IAHC: Veteran Darren Crowley delighted for Bandon's young guns

When Bandon beat Fr O’Neill’s to win the county IHC in 2011, it was a victory build on recent final heartache.

They had lost the decider in 2007, coincidentally to O’Neill’s, before falling to Carrigaline the following year, but were rewarded for persistence as they made the breakthrough and almost went all the way in the Premier IHC in 2012, losing the final to Ballinhassig.

Glory there would follow as the Lilywhites returned to the senior ranks by winning the second tier in 2016.

But for a two-point loss to Carrigtwohill in the 2019 SHC, Bandon would have been part of the 12-team premier senior grade following the restructuring for the following year; instead, following a quarter-final appearance at senior A in 2021, they suffered relegation and then in 2023 fell from premier intermediate to intermediate A.

There for all the highs and lows was Darren Crowley – both he and Mark Sugrue scored two points in that 2011 final win and they were involved as Aghada were beaten in Saturday’s IAHC decider.

Crowley, now 38, was introduced in the first half and scored three points, the last of them opening up an eight-point lead before the east Cork side mounted a comeback, with two goals helping them to come to within a point.

Bandon held out, however, to ascend once again to premier intermediate. Crowley was delighted for the newer crop, who have had to deal with a tough start to life in adult hurling.

“Honestly, what I'm most happy for is the younger lads,” he said.

“A lot of them there now, they went through the two relegations in hurling, there was relegation in football too, there was a lot of bad days. This is a first for a lot of them.

“We went through a big transition, because we lost so many. so quickly. We had a settled team for so long, but so many of them retired around the same time.

“The younger fellas coming in, they were plenty good enough, but they all came as one and that caught us.

“Once you drop one grade, it's hard to stop the rot.”

Saturday’s win came after losing the 2025 final to Aghabullogue by a point – not a nice experience at the time but something to bank and draw upon.

“It stood to us, I think,” Crowley said.

“Now, it didn't look like that with 30 seconds to go! But it definitely did stand to us, even just the familiarity with the stadium.

“When you’re playing inside, it just plays different out there. I don't know how to explain it, but it just plays like you're in a bowl. It doesn't play like an open pitch and you could see that that helped us early on.”

Experience certainly stood to Crowley as he marked his introduction with an immediate point, paving the way for a fine display.

“It just broke lovely for me, I was on my own,” he said.

“I had something similar the last day, just pure luck.”

The overall achievement owed little to luck, however. Crowley praised manager Joe Burke, as well as the impact of Niall O’Halloran – who led the club to that 2016 win – as he succeeded James Nyhan as coach.

“Joe puts so much into it,” he said.

“The time and effort that Joe put in is incredible. There was more as well, they’ve all put in serious time and effort.

“Obviously, having Hal around this year was a big boost. We were disappointed to lose James, because he was excellent for us last year.

“When Hal came on board again, it really energised us. Playing in Division 3 of the league was a big help as well, being competitive at that level.

“The way the championship structure is, it's in a block, and we’re a dual club so we don’t get the opportunity for practice games.

“Your build-up is really the league, and when you're playing better teams in a higher division, it really helps.”