Donoughmore GAA on a crest of a wave after collecting three trophies so far this year

The year has gone pretty well so far for Donoughmore GAA.

The Mid-Cork club firstly won the Muskerry U21 B football championship before winning the Muskerry Junior Division 1 league double.

They have made huge strides as they look to build on it as the year goes on. The U21s will be one of the fancied sides when they enter into the county championship while for their respective Junior A teams, both will be expected to go deep into the Muskerry championship.

Jamie Twomey has a foot in all three camps, an influential player in hurling and football for the Junior A sides while also managing the U21 B football team.

Reflecting on the U21 campaign so far, which saw the team in black and white prove too strong for Inniscarra in the Muskerry final recently, Twomey was pleased with the preparation in pre-season. It laid the groundwork.

“We lost to Kilmurry in the decider after extra time last season so there was a lot of hurt there,” he says.

“The players met at the end of last year and they put a list of things together and what they wanted to achieve and what they wanted from the club. It went to a committee and one of the things that they wanted was to reinstate last year’s management.

Donoughmore players jump for joy after claiming silverware.

“So we accepted that task and the aim was for Donoughmore to win the Muskerry U21 B football championship.

“Our management team met and then we met with the players. At U21 level, there’s a lot of outside of the box thinking. We got together in January. We obviously had the variables of the new year and the new rules, it was a new ball game.

“Obviously you’re in January, the weather is not great. It’s very hard to get practice games. So we organised a pre-season U21 tournament which was called the Teddy O’Rourke Memorial.

“We invited three teams plus ourselves, Nemo Rangers, Kilshannig and Valley Rovers all to come out to Donoughmore. They were really competitive games and helped us get to wits with the new rules and helped the referees as well.”

Donoughmore’s route to Muskerry glory wasn’t an easy one. Their opening round clash was built as a blockbuster one against fellow championship hopefuls Aghabullogue. There was a belief that whoever won that, would go all the way.

“We knew that we were going to get a strong test against Aghabullogue,” Twomey said.

“To be fair to our group, I don’t think we looked past anyone. We probably would have been touted as one of the favourites to win the competition at the start of the year, having got to the final last year.

Donoughmore's David McDonnell gets past Castlehaven's Cillian French during the Rebel Óg Premier 2 MFC final at Páirc Uí Rinn last year. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

“We respect every opponent. I don’t think we conceded a goal in any championship game. We scored six goals and I don’t know how many points we scored, but we scored a lot. Beating Aghabullogue did give us huge confidence as they are a very good side.

“We convincingly put Grenagh aside in the end in the semi-final but it was a tough game for large parts. In the final against Inniscarra, maybe people would have expected a much closer game than what it was. There was a three-month gap between the semi-final and the final. We didn’t really meet as a group until maybe a week or two before the final.

“Not ideal circumstances, but that was kind of the best you could do. It made our performance and win in the Muskerry final more impressive.”

Winning the competition meant so much for everyone involved with Donoughmore GAA. It was the club’s third time claiming the U21 B football divisional trophy.

“It’s definitely a serious accolade for us. It’s an achievement that a lot of fellas really respect. We’re proud of what we’ve done so far. But that all being said, now we’re looking to the county championship and we look forward to that challenge later in the year.

Scott Barrett kicks a point from a free for Donoughmore last year. Picture: Larry Cummins

“We look forward to playing in the A grade next year against the big teams like Ballincollig and Éire Óg. We have a committed and honest group of players. The future is bright for the club.

“There has always been skilful footballers in Donoughmore. We have a lot of lads from the Premier 2 minor county winning team from last year.”

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