CLONAKILTY Community College are determined to kick on and build on their eye-catching opening-day Corn Uí Mhuiri Group 4 win over powerhouse St Brendan’s College, Killarney (0-15 to 0-11).

With a pep in their step, the West Cork outfit now face a local derby against Skibbereen Community School on Wednesday, November 12th (1.30pm).

Clonakilty’s opening-round win over the Kerry school was no fluke, as shown by their progress through the grades in recent years. The Clon U17s reached the Frewen Cup final in 2024 against Brendan’s and, while they fell short (2-13 to 0-11), the foundations were laid.

Of the team that started in their Corn Uí Mhuiri win, eight featured in that U17 final, while three of their four subs also played Frewen roles.

Last year, Clon failed to emerge from their Corn Uí Mhuiri group, but coach Micheál ‘Haulie’ O’Sullivan insists there were positive signs.

‘Last year we would have counted ourselves unlucky. We had a kick at the finish to beat Hamilton High School and that ended up as a draw. We were also caught for a couple of bad goals against Kenmare,’ O’Sullivan explained.

‘Hammies and Kenmare ended up in the semi-finals, and we weren’t too far off them. We have about half of last year’s team that were in the Frewen Cup final against Killarney. They knew the level required.

‘We knew we were reasonably well prepared. We had a good outing against Rochestown in the first round of the Simcox Cup. Fellas have been committed and training well. But to come out with a victory was a huge bonus and big for football in the school.’

Clonakilty Community Colleges' Jack Byrely scored against St Brendan's College.

After falling 0-5 to 0-3 behind after 16 minutes in their opener, Clonakilty Community College scored six without reply to lead 0-9 to 0-6 at the break.

Strong performances from St James’ Sean Whelton (0-5), Clonakilty’s Dylan Harrington (0-3) and Ballinascarthy’s Jerry O’Leary (0-2) helped Clon lead 0-13 to 0-6 entering the closing stages – a margin too great for their Kerry opponents to recover.

The Clonakilty trio of Jack Byerly, Tom Whooley and David Harte also got on the scoresheet, along with Jason Murray (Kilmeen) and Jamie Collins (Ibane Gaels).

‘We have two very tough games to come, Skibb next and Coláiste Choilm after that,’ O’Sullivan said.

‘Winning the first game, like in adult championships, gives you that little extra confidence. You hope the players realise they’re good enough for the level, that they’re not out of their depth, and that things can build from here.’

On the upcoming derby, the Clonakilty manager added: ‘There’s never much between ourselves and Skibb. We’ve played each other a lot in challenge games or group stages or Simcox over the years. There’s zero between us – the players know each other well, and that brings an edge.

‘They’ll feel they have to win the next day to stay in contention. We’re the same. If we win, we’ll be in a very strong position, so we won’t be taking anything lightly. When you beat a team like Killarney, you become a target, and the players know that. We’ll have to knuckle down again and prepare properly.’

Skibbereen Community School go into that tie needing a win after falling to a 1-15 to 0-12 defeat against Coláiste Choilm, Ballincollig.

Down 0-8 to 0-2 at half-time, Skibb roared back to level with Castlehaven’s Dan McCarthy (0-5) and O’Donovan Rossa’s Kevin O’Donovan (0-3) leading the fightback. However, Ballincollig found an extra gear late on as Cathal Murphy’s goal sealed victory. Other Skibb scorers included Rossa’s Luke O’Sullivan and Ilen Rovers’ Paddy Collins (0-2 each).

Elsewhere, Hamilton High School, Bandon – semi-finalists last season – began this year’s Corn Uí Mhuiri campaign with a resounding 2-16 to 0-9 win over Patrician Academy, Mallow.

Paddy Lordan’s side led 2-6 to 0-3 at half-time with Bandon duo Daniel Murphy and Daniel Coughlan netting. The game was long decided before the finish as Hammies led 2-15 to 0-5 after 55 minutes.

Castlehaven’s Eoin Maguire – brother of Rory and Cathal – starred with 0-10, while Noah O’Sullivan and Hugh Flanagan (both Newcestown), Donagh Flynn (Ibane Gaels) and Jack Hennigan (Sam Maguires) were also on target.

Hammies face Kerry school Presentation Miltown on November 12th, after Pres opened with a 2-12 to 2-10 win over IS Killorglin.