AS Kilmacabea’s Monday Club geared up for day two of their celebrations on Monday, the significance of the date – December 1st – wasn’t lost on Daniel O’Donovan.

Exactly 12 months earlier, on the same date, Kilmacabea had lost the county junior A semi-final to Inniscarra, a defeat that sent them back to the start line and facing a long journey to return to the same stage.

Now, one year on, Kilmacabea have reached the destination they have targeted for some time: they are county junior A football champions.

‘It will take a while to sink in,’ admits Daniel O’Donovan, one of the elder statesmen of the team.

‘It’s going to take a bit of time for this to feel real. Even when the final whistle went on Sunday, it was surreal. It’s the combination of the last few years, the hardship, and then to finally get over the line was incredible.

‘Look at where we were after we lost to Inniscarra last year – it was a long way back to where we are now; first coming through Carbery and then the county. That’s why this is so special.’

O’Donovan, now 38, admits the years are passing too fast, but he is still contributing handsomely to the cause. He was one of the heroes in the county quarter-final win against Carraig na bhFear, and again in the final triumph against Donoughmore. Manager Donie O’Donovan hailed Daniel’s impact afterwards, as he proved class is permanent.

Given he is closer to the finish line than the start, and that he has endured tough days in the county junior A with Kilmacabea, O’Donovan appreciates how significant this success is.

‘When you are in the thick of it you don’t realise how fast the years roll into each other. 2018 (when Kilmacabea lost the county junior A final to Dromtarriffe) doesn’t seem like seven years ago. The years go by so fast, so that’s why it means so much to finally get there,’ he says.

‘I just hope we keep the ball rolling and kick on. Look at Uibh Laoire and how they pushed on after winning the junior A in 2020, so the hope is our younger generation will drive this on. We have a great crop coming through, so hopefully they’ll drive it on. The future is bright.’

O’Donovan is delighted he committed to the cause again this season. Juggling family, work and football is a challenge, but days like Sunday make it all worthwhile – he got to create a magical memory with his wife Dee and their kids Aodha, Leah and Daire.

‘It can be a tricky one because you can’t go on forever,’ he says.

‘When you have three small kids at home, and both my wife and myself on shift work, there is a lot of juggling – you don’t want to be missing too much training because it’s not fair on lads who are there all the time.

‘It’s trying to get the balance right,’ he adds, and he did, playing his part in Kilmacabea’s greatest day.

‘It was a very enjoyable year,’ beams O’Donovan, who hopes the best is yet to come as premier junior football awaits in 2026.

‘There is a serious group of young fellas there. I don’t think there is much better than our half-back line – Diarmuid (O’Callaghan), Martin (Collins) and Owen (Tobin), they are great warriors. Odhran (Kerrisk) and Ian (Jennings) in the middle, there’s not much getting past them.

‘I’m delighted it all worked out in the end. I hope the young fellas seeing that on Sunday can use it to drive on.’