Aultagh dreaming big as Celtic hits 20-season WCL milestone

BY GER McCARTHY

NOW in their 20th season, Aultagh Celtic remain an integral member of the West Cork League.

Formed in 2003, Aultagh has managed to keep going for two decades – and have expanded to four adult teams. Despite the usual obstacles of player retention, funding and lack of a permanent home, the club is still going strong.

So much so that Aultagh now fields two adult teams in the West Cork League O’Brien Water Services Championship division, a West Cork League Masters team and have expanded to include an Albany HomeFusion West Cork League women’s team.

Eddie O’Connell is one of Aultagh's longest serving members, both as a player and now manager of Celtic’s first team.

‘We are kind of a funny club in that Aultagh is a townland on the border of Kilmichael and Dunmanway parishes,’ O’Connell told The Southern Star.

‘The club’s first pitch was located in a sheep field in Aultagh. That’s where we got our name. Basically, we are a club that started in Kilmichael, spent most of its time in Dunmanway and got most of our players from Enniskeane!

‘We used Dunmanway Town’s old Mohona pitch for a while and then Nedineagh East. That’s (Nedineagh) is where we have played most of our home games down through the years.’

Surviving for close to a quarter of a century has been far from straightforward. Yet, Aultagh remain an integral part of the West Cork League.

‘The only reason we have survived is that the club pulls players from five different parishes – Kilmichael, Dunmanway, Enniskeane, Clonakilty and a few from Ballingeary as well,’ O’Connell explained.

‘This is our 20th season. One of the reasons the club is still going is because the emphasis was always and is still giving players enough game time over trying to win anything. If you go too far trying to win things then you end up leaving lads behind on the side-line. We don’t have an underage set-up so that makes it even more important to keep as many players as possible involved.’

By O’Connell’s own admission, there have been a few scary moments where Aultagh Celtic were on the brink of folding.

‘There have been moments when we thought the whole thing was going to go,’ O’Connell stated. ‘There was a time we were either going to fold completely or possibly become a second Dunmanway Town B team. It was mainly Denis Nyhan and myself that said we can’t let Aultagh Celtic fold because, if we do, it will never come back. There were plenty of sleepless nights around that time.’

So, how exactly has the Aultagh Celtic club gone from the brink of extinction to fielding four adult teams?

The Aultagh Celtic women's team is one of the club's four adult teams fielded for the 2023/24 season.

‘The first season I took over, we had only 14 registered players. Everyone was telling me I was mad,’ Eddie O’Connell said.

‘The only reason Aultagh is still here is because we are constantly trying to give players’ game time. Last year, I had 20 fellas turning up to games so I was constantly pushing for a second team.

‘The funny thing is that last Sunday, I still had ten lads on the side-line and Aultagh B had just as many. Look, that’s a better problem to have compared to nearly going out of existence. Since we created a second team, new players keep coming out of the woodwork!

‘Aultagh’s Women’s team is down to Kathy and John Kennefick. They are the ones who first started it. We gave them a set of jerseys and off they went.’

Naturally, this season’s Aultagh Celtic and Aultagh Celtic B clashes will be two eagerly-anticipated WCL Championship fixtures for all involved.

Their first meeting was postponed due to stormy weather conditions but Aultagh (currently joint-second in the Championship) and Aultagh B (currently seventh) league derbies should produce plenty of fireworks. Aside from local derbies, Aultagh are also looking to the future.

‘Long-term, the aim is to get a permanent home pitch,’ O’Connell explained.

‘We are fundraising with that aim in mind and then build from there. In the next couple of years, we hope to, if possible, incorporate an underage setup as well.

‘The biggest thanks the club must give is to Declan Hurley for the use of our pitch. Without Declan we wouldn’t have a club. Denis Nyhan is another important person and without him Aultagh just wouldn’t exist.

‘We are lucky to have a lot of different shirt sponsors and other sponsors, too. Some of those include the Olympic Tavern in Ballineen, Tar Isteach in Dunmanway, Gala in Dunmanway, Ger McCarthy Construction and Gary Cronin from Cronin Bio.’