Castletownbere's small numbers no barrier to Premier Intermediate survival

Castletownbere preserved their Premier Intermediate FC status for 2027 in the most dramatic of ways, Declan Dunne delivering the heroics in added time to send Glanmire down a step.

But, given the geographical challenges the Beara side are forced to endure, it meant a little more than it ordinarily would for manager Lorcan Harrington and his team.

Numbers are a huge issue for rural clubs; Harrington confirmed as much, with few players coming through. And with the challenges that come with training and assembling a squad, it was massive for the west Cork club to stay in this grade.

“We had lads travelling from Dublin, London,” Harrington said. “There's a lot of moving parts. Somebody said it during the week, one of our selectors, John Paul Sheehan, he said, ‘the crest is over your heart for a reason’. The lads are very proud of where they're from.” 

Avoiding the drop was crucial too, given how tightly packed the teams are between Senior A and Intermediate A, given how easy it is to fall consecutively.

“If you get relegated, you can get relegated again,” Harrington explained. “Because between Intermediate A, Premier Intermediate and Senior A, all those teams can beat each other on any given day.

“We were in Division 2 this year, and we played Skibbereen, these guys who are good teams, played Clyda Rovers, and if you get momentum going the wrong way, you could be in trouble. So it's great for the younger lads as well, because we don't have huge numbers coming through. I think we had one minor this year that came through.

“If you compare it to Kenmare, which is over the border, they had 30 minors into their senior team this year. So that's why we're comparing it. But we're doing our best with what we've got, and in fairness, our board have been very supportive as well.

“Anything we've asked for, they've given to us.

“We actually have Gavin Crowley coach us this year from Kerry,” he added. “All-Ireland winner with Kerry, so we were training a lot in Kerry this year, in Tuosist. So the lads would travel midweek down the road, and they have no problem travelling. We're used to travelling, because we're so far west.

“They're proud, as I said, to wear the crest. So if you ask them to go somewhere, they'll go. So that's the one good thing from our perspective. It was very hard to pick a team this year, because there were so many committed lads. So it was disappointing we weren't still in the championship this weekend. But look, we're happy, obviously, to win the relegation final.” 

Winning it wasn’t easy. A trio of goals had Glanmire leading coming down the stretch, but Castletownbere held their nerve in added time to strike back.

“We made hard work of it for sure! We had a good start in the first half. Glanmire, in fairness, they showed what kind of a club they are. They're a proud club.

“We've played them many times over the years, even when I was playing back in 2005. They were a fantastic club that time. In fairness, when the chips were down, some of our big men stood up, like Fintan Fenner and Declan Dunne.

“It's great to keep the momentum going, because we would have seen it as a big down step if we got relegated. We're delighted with the win.

“Declan's a machine when he gets going. He's a fantastic guy as well. He brings on the younger lads, we’d a couple of 18-year-olds playing there today in their first year. He's a very good role model as well.”