ALEX Whooley knows how important Ilen Rovers’ latest county minor football triumph can be.

Beating BK Plunkett’s by 1-15 to 2-10 in the Rebel Óg County U18 Division 2A football championship final, the Ilen class of 2026 is following in famous footsteps.

Whooley, part of the current minor management team, was on the 1995 Ilen team that won the county minor B football championship replay against Newtownshandrum. That was a breakthrough moment for the club, which soon embarked on an incredible journey from junior to senior.

Those young guns stepped up to form the backbone of Ilen’s adult team, including footballers like Diarmuid Duggan, Kieran Daly and Brian O’Sullivan.

‘After the recent county final, there were about ten of us from the 1995 team there, between coaches, former players and others. We got a nice photograph with the cup. It goes by in the blink of an eye. It was 1995, now it’s 2026, and it’s this group’s turn now,’ Whooley says.

‘We know the journey we went on back then. When you have a bit of success, it’s important to know how to win as well.

‘This team has overcome a lot of adversity during the year, grown closer, and you can see that. They’ve stuck together, gone through the hard yards – that forms a bond.

‘I can absolutely see that group coming into our intermediate team. It didn’t quite work out this year, but they had an unbelievable season in 2025, reaching the county final. These minors are going to roll into that team in the coming years.’

Ilen Rovers captain Michael Hurley celebrates the county success with his parents Gerald and Claire.

Previously involved with the St Oliver Plunkett’s team that won the junior B county football title under Noel Griffin in 2023, Whooley has been helping out the Ilen minor team in recent seasons. The feeling was the club had a good group of players coming through.

In a management that included team manager Colm Barry, coach Alex Whooley, Siobhan O’Neill and Tim Regan, as well as club stalwart Anthony Evans, it ticked all the boxes.

In fact, Evans and current club chairman Jason Whooley coached the victorious 1995 team, so there was a link from the past to the present.

‘The players responded to the fact that they could see we were trying to get things organised and going about it the right way. From the very first sessions, they were very committed so that was hugely important,’ Whooley says.

‘We had hard-running sessions in February, out in the muck and rain, and to be fair, nobody flinched. That got us off to a great start, getting that base of fitness done. Everything else you can work on after that.’

Whooley and the management team kept track of how many times this group was together throughout the year.

‘We had 104 sessions between matches and training,’ he reveals.

‘Winning is great and winning the cup is great, but they got 104 sessions into them – and that’s only what we did together. There were many nights when they were doing their own thing between gym work, training and following the programme they were given.

‘That’s a huge amount of football to get under their belts and it will stand to them unbelievably well for the following years. They were a pleasure to deal with. They’re a great bunch of lads and the parents were hugely supportive during the year.

‘We look forward to seeing what they can do as time goes by. Hopefully they’ll go on to big days. I said to them that I fully expect to see these lads playing on big stages and in big games in years to come. I’d be delighted to be up on the bank watching them because they play a lovely brand of football.’

Ilen Rovers players who helped the club win the 1995 minor title pictured after the latest county minor success. From left, Anthony Evans (1995 joint manager), Sean O’Sullivan, Diarmuid Duggan, Hughie O’Neill, John Sheehy, Kieran Daly, Alex Whooley, Jason Whooley (joint manager) and Brian O’Sullivan.

That hard work went on off the field, too. Take Colm Barry, one of the coaches. His son Ciarán Barry is centre back on the team. Of the 104 sessions, Colm attended 103. That commitment rubs off.

The growth of the team throughout the season was one of the huge takeaways, too. They finished the season on a high, but there were moments of adversity that challenged this group of young men.

Ilen lost the Rebel Óg West U18 Division 2A/3 Football League final to Castletownbere by two points in July – a defeat they learned from.

There were three battles in a row with Aghinagh, first in the league and then in the Rebel Óg Mid Cork U18 Division 2A Football Championship final, which went to a replay before Ilen emerged victorious and advanced to the county section.

‘Those one or two losses during the year were a real learning curve because you had to reset. The players were hugely open to coaching and to doing different things. You can have a game plan but then you get exposed and have to adjust it and go again,’ Whooley says, proud of how this young team adapted to the changes. He reckons there were three resets in the year, but the players adapted and kicked on.

‘I think that bodes massively well. The squad is full of talent, first of all, but secondly, they’re hugely coachable, willing to learn and hungry for success. Taking all those lessons during the year held us in unbelievably good stead as the season went on.’

It’s an Ilen team packed with talent, and one with plenty of links to the 1995 minor triumph and Whooley’s former team-mates.

Aodh and Connall Whooley are sons of chairman Jason Whooley, who coached the 1995 minor team along with Anthony Evans. Shane Murphy, son of Donal Murphy, is a quality player, as is Kieran Daly’s son Cathal, a classy operator on the ball.

Donnacha Collins, son of Ilen legend Fachtna Collins, was the best player on the pitch when Ilen beat Aghinagh in the divisional final.

Oscar Wycherley, nephew of John Wycherley, is a powerhouse at midfield in this Ilen team. Shane Hallihane is making headlines in football and soccer – the Baltimore teen who scored the winning goal for Ilen against BK Plunkett’s in the county final also lines out with Cork Corinthians.

Captain Michael Hurley is one to watch, often given the job of marking the opposition’s dangerman.

The growth of Robbie Walsh was another positive. The 16-year-old put up his hand to go in goal this season, worked hard on his game, including kick-outs, and came up trumps in the divisional and county finals. Walsh is another example of a player willing to put in the hard work.

That combination of talent, application and consistency led to the county final against BK Plunketts, from Boherbue and Knocknagree, in Cloughduv. With the wind in the first half, Ilen led 0-10 to 1-2 at the break. They had to show their resilience in the second period, eventually winning 1-15 to 2-10.

They were county champions, welcomed back home by bonfires at both Church Cross and Baltimore.

‘I’ve never seen a bunch of lads so keen to go into school the next day!’ Whooley laughs.

‘We had a lot of young lads in the squad too, and that must be acknowledged. There were a lot of lads in that just-over-16 age group, so it bodes massively well. There’s talent there.

‘You can train all you want, but it’s the mix of talent, hard work, commitment and training that does it. The improvement you see in all of them was massive. It makes coaching a pleasure when you actually see that sort of improvement.’

Ilen have seen the boost previous county minor successes can give a club. The players from the 1995 team helped Ilen rise through the ranks, eventually reaching a senior county final in 2007. The 2010 county minor B-winning team included Dan MacEoin, who kicked 1-11 in their success against Naomh Abán. Those past victories helped fuel the adult set-up. It’s why Alex Whooley knows how important this latest triumph can be.