Two-goal hero Seán O'Hanlon savours Donoughmore's Muskerry triumph: I thought the game was gone from us

The crowd started to head for the exit gates in Macroom on Saturday afternoon as the Ross Oil Muskerry JAFC final replay went into added time.

Aghinagh had nearly two hands on the trophy as they led Donoughmore by six points having been seven points clear a couple of minutes earlier.

A comeback didn’t look likely from the team in black and white.

Donoughmore's excellent midfielder Seán O’Hanlon, who stood out throughout the game, decided to venture forward in the hope of getting a goal or two.

It worked out when the tall player fisted the ball into the net twice in the space of 80 seconds to draw his side level before a Gavin O’Sullivan 45 gave Donoughmore a famous 2-15 to 2-14 success.

“Unbelievable, I thought it was gone from us,” O’Hanlon said post-match.

“It was our aim to get here at the start of the year and to compete from there.

“Aghinagh are a great side. They beat us last year in the semi-final. Last Saturday, it was a draw.

“We thought it was gone today to be fair. We were down seven points late on, but we pulled it out of the fire.

“This means the world to us. It had been hard enough for the club over the past few years. Only two years ago, we didn’t even win a single game in the championship. It just shows how far we’ve come in the last year or two and that's down to everyone in the club.” 

O’Hanlon, who turns 19 in December, isn’t renowned for raising green flags. Moving closer to the goal worked last weekend.

“That’s something that Danny Buckley [coach] had said,” the young player says on moving forward late on to such good effect.

“Throughout the year, I have been drifting forward the odd time and the fellas outside can deliver a good ball into the square.

“It hadn’t really worked in the sense that I didn’t score a goal this year prior to today.

“The first goal, we just had the ball and there were a few of us inside. The game was over, so we said we’d just put the ball in the square and I got up the highest to fist the ball into the net.

“The second goal, I just copied the move for the first one. I’ll try it again and it just worked.

“We were then preparing for extra time. In fairness, Gavin O’Sullivan, some bottle out of him. Most fellas would have stayed away from taking that 45.

“The final whistle sounded and I couldn’t believe that we won. It took a while to comprehend it.” 

O’Hanlon, who was an integral player in Donoughmore winning the Rebel Óg Premier 2 MFC in 2024, is in his second season with the first team.

He was only four when Donoughmore last claimed Mid-Cork glory in 2011. The drought is now over.

There are a few fellas still on the panel that were part of the winning team 14 years ago, in fairness, they’ve kept the show on the road.

“They’ve made it easier for us younger lads to come in and drive it on. We have developed a never-say-die attitude.

“I knew we would fight to the end, but I thought it was definitely gone. Aghinagh looked in control of the game. I just can’t believe it.” 

Donoughmore now take on Nemo Rangers' third team in the county semi-final the weekend after next. They don’t want to settle on just this success.

“We’ve had strong minor teams in the last two years, winning the county last year and this year. This is another building block. We’ll build towards the county semi-final now."