TWO of the great success stories of West Cork ladies’ football will renew their rivalry with a high-noon showdown this Sunday.
The rise of both Castlehaven and O’Donovan Rossa has captured the imagination in recent years, each climbing from the lower junior ranks to the dizzying heights of senior – and now the neighbouring rivals will collide for the first time in a county senior championship clash.
This will be the clubs’ first meeting in a county championship tie since the 2020 junior B final, when Mairead O’Driscoll and Gráinne O’Sullivan scored two goals apiece in Castlehaven’s 5-11 to 3-8 victory in Dunmanway. Also, this is the first season since 2020 the two teams have competed in the same championship grade.
That 2020 triumph came early in Haven’s extraordinary rise, when they claimed five consecutive county championship titles across different levels: junior C (2019), junior B (2020), junior A (2021), intermediate (2022) and senior B (2023). Castlehaven have been a senior club since 2023, whereas this marks O’Donovan Rossa’s debut season at this level, following their county and Munster intermediate title wins in 2024.
The Rossas’ climb to senior football has been the stuff of dreams. Along the way, they collected two Munster crowns – junior (2023) and intermediate (2024) – but it is their All-Ireland junior success that will live longest in the memory. Now both clubs are intent on writing new stories as they renew acquaintances on the county championship stage.
Castlehaven have recently had the upper hand in their championship tussles. Prior to their 2020 junior B final success, Haven also defeated the Skibbereen outfit in the group stages. Go back further to 2018 and Rossa fans will recall their county junior C final replay win, 0-10 to 0-8 – a day when Munster rugby star Enya Breen, currently in England preparing for Ireland’s opening Women’s Rugby World Cup game this weekend, came on at half time. Laura O’Mahony kicked 0-2 for the Rossas that day, while Gráinne O’Sullivan matched her tally for Haven. Both are among several survivors from that season who will feature again this Sunday.
Much like those previous meetings in 2018 and 2020, this weekend’s clash represents another crucial step on both clubs’ journeys. Sunday’s Group 1 game in Skibbereen carries huge weight: O’Donovan Rossa want to build on their first-ever senior championship victory, last weekend’s 3-9 to 2-9 win over Clonakilty, while Castlehaven are desperate to rebound from their defeat to St Vals (4-7 to 0-5).
There’s a lot at stake in terms of championship progression – and equally in terms of local bragging rights. Who will take the spoils in this historic first senior derby? Can O’Donovan Rossa claim another prized West Cork scalp? Or will Castlehaven regroup and relaunch their campaign?
Now, the stage is set for another enthralling battle.
