BACK in December 2023, this paper ran a story about Mark Collins’ incredible consistency.

‘81 NOT OUT,’ the headline stated, a nod to his remarkable record – he had started every championship game, 81 in total, that Castlehaven had played since he made his championship debut against Mallow in April 2008.

It’s time for an update.

Incredibly, that record is still going strong.

Since the end of ’23, Collins has started all 13 of Castlehaven’s championship games, nudging his total up to 94 consecutive championship starts.

Captain Fantastic, who turned 36 in February, is Mr Consistent.

‘I’ve started every game since you had that piece,’ Collins says, ‘but I’ve come off more since then.

‘I’ve been unbelievably lucky with injuries. Since I was young, I’ve very rarely picked up any long-term injury. At the start of last year, I missed a couple of months, and that was probably something to do with the two long years we’d had before that.

‘Other than that, I’ve been very lucky.’

Collins looks fighting fit, too. Still lean and athletic, the former Cork footballer hasn’t aged.

‘I always struggled with putting on weight. I remember when I first went into Cork, it was a big emphasis to try and get weight on me,’ he recalls.

‘I probably have more of a long-distance running kind of body shape, which probably has helped avoid injuries.

‘Every club team now nearly has nutritionists and strength and conditioning coaches involved, and I enjoy that side of things. I try to buy into it as much as I can.’

More important than all that, Collins is still having fun. And he’s still producing.

Think back to the Division 1 county league final in early July against Knocknagree. In the final play of the game, with Haven down by two, Collins took possession in his own half. Driving forward, two solos, one hop, before arrowing a ball into Brian Hurley, another totemic figure, who did the rest – the match-winning goal. 

Knocknagree's Killian Cronin tries to stop Castlehaven's Mark Collins during the McCarthy Insurance FL Division 1 final in July. Haven won by a single point.

Off the pitch, his actions speak for themselves. No job is too big or too small. The evidence? Look at Castlehaven’s recent Carbery U21A final win against Clonakilty in Dunmanway.

‘Paudie Hurley, one of the selectors, asked me to do water for it,’ he says.

‘I actually got unbelievable enjoyment out of it as well, just being involved with younger lads – their enthusiasm and everything gives you a bit of a buzz.’

Watching Haven’s young guns end the club’s 16-year wait for the Carbery U21A title brought back memories of the 2010 success, and Collins was part of that group that saw so many develop into senior players.

The passing of time hasn’t gone unnoticed either.

As Castlehaven prepare for Sunday’s McCarthy Insurance Group Premier SFC Group 3 clash with Knocknagree at Páirc Uí Rinn (4pm), Collins knows he has a finite number of opportunities to add to his haul of four county senior medals. 

He’s not raging against the dying of the light, but he’s aware that the pages on a calendar never stop turning. 

‘I know this won’t last forever. And I try to reiterate that to the younger lads,’ he explains, a message he will repeat ahead of Sunday’s game that Castlehaven must not lose.

 If they do, they will be knocked out of the championship at the group stage for the first time.

‘When I first came on the scene, within three or four years, we were very lucky to play in three county finals and win a couple of them. 

‘And then it was so hard to get back. It took us until 2023 to win another one, and we’d a lot of disappointments.

‘We’re very lucky. We have a great set-up and a good team at the moment. I’d be reiterating to the lads, these days don’t hang around forever, and it mightn’t be that easy to get back to where we want to be.

‘You can’t take them for granted, and who’s saying where we’ll be in a year’s time? 

‘To be in with a chance in a knockout game, and looking forward to a possible quarter-final, is exactly what we want.’

Now in his 19th consecutive season of senior football, Collins acknowledges his own role has changed over the years. Such is his versatility, he still has the ability to influence a game.

‘When I first came on to the senior set-up, I was an out-and-out forward. I played a lot of football at centre-forward all the way up,’ Collins explains.

‘Then when the blanket defence and the structured defence came into play, the out-and-out traditional centre-forward kind of changed a bit. There wasn’t so much room there anymore.

‘So, I’ve kind of moved around and played a bit at midfield and wing-back. But I think the new rules, anywhere in the middle eight, it’s a dream for fellas. 

‘Everyone talks about the top three having more space, but I think if you like playing football, there’s loads of room around the middle as well now, and everyone gets plenty of time on the ball, which for footballers is great.’

If Castlehaven are to wrestle the crown off St Finbarr’s, Collins will be key. Been there, done that, he doesn’t get fazed. Quite the opposite, he relishes the challenge.

‘The minute the game ended against Clon, we said it’s knockout football from now on,’ he says.

‘I’m really looking forward to it. These big matches are great occasions. It’s hard to beat knockout football.’

He feels Castlehaven are in a good place right now. The back-to-back champions of 2023 and ’24 are in better shape now than they were 12 months ago when the rigours of two long seasons were starting to catch up. 

The disappointment of a quarter-final exit against the Barrs has been replaced by a desire to bounce back this year. The Haven have not gone away. 

After a 0-22 to 3-10 win against Ballincollig was followed by a draw with Clonakilty, 1-12 apiece, Seanie Cahalane’s men are masters of their own destiny. But they still need to produce against a dangerous Knocknagree outfit. 

Watching the Haven U21s celebrate their Carbery success was another reminder of what keeps Collins going.

‘We’ve a bunch of lads now between 18 to 23, 24, and it’s a rare opportunity you get to mix with lads like that and for them to become your friends,’ he says.

‘It’s brilliant. It almost keeps you young in some ways. You’re getting different stories, you’re experiencing different things through them, and I still get some enjoyment out of it. 

‘I’m loving it, to be honest.’