Donie O’Donovan knows better than anyone what success in county junior A football final would mean to Kilmacabea
DONIE O’Donovan remembers a conversation he had with his selector Ger O’Donovan in Rosscarbery ahead of the Carbery JAFC quarter-final against Barryroe in late September.
The chat is even more relevant now, as Kilmacabea count down the days to Sunday’s county junior A football final.
‘Before the game in Ross started I said to Ger “wouldn’t it be easier if we were above on the bank and just be able to turn up and watch the game with the rest of our Kilmacabea people?”’ O’Donovan said, a nod to the unseen work and time that the management team pour into the role. Not to mention the added stress.
‘Ger said “the one thing here is you have the ability to have an input in things”. He’s right. So while we’re not playing, it’s nice to still have an input in things. That’s where the enjoyment comes from.’
This is O’Donovan’s second season in the Kilmacabea hot-seat, so he has a deep understanding of the job. It can be all consuming in a lot of ways, he points out, but days like this Sunday are where the rewards lie.
‘To be in finals is very special,’ he said, his mind fully focused on the huge showdown with Donoughmore at Páirc Uí Chaoimh (3.30pm), as this Kilmacabea team attempts to make history.
The Kilmacs have never won the county junior A title, so they stand on the brink of something really special. They were here before, back in 2018 when O’Donovan was a player himself, but Dromtarriffe were the dream-dashers that day. Seven years on, O’Donovan and Kilmacabea are back at the same point, but the mindset of the group has shifted.
In 2017 Kilmacabea won their first-ever Carbery JAFC title, and backed it up the following year. There was a natural euphoria, as a glass ceiling was smashed, and the ventures in the county series were a novelty of sorts. Not now.
They have conquered Carbery five times in nine seasons (2017, 2018, 2020, 2024, and 2025) so targets have been adjusted as expectations grow. There is a deep desire to take the next step. It’s why losing the county semi-final to Inniscarra last season stung. Donie O’Donovan knows better than anyone what success on Sunday would mean.
The Kilmacabea management team, from left; Donnacha O’Brien (strength & conditioning), Donie O’Donovan (manager), Karl McCarthy (selector) and Ger O’Donovan (selector). (Photo: Martin Walsh)
‘Back in 1994 we won the junior B county and that team still has almost legendary status in the club. I remember back then, and it was a big deal,’ he said.
‘Of course, to win a junior A county would be a big moment in the club’s history. For a long, long time we wanted to win the West Cork, and when we won that in 2017 we went out in the county – and that was a bit of a novelty. We got to the semi-final the first year, and the final the next season.
‘Whereas now, Carbery is still very difficult to win, and it gives the club a great lift and we cherish every one we do win, but it comes to the stage where the club wants a bit more, the people in the parish want a bit more, and the next step is to win the county. But that’s not very easy to do. Sunday will be our ninth championship game, and nine games to win a championship shows how difficult it is to do.
‘The junior A has 75 teams starting so it’s one of the most difficult counties to win. If you don’t win, you’re back at the bottom of the ladder and have to start again – that’s the hard part.’
His team beat Kilmeen, Randal Óg, Argideen Rangers, Barryroe, Kilbrittain and St Mary’s to emerge from Carbery. Since then Kilmacabea have defeated Carraig na bhFear and Charleville in the county series, and now Dononoughmore await. The short eight-day turnaround between the semi-final and final means there’s no big build-up – it’s straight from one game to the next, but O’Donovan likes that. He has a feet-on-the-ground approach. The highs aren’t too high, and the lows aren’t too low. ‘Whether you win or lose on Sunday, life goes on,’ he said.
‘After championship games in general when you are knocked out, it’s a low point, and in 2018 it took us a good while to get over it, as a club rather than a team.
‘Our club is in a very good place now. Our new astro was opened this year, we have new floodlights, the underage is going well, the girls’ section is going well, and our underage amalgamation with St James is going quite well too.
‘Regardless of how our county final goes on Sunday, we’re not going to go away feeling sorry for ourselves,’ he added, though not underplaying the importance of the final, given how this group wants to move to the next level.
Central characters like captain Ian Jennings, ace forward Damien Gore and stalwarts Daniel O’Donovan and Donnacha McCarthy are some of the players who link the 2018 final to the present day. It’s the experienced campaigners, like O’Donovan and McCarthy, who have important roles to play.
‘You need everyone, from young to old, and especially older lads to stay with you longer,’ the Kilmacabea manager said.
‘In bigger clubs with more numbers, maybe the older guys are not needed whereas I think guys can play much longer if they look after themselves and are needed, and they are needed in our club.
‘If guys can still do it, we are delighted to have them. They bring that calmness and experience to the dressing-room, and young lads have them to show them the ropes. We try to get the most out of every fella,’ he added, and Kilmacabea players will look to squeeze every drop out of themselves at Cork GAA HQ on Sunday. They won’t be found wanting, and the shared hope is that the Kilmacs, leaning on their experience, can produce the performance that’s needed to make this one of those unforgettable days.
These are the occasions O’Donovan worked for as a player, and now as a manager. He has the chance to make a difference. Like his players, he hopes to deliver too.
