Charleville have the ability to overcome their biggest test
Charleville v Courcey Rovers
AFTER battling up from junior hurling less than seven years ago Charleville will take to the field in Páirc Uí Chaoimh next Sunday afternoon just 60 minutes away from a berth in Cork senior hurling with only Courcey Rovers standing in the way of one of the greatest rags to riches stories in Cork GAA for many a year.
A club that has felt plenty heartache both on and off the pitch over the last decade Charleville have been hugely impressive this year and the players and backroom team fully deserve their shot at local immortality.
After seeing off their bogey team, Fermoy, in the quarter finals before taking down title favourites Fr O’Neills in the semis, Charleville come into this game with plenty of positives on their side – none less important than Cork star Darragh Fitzgibbon in the middle of the field.
Fitzgibbon has been immense this season for both club and county however Charleville selector Tony McAulliffe believes that while Fitzgibbon is a huge part of the Charleville success he is far from the only positive on the pitch.
“Darragh is our marquee player. He is the one that gets all the attention and we were blessed to have had him for five games this season. Darragh gets most of the attention on the pitch – that means that other players get a chance to stand up and credit to them they have done that all season.
“We only had Darragh for five or six games all season, but his work rate when he is here as well as his attitude is impressive. Darragh comes into his own at the business end of games. The last 10 or 15 minutes when you need scores he is there to get them. His 1-3 against Fr O’Neills was hugely important to us.”
The enormity of what Charleville are heading into this Sunday has not been missed by McAulliffe and the rest of the Charleville team however they are really looking forward to grabbing their chance with both hands.
“Sunday is a massive day for us. It is probably the biggest day in our club’s history for 60 or 70 years. If you consider that eight years ago we lost a Junior semi-final and were failing to compete and now we are one step away from senior.
“Of course, we still have an awful lot to do to get there but the club has really been progressing at a great rate since 2010. The players will go out there and give it their all and hopefully it will be enough against a very good Courcey’s side.”
It has been a long road for Charleville but the path was set out early for all to follow.
“This year we knew we had five steps to take if we were going to win and we have four of that five taken. Just Courcey Rovers are left and we all know what a challenge that is going to be.
“We saw them last weekend against Valley Rovers and we were really impressed. They are a tenacious side with a phenomenal work rate. Their never say die attitude saw them fight back from a couple of points down late on to take that win.
“They are a side that deserves and will get great respect from us but we are going to Pairc Uí Chaoimh to win this weekend. We played them (Courceys) back in a league game in Ballinaspittle in August and we had almost a full squad, just two short, and they gave us a good trimming.
“We know what to expect and it is up to us to deal with it.”
McAulliffe is full of admiration for the opposition but also feels that his club players deserve their share of the praise.
“We have a great bunch of lads who are very grounded but take their hurling very seriously. Whatever grade or age group the lads play at they always compete to the best of their abilities and that will be no different on Sunday.
“We have a serious number of young players on the squad and that is obviously a big plus for us but the older guys have and will play a major part in what happens this weekend.
“Fellows like Danny O’Flynn, our captain this year, is magnificent as always as has been Andrew Cagney, Alan Dennehy, Jack Buckley and Mark Kavanagh. These are huge players for us.
“We started the last game with 10 Under 21 hurlers on the pitch and finished with 11 on there. All of these young players like Fitzgibbon, Luke Meade and Conor Buckley to name just a few have all played like lions all year and all deserve their shot.
“As a club we have had a great year so far with the Junior footballers winning North Cork earlier, lots of the same players played in that and they got a taste of winning there when the hurling was on a break.
“Winning, whatever grade or code is important. We were dejected last year losing out to Kanturk and also the year before to Fermoy, but now we have made it to the final so we will give it our all and hope things go our way.”
A few facts that may be of interest. Charleville will probably have two thirds of their starting line-up still Under 21.
The last time they went senior was in 1947, stayed up a few years before going back down and they have seven changes from the side that won the Intermediate title back in 2015.
It also appears at this point that Captain Danny O’Flynn will should play after suffering what looked like a serious hand injury in the semi-final win over Fr O’Neills.
Verdict: Charleville