East Cork JAFC: Carraig na bhFear win the Jim Ryan cup for the first time in 50 years

Carraig na bhFear had trailed Erin's Own by a point in the second half but then reeled off 2-5 without replay to claim victory. 

IMPACT: Second half substitute Billy Connolly put in a man of the match performance for Carraig na bhFear in their East Cork JAFC final victory over Erin's Own. Pic: Eddie O'Hare

East Cork Junior A Football Championship final: Carraig na bhFear 3-12 (3-1-10) Erin’s Own 1-8 (1-2-4) 

Half a century since they last lifted the East Cork Junior A Football Championship, Carraig na bhFear are champions again.

They tore through the final 18 minutes of this football decider in Ballinacurra against Erin’s Own like men possessed, reeling off 2-5 without reply to turn a one-point deficit into a ten-point win.

“Absolutely unbelievable,” said manager Liam Ryan. “We were training from January for this. I pointed it out at the start of the year, it was 50 years.

“It just came through. I didn’t think it would, but it was written on the cards.

“It was tremendous, our man of the match Billy Connolly made a huge difference coming on, but it was absolutely brilliant.” 

Connolly’s entrance came in the 39th minute, just as Carraig na bhFear hit the game’s first goal. Aherns, Jack and Mike, combined to set up Sean O’Donoghue for a thunderbolt so powerful it tore through the net.

Erin’s Own struck back instantly, Conor Lenihan’s neat finish giving them back the lead at 1-8 to 1-7. But they would not score again.

The next 18 minutes the ball only moved one way. Timmy Geaney rampaged up and down the line, O’Donoghue was lethal inside, and Connolly’s fingerprints were all over the ball. Every turnover drew a roar.

Evan Flynn’s rasping finish on 50 minutes nudged them ahead for good, and when O’Donoghue and Colm Murphy chipped in, the gap had stretched to six with the clock running down.

Murphy swung over another before Geaney, tireless to the end, dropped a looping ball in for Rob Sheehan, and he set up O’Donoghue for the palmed finish to seal it and complete the smash and grab.

For 40 minutes, the game had been tight, tense, claustrophobic. Cathal Lenihan’s brilliant two-pointer opened the scoring, and while Carraig hit their stride soon after getting a firm grasp on kickouts, the first half became a slug of frees.

Murphy clipped over an outrageous two-point free from an acute angle, but Tom O’Riordan, calm and consistent, nudged Erin’s Own back in front with another placed orange flag.

At half-time, it was 0-7 to 0-6 to Erin’s Own. Still nothing in it. Ten minutes into the second half, still the same – 1-8 to 1-7 after the swapped goals. Then came the Carraig hurricane, 18 minutes of wonder to end 50 years of wondering.

Captain Tadhg O’Donoghue’s speech epitomised it. He saluted both the present and the past. After gently poking at half the parish, he made sure to remember the men from that 1975 side who didn’t live to see this day.

Scorers for Carraig na bhFear: S O’Donoghue 2-2, C Murphy 0-7 (1 tpf, 0-2 f), E Flynn 1-0, T Geaney, R Sheehan, S Whelan 0-1 each.

Scorers for Erin’s Own: T O’Riordan 0-6 (0-4 f, 1 tpf), Cormac Lenihan 1-0, Cathal Lenihan 0-2 (tp).

CARRAIG NA BHFEAR: A Ryan; R McCarthy, S Farrell, C Cooney; P Sheehan, T O’Donoghue (c), T Geaney; M Ahern, A Bowen; R Sheehan, E Flynn, J Ahern; S Whelan, C Murphy, S O’Donoghue.

Subs: B Connolly for J Ahern (39), O Crowley for M Ahern (43), P Geaney for Cooney (53 inj), C Murphy for McCarthy, D Sweeney for Whelan (both 60+2).

ERIN’S OWN: C O’Donoghue; C Nolan, S Power, C Dunphy; R Blackton (c), C Dooley, J Carroll; Cathal Lenihan, C O’Mahony; M O’Riordan, C McDonnell, S Broderick; T O’Riordan, Cormac Lenihan, M Carroll.

Subs: P O’Shea for S Broderick (HT), S Guilfoyle for M Carroll (43), C O’Connor for J Carroll (50), E Murphy for M O’Riordan (53), J Ryan for Dunphy (60+2).

Referee: P O’Driscoll (Bride Rovers)