McCarthy delight at title triumph
SOMETIMES in adversity you find a silver lining, Glenbeigh / Glencar manager and Cahersiveen native Kieran Mccarthy admitted that he was at a fairly low ebb after the club’s loss to Dromid Pearses in the Junior Championship semi-final back in October, but that seems a distant memory now when you consider what he led his adopted team to last Saturday in Beaufort.
“I took it fairly badly in terms of accepting a lot of the blame on myself (for the defeat to Dromid) but I spoke to the lads after it and asked them to knuckle down because I still felt we had a chance of achieving something this season. I know people will say we took advantage of Milltown / Castlemaine when they were tired the first day but I knew that man to man we had a chance of not only beating them on the day but also winning the competition outright,” he said after Glenbeigh’s historic triumph.
He admitted that luck did play a big part in Saturday’s triumph.
“No matter what competition you are in at any level you need it and we definitely got it today with Kieran’s goal. He had been the missing link for us all season with injury and I’m delighted he was able to come on today and play his part.
“I said to the lads at halftime it was still very much nil all in terms of the outcome and I told them not to worry about the conditions which they thankfully did in the second half,” Mccarthy said. In terms of the club moving on to bigger things, Mccarthy said it might be best for him to quit while he is ahead.
“I have been involved with both Skellig Rangers and Dromid Pearses in recent years and they have gone on to win the Junior Championship after I left (laughs), but I’ll enjoy the celebrations first before I make any decision.”
Team captain and manof-the-match Raymond O’connor very nearly missed out on Saturday’s final.
“I picked up a bit of an injury during the week, but I must thank our physio Maire Griffin for nursing me back to full health for today. It’s really an incredible feeling to try and describe it ( Glenbeigh’s historic triumph).
“I hope we can move on from here particularly with the young lads that we have coming through. Both Darran and Gavan did a lot of donkey work for us today and it’s a pleasure to have stood side-by-side with players of their calibre today,” he told The Kerryman.