macroom and Ballincollig, they are the only three clubs in Mid-Cork to hold top-tier county football championship titles.

The last major success for Clondrohid though came back in 1995 when they defeated Aghinagh in the Muskerry JAFC final at a packed Castle Grounds in Macroom.

They haven’t come close since with their last contested decider back in 1998. But, there is a belief that the tide is turning out in that neck of woods with a young team and a new management group this year that includes Cork’s 2010 All-Ireland winner Michael Shields.

The Mid-Cork Division 1 league campaign was mixed, finishing in mid-table, but it’s all about championship for Clondrohid.

“We put in a lot of hard work early on and it’s starting to pay off now,” selector Kevin Hourihan says.

“We did have Donoughmore and Grenagh in the first two league games, last year’s league finalists, so we did find out a lot about the players and us as a management group after those defeats. Since then, we have been pretty pleased, we won three of our final five league matches. We are trying to rebuild and put structures in place.

“Players have also come back to us, be it from injuries or lads who hadn’t played in a few years but wanted to play again especially when they heard that Michael Shields was involved. We had a fairly strong minor team over the last number of years, so we have blooded a few of those this season.

“All in all, the numbers at training have been very good, the interest and character is there. We are a team in transition, we are a fairly young team.” 

Clondrohid have struggled to make a serious impact in the championship for such a long time. History and tradition counts for very little as it has been shown with the team in blue and white.

“The main thing we want out of this year is improvement in performances and results,” the Clondrohid selector said.

“I played my whole playing career with Iveleary and I was lucky to have won a Mid-Cork medal in 2015 before I retired. I know how hard it is to get one. The message we have been trying to get across this year is you have to work hard with passion, determination and intensity.

“The Muskerry championship is going to be very competitive this year, so we will have to be on it when it starts in a couple of weeks’ time. We want to put Clondrohid back on the map again. It has been well documented at this stage the struggles they have faced over a long period of time. I suppose, the club is a good bit away from Cork City and people were moving out of the parish.

“We actually at one stage a few years ago had six lads playing in Dublin. Emigration was a big issue for Clondrohid and also they had a bit of a drought with players coming through. Also, maybe the work ethic wasn’t where it should have been. Those things have been hopefully sorted now.

“The interest in football is big now in Clondrohid and there has been a mentality change, but we know talk is cheap and that it’s all about how we do in the championship. We want to aim for success otherwise there’s no point in playing.” 

In the Ross Oil Muskerry JAFC group stage, Clondrohid will meet Kilmichael, Grenagh and Aghinagh.

“On our day, we are a match for anyone in Mid-Cork and I do believe that. We are trying to get consistency into our performances and results. We want to be a difficult team to beat. It’s a wide open championship this year.

“We are very much looking forward to it. We feel we have an opportunity to reach the business end of the championship. We feel we are a progressive club with the facilities that we have now, the next step is to bring our teams in line with that.” Hourihan concluded.