Collins back on the big stage

Mark Collins got his first taste of a senior football county final day at Páirc Uí Chaoimh aged four, when he held captain Niall Cahalane’s hand as team mascot before his heroes took the field against O’Donovan Rossa in 1994 in front of 25,000 people.

A book has since been penned about that year in the club’s history and on its cover, bang in the middle, is a picture of Collins with a startled look upon his face, marching behind St Fachtna’s Silver band, a blue and white football under his arm.

“That was some introduction to it, alright,” he laughed. “I was a little more pudgy back then than I am now! I was just so taken aback by the whole thing, to be honest. I was only four at the time and I just remember there being a photo shoot or something down in Castlehaven the week before the match and it was just hitting me how huge the occasion was.”

The match ended in a draw and as he looked forward to being mascot again the next day, his hopes were dashed when Shane Nolan got the nod.

“Yeah, his father was manager so that’s hardly surprising,” quipped Collins. “I didn’t get to know Shane until a few years after that but I just remember really wanting to be on the pitch.”

He’s graced the pitch many times since, has Collins, but not with such fond memories and the pain of last year’s final defeat to his alma mater UCC still hangs with him.

“That was such a blow to us. Maybe the occasion did get to us, it’s hard to say if it did or not.

“We were a young team and we had a lot of fellas who hadn’t even played in Páirc Uí Chaoimh before so it was a huge occasion. Hopefully that experience will stand to us on Sunday and we’ll be able to give a good account of ourselves.

“We can’t wait now. We felt we didn’t really perform when we got there 12 months ago and the occasion was just so massive. We’re trying to have it a little bit more low-key this time around but it’s hard in a place that lives for football.”

Losing to a star-studded representative team is something Collins hasn’t given much thought to, however. They lost. They have moved on. Sunday is a chance to atone for it.

“I’ve seen Duhallow now a few times and they are very good,” he said.

“I saw them against Dunmanway and to be honest I felt they were lucky enough to get a draw out of that but then I saw them again after that against Douglas twice and they really upped it and the same as against Skibbereen as well.

“They’ve players all over the pitch it’s not just Donncha [O’Connor]. He’s obviously on fire in the forwards for them, putting up some huge scores but they’ve a superb midfield pairing as well in Aidan Walsh and Bertie O’Callaghan. Bertie seems to hold the centre and Aidan just goes up and down the field all day so we’ll have to watch that.”

Though he has won county medals at U21 level and played on Cork minor, U21 and senior teams, togging out with the Haven has always been extra special.

“It just means so much to the people down here. People have no idea. The people who aren’t playing or involved, like parents for example, it means as much if not more to them to see us winning. Just pulling on that Haven jersey.

“There’s such pride and passion down here that you just want to go and do your best every time you play and hopefully we can give our best on Sunday.”