DJ O'Sullivan's Traitors stint brings timely lift to Boherbue camp

Boherbue defender Daniel Buckley says last year’s early championship exit forced no dramatic reset. 

Ahead of Friday night’s McCarthy Insurance Group IAFC semi-final against Kilmurry in Mourneabbey (7.30pm), he believes the group has rediscovered its edge, its resilience and, crucially, its bit of luck.

“We were actually in a very, very strong group last year to be fair,” he says.

“We had Kilmurry, Ilen Rovers who made the final, and St Vincent’s. It was a tough group. We’d made the final the year before and probably found it hard to rise to the challenge again.

“Naturally, they’re tough to come back from in terms of losing finals. You put an awful lot into getting there. Trying to pick it back up again is hard.

“You go back in the following year with the same aspirations, but unfortunately it’s all on the day. You need a bit of luck. We’ve got it again this year to get as far as we have.” 

That sense of renewal has been helped by a refreshed dressing room — a couple of new faces, a new management team, and a slightly different energy.

“Yeah, a bit of freshness this year,” Buckley said.

“We still have the same core, but it’s nice to have that freshness. They’re trying to stand their own authority on things and hoping to have a successful season.” 

Nothing has come easy. Boherbue’s group campaign was a grind from the opening whistle.

“The first day out we played Kildorrery and were lucky to get over the line. We had Adrigole in the second round and they just pipped us. Very tight game. Then Bandon… jeez, Bandon really took it down the stretch. Very lucky to have got out of Ballingeary with a one‑point win and very thankful of it.

“The group again this year was extremely tight. We were lucky to get out and probably rode our luck a bit at times. But in championships you need luck, and we’re depending on it at the moment.” 

Their quarter-final win over Dromtarriffe was another bruiser — another reminder of how little separates neighbours in knockout football.

“Very, very tough, bruising game. Dromtarriffe had a number of chances. If they’d taken them, we’d be out.

“A local derby takes on a life of its own. Anything can happen. We were just very lucky to come out on the right side.

“After a tough game there’s always a bit of collateral damage. Hopefully not too bad, but we’ll have to see. Those games stand to you, but there’s never going to be anything but a kick of a ball in local games.” 

Now comes Kilmurry — straight through to the semi-final and armed with last year’s eight‑point win over Boherbue in the final group game.

“We know them pretty well,” Buckley says.

“They beat us by eight points last year. We’re under no illusions. They’re extremely strong. Qualified straight to the semi-final. We’re just hoping we can narrow the gap and put in a performance. You never know.” 

There has also been a welcome distraction in recent weeks: selector DJ O’Sullivan, whose TV appearances on The Traitors have brought a bit of craic to the camp.

“When we saw him on the TV on the Sunday night before the quarter-final, it probably lifted any bit of stress around the group. A grand distraction.

“He’s busy with the media work and still committing to us. It's a grand old distraction to have. He’s originally from Meelin but living in Boherbue, so very thankful for the time he’s giving us.”