CONOR O’Mahony insists that no-one in Clann na nGael will get carried away by their county confined junior B football success, but it’s a triumph that was worth celebrating.

It was the Scorchers’ first county junior B title since 2006, as they beat Tracton in the final to end a long wait.

‘Twenty years is a long time,’ O’Mahony says.

‘I was in national school back then and remember the cup coming in, so to be involved in it this time was very special.

‘It could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.’

When O’Mahony – on the sideline for 0-11 to 0-8 victory against Tracton – started playing junior football for Clann na nGael, as a 16-year-old back in 2013, they campaigned at junior A level.

In 2010 and ’11, the Scorchers contested the Carbery junior A finals. But then came the dip.

‘We had good years where we were competitive at junior A, and there were years when we weren’t. We got relegated in 2021. At the time it was a tough one to take, and our first few years at junior B didn’t go too well,’ O’Mahony says.

‘We regrouped around 2024 and put in a really good effort, came up just short against Ballyphenane in the county semi-final, and also in the West Cork junior B final that year, but it created a good foundation for us to build on.’

Clann na nGael reached the last four of the county confined championship again in 2025, so they were regulars in the business end of the competition. But they were missing that something extra to get them over the line.

Enter new manager Mike O’Brien, a Castlehaven man who sparked this Scorchers success.

Conor O’Mahony with his fiancée Mary Galvin and parents Anthony and Elaine O'Mahony after Clann na nGael’s county junior B win.

‘Mike is very football-oriented. He was what we needed,’ O’Mahony says,

‘He can’t switch off, is always thinking about football and what’s next.

‘It’s refreshing to have a manager who is so proactive about the positives in the game and how you play it. He is very calm on the line and in the dressing-room.

‘For what we were looking to do this year, he was the man for the job.

‘The platform was there, and as this season progressed, our football got sharper, we played better together.’

O’Mahony was flanked by Clann na nGael men who know the club inside out – Alan Keane, Leo Collins, Ciarán O'Regan and Fachtna Daly.

‘A lot of work has gone into this over the years,’ explains Brian Deane, who looked after the stats on the night of the county final.

‘I was only there because Pat McCarthy, who has been doing the stats for the past three years, was away on holidays. I got the call, and was delighted to be there.

‘Mike has a very strong management team with people like Leo Collins and Alan Keane, great clubmen who have been helping out with junior teams in the last few years since we dropped down.

‘Leo, Alan, Ciarán O’Regan, and Fachtna Daly on logistics, they have a great rapport with Mike – that made a difference!’

Deane laughed when asked how he managed to keep focussed on the match stats in the final moments of the final. By then, priorities had shifted.

‘Between the final whistle and now, you are the first fella to ask me about the stats from the match!’ Deane says.

‘The main one was that we won!’

He knows, like Conor O’Mahony, how important a county success like this is for a small, rural club like Clann na nGael.

Drawing players from Drimoleague and Drinagh, it’s surrounded by senior clubs like Clonakilty, Dohenys, Carbery Rangers and O’Donovan Rossa, and large towns like Dunmanway, Skibbereen and Clonakilty.

But there’s fierce pride in the Scorchers.

‘This keeps our own identity going,’ Deane says.

‘It was brilliant to see all the kids on the pitch at the end of the county final with their Scorchers jerseys and tops on.

‘It’s the tide that lifts all boats. A win like this will keep us going.

‘We have been merged in a few underage groups with Tadhg MacCarthaigh, and the benefit of that is to be seen with some of the younger fellas who came into the team, like Niall Keating, Caolan O’Driscoll, all lads who came through the Tadhg na nGael set-up.’

Clann na nGael's management team; from left, Alan Keane, Leo Collins, manager Mike O'Brien, Ciarán O'Regan and Fachtna Daly.

Conor O’Mahony agrees, his mind darting back to the celebrations at Páirc Uí Rinn at the final whistle.

‘What I was feeling on the sideline, the lads on the pitch felt the emotion ten times more. It was elation, euphoria, pure joy,’ he smiles.

‘It was great to see the whole community up there, to see the young fans on the pitch, to see everyone celebrating together.’

The party that followed matched the magnitude of the victory.

‘There was a good bit of recovery done too, and two days off work that were needed!

‘There were great crowds around, a big crowd to meet us in the village. To see the bonfires coming in the main road, kids out with their flags – it was unbelievable.

‘The cup got a good filling and emptying.

‘But this is what the game is about: community.

‘I’ve played with a lot of fellas since I started. It’s a great way to get to know people, learn more about people in the parish, and the great football traditions that are there.’

With the Carbery junior B championship throwing in this weekend, the celebrations have been parked.

On Saturday evening, Clann na nGael play Muintir Bháire in Ballydehob. These two met in the round-robin stage of the county confined championship, too, and the Scorchers won by seven points. More of the same, please, is the target.

‘We’re still in July and know that there’s a lot more football to be played this year,’ O’Mahony says.

‘The target is to win the first match, and go from there.

‘We know that heading in as county champions other teams will be keen to get one over on us, but we’ll stay grounded.’