To be rightly proud of
they again reached the Open Draw but lost to Monaghan side Carrick Rovers.
Those two seasons were very memorable winning above in Donegal defeating teams of the calibre of Avenue Rock Rovers from Clare, Courtown Hibs from Wexford and Peakvilla from Tipperary.
In 2011 hey won the Castle Bar Cup again this time defeating Killarney Athletic so expectations were high for the 2012 season. However, they got off to a poor start to the new season with a defeat and a draw and they were knocked out in the first round of the FAI Junior Cup.
They lost the Greyhound Bar Cup Final to Rattoo Rovers and they went out tamely in the other cup competitions. It was a lesson well learned and the next season was very successful with a run of 32 games in League and Cup without defeat and were promoted.
Things then changed dramatically firstly they reached the Kerry Final of the Munster Junior Cup and were unlucky to lose to The Park on a penalty shoot out. Secondly they enjoyed a tremendous run in the league going undefeated in 16 games enabling them to pip Killarney Celtic by a point to reach the Premier A Final for the very first time. They faced arch rivals The Park in the final and after a replay and extra time The Park emerged victorious on penalties.
A season that promised a lot but after two penalty shoot out defeats in finals most teams would have wilted but this was a special team that bonded well and their never say die attitude they possessed was unmatchable.
And it showed six days after the league final defeat as they reached the Greyhound Bar Cup Semi Final against Killarney Athletic and won. Eight days later they met The Park in the final who were going for a treble.
In a cracker of a game Castleisland came out on top and ended a 34 year wait to lift the Greyhound Bar Cup title only for the second time. Castleisland met The Park for the fourth time in the season in the Castle Bar Cup final and they were victorious to claim a famous cup double defending the title they won the previous year.
They played a total of 25 league and cup games that season and a Cup Final replay. The records will show in 90 minutes two other defeats in penalty shoot outs. In 2013 Jason McCarthy replaced the retired Edmond Hartnett and the team finished third in the league and reached the latter stages of the Greyhound Bar Cup.
Due to work commitments Jason McCarthy retired at the end of the season and he was replaced by the injured captain of the side Mike McCarthy for the 2013/14 season. They lost the league final but Mc Carthy added to his squad and set his sights for the league title the following year.
They reached the Holy Grail that season and ended a 36 year wait winning the league title with a historic win over Listowel Celtic in a replay. They accomplished the double again winning the Greyhound Bar Cup title defeating Listowel Celtic to match the 77/78 double winning team success.
From 2009 to 2014 the club enjoyed their most successful period with one of the best team the club ever had. They won a Kerry Cup double they also won the Castle Bar Cup on two other occasions. Outside of their cup double they had two great runs in the FAI Junior Cup as well as contesting four other finals.In 2015 with McCarthy still in charge they finished third in the league with a last game defeat costing them a place in the decider. They also lost the Greyhound Bar Cup final to Listowel Celtic after a replay.
In 2016 Dan Maunsell took over as manager and his task was to continue to rebuild In 2017 Maunsell kept the reins and steadily began to increase his squad. Edmond Hartnett made his return as manager in 2018 and he continued to try and build up his squad.
They over achieved that season reaching the Premier A Final but they lost out in a replay to Killarney Celtic. Hartnett is still the boss and has two good assistants in Mike K Mc Carthy and Mike C Mc Carthy and are top of Premier A at present. He says it is always difficult to single out people who have been the unsung heroes in the club over the years. The top two on the list would have to be Georgie O’Callaghan RIP and Michael Conway RIP.
Others who had a huge impact include Tom Templeman, Martin Tigue, Phil O’Connell, PJ Luddy RIP, Dennis Crowley, Tom Murphy.
They club have been well supported by sponsors over the years and they include Vincent Murphy, Divane’s, Aherns, Garveys, Snow White Cleaners, Munster Joinery, Slatterys Travel, Flaherty Coaches, and long serving sponsor Tom McCarthy have helped greatly in making the club what it is today,
The committee who keep the show going are J Coffey, A O’Callaghan, D Pooleman, J Mc Carthy, P Hickey, K Moran, M Cahill, M Brosnan, M Mc Carthy, N O’Sullivan, D M Carthy, P Carmody, P Geaney, E Hartnett, B Divane, M Browne, P O’Rourke, J O’Callaghan.