Green day as CBS party like ‘07
Jimmy D’Arcy Securing a first Corn Uí Mhuirí crown for Tralee CBS since 2007 is a monumental achievement for Mike Tim O’Sullivan and his management team
WHEN you think about it 2007 was a hell of a long time ago. George Bush was still the president of the United States. Tony Blair was still the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Back here at home good old Bertie Ahern was still in office. Familiar names and, yet, still echoes of bygone days.
Back in ‘07 people hadn’t heard of Snapchat or Instagram, let alone Tik-Tok and most of the guys who lined out in Fitzgerald Stadium on Saturday afternoon under the magnificent Reeks were still in primary school and some of the younger ones might not even have been yet.
Really and truly it was another world and few would have imagined that day in Austin Stack Park as Bryan Costello marched up to the steps of the stand on the John Joe Sheehy Road that it would take thirteen years for the Corn Uí Mhuirí to return to the Green.
In that time the balance of power has shifted south to Coláiste na Sceilge, west to Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne and east to St Brendans College. The Sem have won four titles in that time to extend their lead on the roll of honour over Tralee CBS.
A lot then was on the line for Tralee in this traditional joust between the big two of Kerry colleges football beyond even the obvious: that both these sets of players wanted and needed to win it for themselves, to perform to their best.
Tralee’s management team of Tim McMahon, Mike Tim O’Sullivan, and Neillie O’Sullivan were understandably jubilant after winning the title. Tim McMahon was able to sum up the game – and the roller-coaster of emotions along the way!
“We were looking good at half-time with a nine point lead,” he explained.
“We were pretty confident at that stage, but of course, the Sem...tradition, belief....they were always going to come at us in the second half. We knew that was coming. We struggled to get the ball up to the other end of the pitch.
“We made a lot of mistakes in the second half but in fairness to the boys, they kept on going. The fitness was there and they just kept on going for that full half an hour. It was a peculiar game in that sense, it was a total roller-coaster ride.
“We were nine up, back down to one, and then we won the game by nine points. It was a crazy game in that respect. Seán Kennedy came off the bench and had a huge influence, I think that was crucial to the outcome of the game.”
Mike Tim O’Sullivan has been the longest of the trio at the coalface and knows what it means, not just to these players, but to all the players and coaches along the way.
“Yeah, it’s great for everyone involved, the players, the team, the management, the supporters. The teachers in the school who brought these lads all the way up since they were 12 and 13 years of age and brought them through the school system.
“It’s great for everyone associated with the school, you know
2007 is the last time that we won it. It hasn’t been for the want of trying, I’ve been with a lot of teams myself over the years and we haven’t even gotten out of the group or it’s quarter-finals, semi-finals....this is a great reward for everyone involved from the top to the bottom in the school, to get over the line and win this match today.
“From my own point of view, it’s been my third time in four years, two finals and a semi-final...the disappointment of the last two finals would drive us on. Look, when you get to a final, you try to forget all about the occasion and concentrate on the game.
“I suppose in the last couple of finals we were unlucky. The teams trained just as hard, but what we had this year is strength in depth. Their application is phenomenal; you couldn’t ask for any more.
“They are very easy to coach and very willing to work. But look, we knew coming over today that the Sem are a phenomenal team, they brought it back to one point today. The game was in the melting pot.”
Mike Tim has no doubts about what the Green relied on as the game reached crucial point.
“What stood to us today was our fitness, we had done a lot of work, Alan Duggan came in and did tremendous work, and we knew coming down the stretch that the work would kick in. It’s great to win it, it’s our second Munster win this year.
“We won at Under 15, we won the Corn Uí Mhuirí today, we are also in the Munster 16.5, the Frewen Cup next Wednesday, and we also did well at hurling, we won a Munster hurling title this year.”
McMahon agrees completely with that assessment.
“We were in a good position at half-time, there’s no doubt about that, but we knew there was going to be a kick from the Sem. The lads went out in the second half, they coughed up an awful lot of ball because of the pressure the Sem applied to us.
“There was a bit of nerves, I suppose, but we gathered ourselves again. We got no score for twenty minutes of the second half, we got a penalty and actually missed the penalty. Absolutely we were fearful at that stage, the tempo of the game was completely against us, it looked as though we weren’t going to score at all in the second half.
“It was back to one point and then to go out, we got two goals down the stretch to win the game. The team showed great resilience to get us over the line really. Seán Kennedy came on, he was across the water spending a bit of time with Sunderland, he’s back now although he hasn’t played a huge amount of football.
“He was a hugely influential in getting the ball up the field and into the danger-zones. We dug out a couple of goals, Conor Hayes is going to be a major player for Strand Road, if not for Kerry, over the next ten or fifteen years. I suppose we ran out easy winners in the end after a great contest.”
Mike Tim knows that the next step is to aim for a coveted Hogan Cup (Tralee CBS, in all their illustrious history, have never won it) and he won’t be shirking the challenge.
“We’d feel from our own point of view that they are good enough to go on and challenge for a Hogan Cup. All year we have been really confident in the ability of this team. What we really have this year is that belief, that shone through in the last fifteen minutes.
“We are into a semi-final now, we are not going to look beyond that. Once you get out of Munster you are heading into the unknown. For now, we are just going to enjoy this win. It’s been 13 years in the making, so we’ll enjoy today, and we’ll get back to work on Tuesday.”
Tralee CBS as Munster champions will face the winners of the Connacht final on Saturday, March 21, in the Hogan Cup semi-final. St Geralds (Castlebar) play Ballinrobe (Mayo) today (Wednesday) in one semi-final, while Summerhill College (Sligo) play the reigning champions St. Colmans, Claremorris (Mayo) on Thursday.
We’d feel from our own point of view that they are good enough to go on and challenge for a Hogan Cup. All year we have been really confident