Beara minor team reunion
August 16, 2018
By John Bohane
The Beara minor football team who captured premier county glory in 1988 recently gathered to celebrate the 30thanniversary of their great achievement at the Beara Coast Hotel.
The successful event was organised by the Beara Coiste na nOg in recognition of their great win achieved against St Finbarr’s in the Rossa Park, Skibbereen. Their team captain Patrick Gerard Murphy enjoyed their recent reunion. “It was a great evening. It was great to catch up with old team-mates and great friends. The players travelled from near and far. Two lads even travelled home from America. It was a super event,” revealed the proud captain who recently became Mayor of Cork County.
The victorious team-mates rolled back the years with tales and stories about their minor heroics in 1988 when they became the first Beara team to capture minor county glory. They reflected on nostalgic stories and many funny anecdotes were shared throughout the evening declared Patrick. “We had a great look back down memory lane. It was a very special time in all our lives. We have some great memories of that very special year. I meet a lot of the team on a regular basis, but it was especially great to catch up with the two lads who travelled over from America, Brian Crowley and Finbarr O’Sullivan. There was and still is a great bond between all the players. There remains to this day an urban myth that Ciaran O’Sullivan scored the vast majority of our points in the final, but when we tallied up the scores, Seamus Spencer and I contributed more scores which blow that theory out of the water and generated a lot of jokes.”
Patrick is adamant that the close bond they enjoyed back in 1988 played a key role in propelling the Beara minor footballers to a famous county final triumph. “We were all very close, both on and off the pitch. We battled very hard for one another. We had a very talented team who had a strong unity. We were all proud to represent our various clubs to the best of our ability on the big stage. We were all attending the same secondary school together. Playing games for the school team and the divisional team meant we knew each others games inside out.”
The Beara minor team had enjoyed very successful underage careers before it all culminated in minor county final glory. They captured success at U12 and U16 level before they memorably made the big breakthrough in 1988. Patrick credits their team management for nurturing and developing their evident talents. “John Nolan and Terence O’Shea worked very well together. John returned home from the UK and he brought very good training methods with him. We were ahead of the curve I felt with regards our training regime. Our training was a big factor in our success.”
Patrick still retains great memories of their stunning triumph against St Finbarr’s. “It was a great win. We were massive underdogs going into the final against this much vaunted Barrs team. We also possessed a very young team. We had a few players who were U16 players, while I at the time was still under 17. St Finbarr’s had a very strong team and they had defeated Nemo. We performed very well on the day and narrowly prevailed.”
The Beara team themselves contained a plethora of very talented players. They had previously defeated O’Donovan Rossa to claim the country section minor final. “We had a serious team. Ollie O’Sullivan subsequently went on to captain the Cork minor team, while Ciaran O’Sullivan enjoyed a very decorated inter-county career with Cork. We had a very good team, full of talented players. Many of those players went on to play key roles on the Beara senior team who captured the senior club championship title in 1997.”
Patrick lined out at wing forward on the successful Beara minor team. He notched two points from play. He was proud to lead his team to county final glory. “It was a great feeling to captain my team to county final. It was a very proud moment. I suppose at that time I didn’t realise the full significance of it, but looking back on it now, it was a great moment to lead such a talented bunch of guys to a county final title. There was a great atmosphere at the game. It was a great feeling to bring the cup home. We were greeted by bonfires all the way home. It was great to win a county medal with your close friends.”
The Beara Coiste na nOg are doing great work at present investing in coaching with the six divisional clubs. Patrick is delighted with the great work in the division. “The divisional board are carrying out great work. It is great to see and vital to ensure we keep producing talented players. Emigration is a major issue, but the clubs and board are doing their best. The future is bright for Beara football.”
He is thriving in his new role as Mayor of Cork County. “I am loving it. It was a great honour to be appointed. The minor team both on and off the field have excelled in their various fields. Playing football and winning with Beara showed us the values of team-work, communicating and having confidence. Our achievements in 1988 will never be forgotten.”