Final between Urhan and Garnish showed Beara GAA at its best
September 13, 2019
By John Bohane - www.echolive.ie
THE chairman of the Beara divisional board, Jim Hanley has enjoyed his time serving as the chair of the board.
The Bere Island native is currently in the midst of his second year as chairman of the Beara Divisional Board, with the area on a high after Cork’s recent All-Ireland underage age successes.
“We have a very strong and hard-working committee. It is always a challenge. We will be doing a strategic review in the autumn and seeing how best we position ourselves so we can enjoy a successful future. There is great work going on behind the scenes with all the underage teams in the Beara division,” declared the diligent administrator.
The Beara division had a strong presence on the Cork minor football team.
“We had two lads involved with the Cork minor team in Joseph O’Shea and Denis Collins from Glengarriff. We provided the manager Bobbie O’Dwyer and his selector Ollie O’Sullivan.
“Beara are always working hard to provide more players to the various Cork teams. It has always been regarded as the heart of football. We aim to continue on with that tradition.”
Urhan recently captured the Beara junior A football championship title for the first time since 2015 after they defeated Garnish following a very exciting game played in Adrigole.
“It was a very enjoyable game. It was tough, exciting and close. It was very competitive and was real Beara football. Ultimately, Urhan had that little bit more and they pulled away at the end. They kept their heads. When Garnish got the late equalising goal, Urhan showed a lot of character to respond with late scores to seal victory. Ciaran O’Sullivan showed great leadership at the finish. He is a great prospect.”
Both the Beara Junior A finalists, irrespective of the final result, progress to the county series.
“I am confident that both teams will represent the Beara division very well. It is a relatively new concept that both teams go forward in the county series. Maybe it takes a little bit from the divisional finals, but it provides great opportunities for the two clubs to kick-on and make something of their season.
“They can look at their next games as great chances to really make an impact. The more games players play can only help enhance their development and progress as players.”
Urhan GAA Club is currently reaping the benefit of the great coaching work they have carried out in recent years. The conveyor belt for Urhan will only get stronger as they possess a lot of very strong teams at underage level at present.
“Urhan deserve great credit. Joseph O’Shea is a great ambassador for the club. He is a huge talent. Urhan U21s enjoyed a great win against Castletownbere in the divisional final last season and they added Ciaran O’Sullivan to their coaching ranks earlier this summer.
“They were huge boosts to the club. They are fitter than they have been previously. They have added a bit of steel to their ranks. They have a lot of talented players coming through. They have done great work behind the scenes at underage level. They have very committed coaches and club officials driving it on.“They have a bright future.”
The Beara divisional final was played on a sublime surface in Adrigole. Adrigole are a credit to Beara GAA and Cork GAA. They possess great facilities. Their club pitch is complemented by an astro-turf which ensures their players can train all year.
Other players from the various Beara clubs and Beara development squads also avail of this facility. Adrigole GAA Club also possesses a very good clubhouse.
“They are a very progressive club. They are the model club in a rural setting. Their playing numbers are very small, but they get every drop out of their area. Their facilities reflect how good a club they are. Their pitch is top-class.
“Their astro-turf is ideal and they have a fine centre which acts as a great meeting point for all the community. They are a fantastic club.”
The all-conquering Adrigole football team who captured intermediate county glory in 1979 were honoured recently for their great success. Jim was delighted to see the local heroes receive great acclaim.
“They were a great team. Players such as Kevin Jer O’Sullivan were well known on the national stage. Their achievements were huge.
“Hopefully, our clubs in the division will enjoy similar success going forward. It will be tough and hard, but hopefully, we will get there.”