AS the sole survivor from 2008, it's perhaps no surprise that Kilcummin's Christopher O'Leary is the man who will lead the Killarney school out onto the pitch in the Corn Uí Mhuiri final against De La Salle Macroom in Knocknagree this weekend.

The Hogan Cup final of 2008 was a bittersweet moment for the young starlet, making a dramatic impact when introduced as a second half substitute, scoring the Sem's only goal against St Pats of Dungannon, but unfortunately just falling agonisingly short at the final whistle.

The quietly spoken captain admitted that he feared he would not see a Corn Uí Mhuiri final again.

"I didn't think I would get a chance at getting to this stage again. There was such a massive turnover last year that we were never going to bounce straight back. We had 14 of last year's squad with us this year, however, and beating Colaiste Na Sceilge has given us tremendous confidence but there's still stuff we have to work on heading into the final," he said.

While admitting that he never dreamed of or expected to score a penalty after just 30 seconds like he did against Colaiste Na Sceilge, O'Leary admitted that the school were anxious to get one over on the reigning Hogan Cup holders.

" We played were well against them last year in the quarter-final and they just pulled away from us at the end so there was a bit of a revenge factor heading into last Sunday for us.

"We got a bit of luck with Padraig's (Lucey) goal just before half-time but thankfully we hung on in the second half when they put the pressure on," the Kilcummin youngster said.

The captain paid tribute to the team's defence for their efforts in holding off the Na Sceilge fight-back but feels they have to improve overall as a team if they are to emerge victorious against Macroom.

" We're not getting too ahead of ourselves, they beat Tralee who beat us so we know that we have to improve to have any chance. Our ball retention needs to be better and we must make sure that we take all of our chances when they come," he said.

In some ways O'Leary feels it would be a small bit more special to win a second Corn Uí Mhuirí medal with this particular group of players. "Especially seeing as these are the lads I've played both with and against all they way up through the different age groups, which would really make it special."

O'LEARY'S fellow parishioner and doughty cornerback Enda O'Sullivan was one to really catch the eye back in Milltown for the semi-final, particularly for the tenacious nature of his defending and Enda himself feels that the upcoming final is an opportunity which the school can't afford to leave behind them.

"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, a Munster final doesn't come around too often and seeing as we've made it now, we really have to give it our all. We've been training all year and to throw it away now would be gutting," O'Sullivan said of the challenge.

The defender admitted that he didn't see the prospect of coming up against the likes of Eanna O'Connor, Stephen O'Dwyer and Ian Galvin (all Hogan Cup medal winners with Colaiste Na Sceilge last year) as one to feared, rather one to be embraced.

"It was more an opportunity to show what we could do. We were up for the game and really tore into and thankfully it went right for us. We were lucky to have the six point lead at the break because without our second goal they would have gone ahead just after half-time and it allowed us to stick it out and stay ahead," he said.

In general how does O'Sullivan view the campaign so far? "We had a few bad patches particularly against St Colman's (in the group stage) but when we needed to we've brought it up a notch so overall I suppose you could say it has been impressive," O'Sullivan said.

The main nucleus of the team comes from two strong Kilcummin and Legion underage teams that have had some mighty battles up through the various age groups and the young corner-back admits it has helped mould the team together in a lot of ways.

" We've gone to school with each other for five years so we know each other very well at this stage and whatever rivalry is there at club level between us usually disappears when it comes to playing for the school," he said of the St Brendans team. O'Sullivan is also expecting a ferocious challenge from De La Salle Macroom in the final.

"They seem to be improving with every game they play and I'm sure there going to be as motivated for this game as we were for the game against Na Sceilge," the corner-back said.

Finally, where does O'Sullivan feel the final could be won or lost next Sunday?

" We need to have the same workrate all the way through the match and we can't afford to drop off at any stage because they will punish us. Midfield will be important as well because of the breaks like those that happened in the semifinal so we need to be on our toes at all stages."

- Jason O'Connor