DAMIEN O’Sullivan is determined to get Ilen Rovers moving in the right direction again.

He admits there were times when it felt like they were destined for misery, as Ilen slumped from one tough season to the next.

Three relegations in four years would crush the spirit of any dressing room, but to their credit, this group has righted the ship – and now they stand 60 minutes from redemption as Ilen face Ballinora in Sunday’s McCarthy Insurance Group Intermediate A Football Championship final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh (1.30pm).

‘At the start of the year, if you had offered me a season without relegation I probably would have taken it,’ the Ilen captain admits.

‘There was a bit of scar tissue going into this year.’

But Ilen have turned a corner this season. They finished mid-table in Division 5 of the county league – much-needed stability after back-to-back league relegations in 2023 and ’24 – and now they are unbeaten in their run to the county final. All signs that they are moving forward again?

‘We are getting greedy now,’ O’Sullivan laughs, ‘and we’d love to get over the line. I thought we were destined for misery. I didn’t think we’d ever see a county final.

‘If we can win on Sunday, maybe we can look back on the relegations as a blessing in one sense, as it’s allowed us to start from scratch and rebuild the club. If we can get the club moving back in the right direction again, I’d be over the moon.’

Damien O'Sullivan, team captain at the press night for the upcoming Intermediate County final.

There’s no single reason for Rovers’ change of fortunes, the captain muses. It’s a combination of factors: bigger numbers at training, fewer injuries (apart from former All-Ireland-winning Cork U20 captain Peter O’Driscoll, sidelined with a cruciate injury), and the return of key players like Joseph Hickey from Australia, slotting into centre back. The new management team, led by Flor O’Driscoll, has instilled real resilience in the group.

‘Credit to the players too, it’s no joke after a couple of relegations,’ O’Sullivan adds. ‘We were beat down the last few years, but we are moving in the right direction now, and long may that continue.’

The 36-year-old is also a link to the last time Ilen contested a county adult final: the 2007 senior decider against Nemo Rangers. Dizzying heights for Rovers. O’Sullivan was an unused sub that day, alongside Alan Holland and returning players Conor O’Driscoll and Paddy Minihane. Eighteen years on, Ilen are back in an adult county final.

‘In 2008 I made my championship debut against Seandún, in the fourth round over in Macroom. I was doing the Leaving Cert,’ O’Sullivan recalls, with laser-like precision – just like his kick-outs!

‘I took a break for a couple of years, and in 2017 Edward Sheehy, the manager, called me out of the blue and asked if I’d chance going in goal.’

A back injury had stopped him playing outfield, but the Bantry-based Garda saw the goalkeeping switch as an opportunity.

‘I thought, “what’s the worst that can happen?” and I agreed. I got a go in a league game, and it went from there. To be honest, my career would be long over if I tried to play outfield. My body would break down. I’m delighted now to still be part of it, in any way, shape, or form. I’d carry the water if I couldn’t stand in goal.’

Conceding only three goals in five championship games has been central to Ilen’s run to the final.

‘When we got over Boherbue in the first round, I was thinking it would be unbelievable if we got out of the group – I could hang my hat off that. It has snowballed from there. It’s like if I wake up any minute now I’ll realise this has all been a dream,’ O’Sullivan adds.

‘We put in a good performance with Kilmurry and got a draw, then beat St Vincent’s with a patchy-enough performance. We were solid against Mitchelstown, and the semi-final against Adrigole was absolutely crazy – I was never involved in a game like that. It was nuts.’

The end destination is Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday, where, whatever the result, Ilen fans will cheer a group that has rediscovered that winning feeling after fearing it had gone. That alone shows they are moving in the right direction.