Adrigole determined to break semi-final hoodoo and bring home the cup named after a club great

After three consecutive semi-final defeats, Adrigole selector Paul Goggin says the hunger within the Beara club has only grown.

The disappointment has been clear to see, but so too has the belief that this group is edging ever closer to a breakthrough in the McCarthy Insurance Group IAFC. 

The recent history is well-known. In 2023, Adrigole were beaten by Mitchelstown after a cracker after extra-time. In 2024, Boherbue caught them, and last year, they fell to Ilen Rovers after an exhausting extra-time battle that could have swung either way.

Three different opponents, all ending in defeat.

“There’s a lot of hope after the last few years,” Goggin says.

“We’ve been close, painfully close. When you’re getting to semi-finals every year, you’re doing a lot right. But when you’re not getting over the line, you’re also leaving something behind. That’s the bit that drives you on.

“The competition is so stiff. There’s no easy game. Only one team gets there in the end. The fact we’ve been at the semi-final stage three years in a row shows we’re doing something right.” 

The Mitchelstown defeat in 2023 was a lesson in physicality and squad depth. The Boherbue loss in 2024 was a lesson in game management and seizing moments. The Ilen Rovers defeat last year was a lesson in resilience and the cruel bounce of the ball.

All things Adrigole hope will benefit them this year.

“We lost a key player, Seán O’Shea, very early against Ilen Rovers and we were down a few bodies,” Goggin said.

“A few things didn’t go our way — maybe on another day they would have. But the lads fought. It would’ve been easy to wilt in extra time, but we were there right to the end.

“Once one or two things go against you numbers-wise, it can have a big effect. But we’ve done a lot of soul-searching over the last two years or so. We feel we’ve addressed a lot of things. We’re in good fettle to make a good run at it again.” 

That sense of renewal has been strengthened by their early-season form. Adrigole have made a positive start to the McCarthy Insurance Group Division 4 Football League.

“We want to blood as many players as possible in the league,” Goggin states.

“We want competition for places. Division 4 is a good standard — you have to be ready every day you go out. There’ll be games coming thick and fast. We’ll be well tested squad-wise and against strong opposition. After the next couple of league games, we’ll know exactly where we stand.

“We have a stronger panel than we’ve had in years. That’s important for us internally. We also want to be competitive with every team in the league.” 

Adrigole’s championship group is tricky: Bandon, Boherbue and Kildorrery. It is, by any measure, one of the toughest groups in the grade.

“Absolutely, it’s a difficult group. Bandon are coming down from the grade above. We played them in the league last year and they gave us a bit of a lesson in physicality. They’re a serious side.

“We know all about Boherbue, and Kildorrery are always tough opponents. All our attention is on that first game against Bandon. We’re not looking any further than that.” 

There is a deeper emotional feeling running through Adrigole’s pursuit of the McCarthy Insurance Group IAFC title, it's named after John Lock O’Sullivan who died in 2002. 

“It would mean the world to us to win the county, given the trophy is named after an Adrigole man. John was a gentleman, a great player, a wonderful left leg. Most of the management played with him. There are lads on the team now who weren’t even born when he passed.

“The dream for us would be to bring that cup home and celebrate with the parish. 

“We’re knocking on the door. We want to get over that semi-final hurdle and see where it takes us.”