An adult approach to a juvenile problem

The silverware flowed their way throughout last year and when the 2011 calendar of games spilled over into last January, the winning run kept going for Kilmeen-Kilbree.

The tiny West Cork club, March winners of the Rebel Óg award which the Irish Examiner is a media partner of, claimed nine underage titles last season and rounded it off two months ago with a momentous triumph in the county U16A football final. Victory capped a remarkable rise for a club which was unaccustomed to such success.

“The U16 county football win was the climax of a great year,” said Kevin O’Donovan, Kilmeen-Kilbree adult chairman and Cork County Board GDA for the Carbery-Beara region.

“It was a crazy match. We were down by seven points with 20 minutes left and the game looked over. But fortunately the Kilmeen players kept their cool, came back and got the equalising point with the last kick of the game. In extra-time the Kilmeen lads got a whole new lease of life.

“Our minors had won a county a few months previously after extra-time with half of that U16 team so they were in the mode to in that type of game. Both finals were on in Kilmichael as well which helped our cause. It’s fantastic for us to be now talking about winning A titles as for a time we couldn’t even win games in the D competitions. We won an underage D league one time and we thought we’d won an All-Ireland.”

O’Donovan outlines the manner in which Kilmeen-Kilbree’s fortunes have been transformed.

“I remember one underage AGM over a decade ago and there was just constant negativity at it. But we got it going. I was underage secretary for seven years, then Connie Murphy came on board as underage secretary and Felix Daly as underage chairman.

“One thing we did was brought the underage club in as part of the adult club, whereby the underage chairman had to be the adult vice-chairman.

“It made the juvenile club more powerful and made people way more interested. We paid poor respect to the juvenile club for a while, now we’re giving it the respect it deserves. It’s a typical small country parish of a 1,000 people with only one national school in Kilmeen. But everyone knows each other and it’s easier to mind a few sheep than a whole herd.”

Recognition has followed outside their own local domain. On the inter-county football scene last year, Brian Keohane and Darren Santry were with the Cork U14s, Damien Gorman played with the Cork U15s and James Clancy was on a Cork U16 panel. For a club who ply their trade at adult level in junior B football and junior A hurling, there is optimism for the future but underage glories are no guarantee in O’Donovan’s eyes.

“We don’t think we’re great and we haven’t won anything serious because all underage titles are only a stepping stone. I came in as underage chairman this year with the sole objective that we bring these young players through, don’t burn them out and don’t expect too much of them. We’re not anywhere yet but at least we have a chance.”