MICHAEL Cahalane believes Bandon’s hurling resurgence this season can be traced back to several factors, including a huge effort from players to push the club back into the spotlight.
After a challenging few years that saw Bandon hurlers relegated twice in three seasons, their form in the league this year suggests they could be one to keep an eye on this summer.
Their latest Division 4 county league win against Bishopstown guaranteed Bandon promotion with two games to spare, as well as book their place in the Division 4 league final off the back of seven straight wins.
The James Nyhan effect – the Bandon native took over as manager this season – is certainly working, too.
‘Definitely, the players are driving this now,’ explained Cahalane, a man who gives his all in the white jersey.
‘I’ll be 30 shortly myself and you have a bunch of lads like Darren Crowley, Peter Murphy, Pat Barry in goal, Seán Carey, they’re the older lads on the team and they know there isn’t much time left. They also want to drive it on for the young lads coming through.
‘There’s a middle bunch who are really backboning this drive and then a couple coming in from minors like Jack Cullinane who’s playing for Hammies this year, doing his Leaving Cert. There’s a good few of last year’s minors putting their hands up.
‘Our new manager James Nyhan is brilliant – he knows Bandon hurling inside-out, even though he left town a few years ago. He knows the players, has never lost touch. With him, you have Joe Burke, Seán O’Reilly, Chris Bonner, Donncha Burke, Kieran Hurley, Martin Kelly, Anthony Nyhan, all doing some job in management. They run the junior team as well. It’s fantastic because you have a good crowd at training and we’ve built a good camaraderie this season, which is great.’
Michael Cahalane in action for Cork in 2017.
Cahalane’s form is another reason why Bandon hurlers are flying high right now – he scored 0-10, including six from play, in the latest league win against Bishopstown. Hard to believe he will soon turn 30, but given his backstory, it’s a great sight to watch Cahalane in full flight at Bandon. It’s ten years since he was diagnosed with an enlargement of the muscle in his heart which left him susceptible to a cardiac arrest – it was a shock to the system as Cahalane was a rising star in Cork hurling. He was sidelined for a few years, but returned to action and is still leading the line for his club.
‘There was a time I thought I might never get back to it again,’ Cahalane said.
‘For a long time I didn’t think I would. You go through all the tests and so on but things were improving all the time, which was very encouraging.
‘You look at a lad like Jamie Wall, who didn’t get back playing, I went to school with Jamie, savage bad luck for him, so I treasure every game and every day I can play now.
‘When I got back playing in 2016, I had been two and a half years out, 2014 to 2016. In 2016 we won the hurling and football counties with Bandon, that was my first summer back. It was a matter of building up the physical strength and to get back on the teams. I came onto the Cork panel that winter as well, and spent a few years on and off the panel after that.
‘I had other injuries, Achilles and so on, which didn’t help. It hasn’t been an easy road but this year, things have gone very well on the fitness front.’
Since his second coming, Cahalane has been the icon and driving force of the Bandon hurling side that went from the heights of winning counties, to the lows of being relegated. It hasn‘t been an easy few seasons for the all-conquering Bandon side of 2016, but the hope is they have turned a corner. This season has seen a huge effort not only to put on the brakes on their slide but to regain lost ground.
‘This year we have a good bank of work done. We went back early, in January. Mikey Power is doing all the strength and conditioning, an awful lot of work. So we’re definitely fit, and maybe have a head-start on other teams in that respect. Other teams don’t go back so early so we have a step on them,’ said Cahalane, and with league promotion guaranteed, thoughts will soon turn to the county intermediate A hurling championship that starts in August.
Bandon are in with Russell Rovers, Mayfield and Midleton, and the hope is the Carbery club can take their league form into the championship. Key to that will be their star man Cahalane who, like his team-mates, is determined to get Bandon hurling moving forward again.
