Denis Reen has high expectations as Mitchelstown look to deliver 

Mitchelstown manager Denis Reen says the potential of the club was a big factor in him taking over.

The Kerry native is the new man at the helm of the Mitchelstown footballers as they look to make a serious impression in the McCarthy Insurance Group IAFC this year.

They have been stuck at this grade since winning the County JAFC title in 2013. The North Cork outfit have been the nearly men in recent years, losing the final in 2017, 2020, 2021 and 2023.

Reen has been successful on Leeside guiding Kiskeam to the PIFC crown in 2016 before doing the same with Kilshannig in 2024.

“When I did my homework, Mitchelstown have loads of talent and as we all know, they have been knocking on the door for some time,” he says.

“You have to be very careful where you go and when I left Kilshannig, I wanted to make sure the next job was the right one. The age profile in Mitchelstown is very good and that was another thing that drew me in.

“They are very close to doing something special. They lost to a very good Ilen Rovers team last year in the quarter-final of the championship and Ilen Rovers went on to the final losing to Ballinora.

“People will think that I have a magic wand and even though I have enjoyed success previously as a manager, there’s a lot of luck involved, but preparation is key.

“Pre-season went very well, the lads trained extremely hard and the buy-in has been phenomenal by all involved.

“I am hoping the hurt that the players have suffered can be the difference in terms of getting over the line this year.” 

Mitchelstown will be one of the fancied sides to make the business end later this year, but not many would have predicted that Ballinora would have been the last ones standing last year.

The McCarthy Insurance Group IAFC grade is very much wide open and that should be the case again this season.

“I won’t lie to you, I probably was one of the very few that tipped Ballinora to win the county last year,” Reen said.

“I was hoping to get a phone call from Ballinora over the last few years to be honest with you. They are a very young side and they were always going to come. I am actually delighted that they are gone up because I would be worried if we did meet them.

“There are a lot of great teams at this grade, any team on any given day can beat each other. Mitchelstown will probably be in the top four in terms of the betting, we won’t be the favourites.

“It’s going to be a difficult championship to win. It’s going to be very exciting.” 

Mitchelstown will be backboned by Cork footballers Seán Walsh and Cathail O’Mahony when the championship gets going in July.

The Avondhu outfit have Gabriel Rangers, Dromtarriffe and St Finbarr’s second team in their group.

“I would be very blunt in that I treat every player the same. I don’t favour anyone regardless of who they are. I don’t bring any politics with me wherever I go. I pick the best 15 and that’s the way I operate.

“It’s brilliant that we do have two players with the Cork footballers and that will help us, but everyone will have to fight for their place.

“In fairness, Seán Walsh and Cathail O’Mahony have been at most of our training sessions so far. A lot of inter-county players don’t do that this time of the year.

“Our two lads are very committed and passionate about Mitchelstown. We have over 40 players currently training and I want all those guys to be knocking on the door.” 

Mitchelstown have made a positive start to their McCarthy Insurance Group Division 5 Football League campaign with three points from the first two games.

“I will use my panel for the league. My tune never changes. I know a lot of managers tell you that they try out players. I pick my team from performances on the training ground.

“I go out to win every game and that’s about the size of it.”