LORCAN Harrington had planned on watching Castletownbere footballers from the stands this season. Instead, he’s now on the sideline.

When his club needed someone to step up and take on the manager’s role, he answered the call.

‘This year I had been looking forward to being a supporter,’ he quips.

‘I’ve been playing with Castletown since 2004, and over the last few years the body has been telling me it's almost time to pack it in. I actually went in goal last year.

‘I was thinking of playing a bit of junior, just to keep going.’

But Harrington’s plans have changed.

When previous boss Ian Murphy stepped aside, Castletownbere were searching for a new manager. Harrington put up his hand, believing it’s important for this team’s development.

‘When you look at the foundation that has been put in place, and the coaching we’ve been exposed to, I didn’t want it to fall apart,’ he explains.

‘Peadar Healy was involved for a good few years, so to have that level of coaching, it’s important to build on it and keep progressing.

‘It’s for the continuity that I’ve taken it on. I didn’t want to see it fall by the wayside.

‘I’m good friends with Andrew O'Sullivan and he asked me about the role. To be fair, there are a good few of us rowing in behind to help.’

Castletownbere's Gary Murphy gets away from Cill na Martra's Tadhg Ó Corcara during the 2023 PIFC semi-final in Bantry. (Photo: Anne Marie Cronin)

Harrington knows his club inside out. A county triumph in 2012 was sweet, especially after defeats in 2006 and 2011 deciders – the latter even more painful as Harrington was captain. So, glory in 2012 meant a lot. He understands how important the club is to the local community. So does Harrington's backroom team, which includes David O’Sullivan Greene, Joss Crowley, Andrew O’Sullivan, David Kelly, John Paul Sheehan, and former Kerry footballer Gavin Crowley as coach.

Stepping into management was already a thought in Harrington’s head, but for further down the road. So, instead of lining out for the juniors, his focus is pushing Castletownbere forward.

‘It’s a natural progression for a lot of the players to go back into management and help out the club, especially when the club has been so good to us over the years. So if I can give a hand now, I will,’ he says.

‘I think I owed it to the group of players here to help keep driving it on.

‘We’ve been lucky too with the calibre of clubmen we’ve had involved – Donagh Wiseman is with Carbery Rangers now, Morgan O'Sullivan with Cill na Martra, these lads have been helping us out over the years. But it’s hard to keep coming back to Castletown when we’re two hours from Cork city.’

Harrington (38) is living locally, and working with Castletownbere Fishermen's Co-op Ltd. That helps, he explains. No long commute, unlike his players. But that’s a challenge he knows well from being involved with his home club.

‘We’ve lads in Cork, Limerick, Dublin, one or two in the UK, so we’ve a lot of moving parts. It’s a lot of juggling. I suppose every club is no different to us in that sense, it’s just that we’re geographically located that bit further west.’

The new boss was on the line when Castletownbere lost at home to Ballincollig in a McCarthy Insurance Group Division 2 Football League game. The Beara men and Uibh Laoire are the only two premier intermediate teams in the division – the rest are premier senior and senior A.

Club stalwart Andrew O'Sullivan. (Photo: Anne Marie Cronin)

‘It’s a high level so it’s giving the younger lads a chance to play at a high standard,’ Harrington says.

‘We stayed up in Division 2 last year, and beat Valley Rovers away, who are a premier senior team, and beat O’Donovan Rossa at home. They are games against quality opposition.’

An injection of quality off the pitch can hopefully push Castletownbere forward, too. The addition of former All-Ireland winning Kerry footballer Gavin Crowley, from Templenoe, as a coach will turn a few heads.

‘Gavin’s an All-Ireland winner, he’s still playing himself so he’s up-to-date with what’s going on, he has a very good football brain and is someone the lads can learn a lot from,’ Harrington says.

‘We’ve some good young players coming through, like Fintan Fenner and these lads in their early 20s, they’ll be moving into their prime and we want to help them keep developing. You have players like Gary Murphy who are still in their prime and we want to give these lads the chance to play at their best too.’

Survival in Division 2 would represent a good league, before attention will turn to the premier intermediate championship later in the summer. Castletownbere are in a group with Macroom, Kiskeam and Aghada. The Beara club hasn’t advanced from the group stages in the past two seasons (2024 and ’25), and in 2023 lost a county semi-final to eventual champions Cill na Martra.

Returning to the business end of the championship will be on the minds of all those involved, but they’re realistic too.

‘From being in a semi-final to not getting out of the group, it’s fine margins. It could have gone either way in the last two seasons, going down to the final group game. We’re not that far away, but right now we’re just looking at the league,’ he adds, as the new management team rolls up their sleeves.

The Castletownbere junior Bs will have to wait for now.

‘You never know, I’ll fall in if they’re stuck!’ Harrington laughs, ‘but maybe I’m a bit too slow and cranky at my age!’

But you get the feeling that if his club needs him, Harrington will turn up.