'I believe we have the people in the club to take it on and take Castlehaven to another level’

JAMES McCarthy feels there’s more to come from county senior football champions Castlehaven – but he won’t be the man to steer the ship this season.

After four seasons in charge McCarthy has stepped down as Castlehaven’s senior football manager. 

‘My job is done for now,’ he confirmed to The Southern Star.

McCarthy led his home club to huge success in 2023 as Castlehaven’s men’s team won their first county senior title in ten years and then went on to be crowned Munster senior football champions, too. After Haven lost their All-Ireland club semi-final to St Brigid’s he took some time to mull over his future before deciding it’s time to hand over the reins to the next man up.

‘As I have said before, I usually stay in the job for two years, that’s my most, but I’m at it for four years this time. When we didn’t reach our goal after two years we went for a third year, and then last year was a huge undertaking to get over the line,’ he explained.

‘I have left a solid base there now and it’s ready for the next person to step up and drive it on. I believe we have the people in the club to take it on and take us to another level.’

He added: ‘This wasn’t an easy decision. The head has to rule the heart, and there are other things to be done – I have a young family and I want to give them my time as well.’

In his four seasons in charge (2020-23), Castlehaven contested two county finals, winning one, and qualified for the semi-finals every year. He leaves the team in a strong position, back on top of the pile in Cork, and he is backing the team to kick on again this year.

‘We have good young lads coming through and we have a very strong panel, too. It’s up to the players now – have they the hunger to drive this on again? I can’t see why they wouldn’t, and that’s up to every individual to drive on again by another ten percent to see how far this team can go,’ he said.