Darren Whooley: 'It's just a culmination of a massive amount of work'

There were days when Kilmacabea thought they might never get the chance to wear this crown; their 2018 defeat to Dromtarriffe was one illustration of that.

Sun, 30 Nov, 2025 - 18:13

Shane Donovan

Kilmacabea have been waiting a long time to wear this Cork Junior A Football Championship crown.

There were days when they thought they might never get the chance to wear it; their 2018 defeat to Dromtarriffe was one illustration of that.

But on Sunday, their day finally came.

Down two points at the interval against a Gavin O’Sullivan-led Donoughmore outfit, they didn’t panic.

Kilmacabea leaders such as captain Ian Jennings and former Cork senior Damien Gore had been kept relatively quiet throughout that opening period, but it didn’t take Jennings long to burst into life.

His two-pointer seconds after the resumption started the Leap outfit off as they meant to go on, and they would eventually win by a margin of seven.

For Darren Whooley, now a long-time resident in the full-back line, this county win is a culmination of years of hard work.

“It's unbelievable. We've worked so hard for it,” said Whooley post-match. “We had heartbreak in 2018, and there were times I suppose we thought we'd never get back.

“It's just a culmination of a massive amount of work. And it's a real relief to get over the line.”

In Whooley’s view, this particular competition is as hard as any to win. Navigating the Carbery division is one thing, but to back that up with another three wins to secure county honours is a feat he and his teammates are immensely proud of.

“We had nine games this year. It's very hard to win nine championship games,” Whooley said.

“West Cork is just so hard to get out of. There are so many good teams. And then once you get out, you have another three games (to win the county).

“I would say it's probably nearly the toughest championship to get out of in terms of the amount of games you have to win.”

We’ve mentioned Jennings and Gore, but this was a win garnered by an entire squad.

The Shanahans – Eamon and Ray – were pivotal. Eamon notched 0-5, while Ray raised Kilmacs’ green flag.

Whooley was keen to stress the importance of the collective. They boast buckets of experience, but have plenty youthful exuberance too.

“I thought Ian (Jennings) was outstanding, to be honest. Look, Damien (Gore) and Ian, everyone knows how good they are.

“Daniel O’Donovan, Martin Collins. We have some outstanding players, but it's just about the whole group pulling together… and we have a perfect mix (of ages). We have the likes of Dan and then you have the likes of Martin.

And then you have Liam Tobin, Owen Tobin as well, all the young lads, and they're all very able to play football.”

They’ll be banking on that collective as they embark on the next step of their journey, the Intermediate A ranks in 2026.