Bandon’s dual mandate a lesson for all
Last Sunday’s Premier IHC final win over Fermoy made it 10 straight championship wins for the West Cork club across both hurling and football. Their success also illustrates that, if the will is there, clubs can challenge for ultimate honours seasonally in both codes.
Bandon’s near-neighbours, Valley Rovers, were the last club in Cork to manage something similar to what Bandon wish to achieve this year. (In 2009 Valleys annexed PIFC and IHC titles). Bandon have taken note of what Valleys and their other border cousins Newcestown have managed when it comes to balancing a dual drive for success.
Chairman of Bandon GAA, Colman Mahony, explained: “Judge Con Murphy, God rest his soul, was a stalwart in the club and used to say that common sense isn’t all that common at all! And that’s all it is: common sense. If the players are good enough and skillful enough you can win in either code.” Mahony adds: “When it comes to aiming for success in both codes we watched what Newcestown and Valleys were doing. We have a hurling selection who worked with the football selection and vice versa. There has been no magic formula. Things just mushroomed from there.”
Maintaining open lines of communication between both the camps has been key to success this season. But such cordiality is in short supply across a county that would have some very high profile dual clubs. Off the record testimony to this reporter from inside some of these dual clubs often portrays acrimony, spite, bitterness and blame. Bandon appears to be the antithesis of all that.
“The calmest place to be last week was to be involved with the Bandon hurling mentors,” says Mahony. “And the calmest place this week is to be involved with the Bandon mentors in football. They’re just totally focused and relaxed.
“Where you get co-operation, you most definitely are on the right road to achieving something tangible. The two camps are working so well together. From the word go they co-operated at training. They met, they talked. There is no magic formula, just co-operation and wanting the club to win.” Pinpointing a turning point in Bandon’s fortunes stretches back to a disappointing mid-summer defeat to Valleys in last year’s PIHC. As both panels are comprised mainly of dual players, they made a pact that they were going to turn things around.
The footballers have come a long way from being stuck in the mire of the ever-competitive West Cork JAFC but a one-point win over St Colum’s in an early round match marked a turning point in the footballers’ fortunes.
“In years gone by Bandon didn’t win those games,” says football manager, Colm Aherne. “But the lads stood up that day. That was a turning point.”
Since that afternoon against Colum’s Bandon have annexed West Cork junior and county football titles and now progress to a county IFC final against Rockchapel tomorrow in Páirc Uí Rinn.
“There is a maturity to this group,” adds Aherne, who aged 35, is like his hurling counterpart, Niall O’Halloran, a new breed of young bright managers making headlines in the county. Raised across the road from Bandon’s headquarters, Charlie Hurley Park, he was just one year old when his father, Denis, played for Bandon the last time the town contested an intermediate football final against Macroom in 1982, a game Bandon lost by a point.
“They are the type of group that take ownership of their season on and off the pitch,” adds Aherne. “And with this group it is not hard to manage expectations. The players police themselves, and of one guy is out of line, the leaders in the group bring him down to earth again.
“They celebrated last Sunday’s hurling success but the group was on Inchydoney beach on Monday for a recovery session and this week has been all about keeping the team ticking over.”
Much has been made of the Bandon attack this season, one that has netted 16 times in six games. Mark Sugrue has goaled seven times. A key cog in the Bandon attack, Sugrue trained with the Cork senior footballers this year and may be about to make a breakthrough with the county next season. “Mark has been in with Cork since the start of the year,” says Aherne, “but an ankle injury curbed his progress. Hopefully, he will get a better run at in 2017. Mark grabs the headlines but he’d be the first guy to tell you about all the work everyone else does.”
This generation of Bandon players are a bit special according to Mahony: “They’re probably the best group of players we’ve ever produced. I think some of them are playing their sixth county final on Sunday.”
It has been a busy year for Bandon on both fronts but Rockchapel stand in their way of achieving a historic double. “It will definitely be our biggest test to date,” says Mahony who cites the win over Glanworth as their finest win this season – the ultimate gut-check, similar to the St. Colum’s game in 2015. “We’ve been underdogs every time we’ve played this year. Hopefully we’ll continue to be underdogs this Sunday.”
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