Crowley focused on ending Bandon’s title hunger

BANDON native Red Crowley played with Carbery against Glen Rovers in the 1971 county SHC and scored 1-6 from centre forward.

Word quickly spread he had moved into the city and, never a club to let an opportunity slip, the Glen, in the person of the legendary Christy Ring, met up with Crowley and asked him to join the Blackpool club.

Crowley gave his word and despite efforts by Blackrock to get him to change his mind — Crowley had come to live in Blackrock — he stuck to his guns and went on to play in eight county finals, winning two counties, two Munster Club and two All-Ireland Club medals with Glen Rovers, in 1972 and 1976.

However, he never forgot his roots, and two years ago he answered the call from his native town, took charge of the intermediate hurlers and guided them to the county final, where they lost to Fr O’Neills by a point.

“That was a heartbreaking defeat, but we picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves down and resolved to get back to the final again,” said Crowley.

“Thankfully we are here again, but it will be no use unless we complete the job. A town the size of Bandon needs to be at the top. Hurling is very important to the people in the area and it would be brilliant if we could give them something to shout about.

“We are very fortunate to have two schools as nurseries, St Brogan’s in particular. The majority of the players are past pupils there and the school has helped to mould them into excellent hurlers.

“The present squad of players is a pleasure to be involved with. Their commitment to training has been superb and they deserve to get something out of the game. This year’s run to the final has been very good. We’ve been chalking up the scores, points in particular and, having done so well at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in the semi-final against Valley Rovers, it’s great to be going back there again for the final.

“It would be a shame if we don’t win it because we have put in the work. But, in a two-horse race, anything can happen. I’m sure Carrigaline will be saying the same thing. We have a nice team of youth and experience. Darren O’Donoghue has been around a while now, along with Joe Burke and Kieran Hurley, while Darren Crowley, Ronan Crowley and Roy Payne are very talented youngsters. Hopefully the day will be fine and we play to our potential. If we do we’ll be hard to beat.”

Jerry O’Sullivan has other interests, apart from managing the Carrigaline hurling team. He is a well known in greyhound circles and has had many winners in the sport.A native of Ballygarvan, Jerry moved to Carrigaline over 30 years ago, but only became involved with the team this year as most of his time had been taken up with his four-legged friends.

“We go into tomorrow’s game with a slight handicap, in that Bandon have played a game more than us as we got a bye into the quarter-finals. But I won’t be offering that as an excuse if we are beaten,” said O’Sullivan.

“Like Bandon, we are a bustling town with a big population and need to be playing at the top level. A county title would lift the profile of the club to new heights and give our underage players something to aim at. Thankfully we will be at full strength. Our team also has a nice mix of youth and experience with county senior footballer Nicholas Murphy, his brother Peter, who is the captain, and Jeff Dillon providing the leadership.

“Carrig has given a number of players to the county minor team in recent years. Players like Joe Moran, Stephen Corcoran, Simon O’Brien and David Drake have all donned the red jersey.

“Two years ago Carrigaline lost the final to Ballymartle and we want to make up for that. It’s an old cliché, but it will all come down to who performs best on the day. They are favourites and that suits us fine. It should be a cracking match and, hopefully, we’ll come out on the right side.”