O'sullivan champs hold the whip hand
Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne v St
Flannans (Ennis) Wednesday, January 25 in Croagh at 1.30pm
THEY'RE on a high out in Dingle right about now.
See it's not everyday you win your first O'sullivan Cup (Kerry senior colleges championship) like Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne did a little over a week ago now. Okay the school has only been in existence for the past five years, so it's not like they've had a huge wait for the honour, but the fact they achieved it in such a short period of time just goes to show the depth of football talent they have back west.
Sean Ó Flannúra, Muiris Mac Gearailt and Uinsionn Ó Flannúra have a serious outfit on their hands, if that O'sullivan Cup Final is anything to go by. They played the Sem off the park in many respects in that final. St Brendans had the better start and looked set to add to their illustrious history, but the West Kerry men are made of sterner stuff and in hitting six unanswered points in the lead up to half-time showed exactly who was in charge of that particular contest.
The second half proved just as one-sided as the Dingle outfit out-scored their Killarney rivals five points to two. That final showed that this is a team with a strong spine starting with Gavin Curráin in goals, Cathal Ó Lúing at full-back, Pádraig Ó Sé at centre-back, Dara Ó Sé at midfield (or on the forty, swapping occasionally with Barra Ó Súilleabháin) and Tomás Ó Cíobháin at full-forward.
They had slightly mixed fortunes in the group phase of this competition. They roared out of the blocks giving Highschool Clonmel a bit of a hammering – 0-14 to 0-4 in favour of the Kerry side – but in their last game in the competition they suffered a set back at the hands of Tralee CBS (who themselves were beaten by Clonmel).
It was a setback they suffered on their home soil too, the game took place in Annascaul. Still they only lost out by a couple of points and the result wasn't enough to halt their progress in the competition. Perhaps, it provided them with a timely reality check. One that has allowed them to claim the O'sullivan title and sets them up nicely for a tilt at this title yet again.
To make up for defeat in last year's final they'll first have to get over St Flannans.
The Ennis outfit are always to be feared at this level and while their group phase form was patchy enough – they had a pro forma victory over West Clare Colleges, a defeat at the hands of Rochestown College and a draw against Intermediate School Killorglin – their focus will now be fully on football after they were defeated in the Harty Cup last week.
They seem to be a well balanced outfit. At the back their stand-out performer is Jack Browne (the wing-back has been known to get up the park for the occasional score). At midfield Tony Kelly is one to watch, while up front they've got a pretty impressive array of talent with Darragh Kerin and Conor Cleary leading the way.
Will it be enough to derail the newly crowned O'sullivan Cup champions? It could be, but probably not. Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne should be well up for this contest and given the fact they were in last year's final have plenty of experience (and motivation) at this level. The West's awake.
Verdict: Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne
- Damian Stack
