Ballyphehane looking to create more history this weekend 

Ballyphehane manager Colm Barry says his team are fully focused on tomorrow's final and aren't thinking about doing the clean sweep.

The city club face Carrigaline’s third team in the McCarthy Insurance Group County JBFC final at Páirc Uí Rinn with throw-in at 2pm.

Ballyphehane have won the Confined JBFC and City JBFC titles as well as the Terence MacSwiney Cup in a remarkable 2025 for the club.

“I was wondering whether the hunger would be there after winning the first trophy back in July,” the Ballyphehane boss says.

“It most certainly has been there since and I would like to think it will be there now going into this final to finish off the season on a high.

“Of the four trophies on offer, this would be the most prestigious trophy to win. This is a serious competition because you are playing teams who have won their own division.

“I do feel we have improved as the year has gone on. We entered the City Junior A league this year and that has helped us immensely. They were very competitive games.

“We have changed the style of play too this year, helped by the new rules. We are trying to kick the ball more and have asked for more movement from our forwards.

“The lads have put in a huge effort this year. We are getting at least 20 players at every training session, twice a week. It’s a credit to the lads.” 

Ballyphehane have enjoyed brilliant success over the last number of years having gone through a lean period prior to that. The community has also gotten behind this group with the people of Ballyphehane expected to come out in their droves tomorrow. 

“Winning is a habit and it just snowballs when you win,” Barry said.

“I must say, what Timmy Walsh the chairman and his wife Denise have done for Ballyphehane has been brilliant. They have kept the club going when times weren’t so good.

“We are delighted and they are delighted to be achieving success and it's fantastic to be back in another final. It has been a long road for the club. I suppose, for all small clubs, things kind of go up and down.

“At the moment, Ballyphehane are on a high and we want to keep it going. The three trophies we have won so far, we brought them to an underage training session last week. That was nice for the children to see there’s a pathway to success when you are playing for Ballyphehane at adult level.

“We have great support from the Ballyphehane area and we have gotten great support at all of our matches. People are more inclined to get on board when you win matches.” 

Ballyphehane will be favourites tomorrow against Carrigaline’s third team as they chase more history.

The manager is certainly not underestimating the Carrigdhoun outfit.

“We know how good Carrigaline are. They had an impressive win over Glengarriff in the semi-final. They have dangerous forwards in the likes of David Drake and Brian Kelleher. They have played at a high level for a long time.

“We are treating this like any other game. That’s the approach we have done all year. We are under no illusions here especially when you are playing a team like Carrigaline with the pick they have even if it’s their third team. We accept that we are the favourites, but we will embrace that.

“We will need to work hard, be disciplined and whatever happens after that, happens.”