THIS was the season that Seán Hurley had targeted as the year Glengarriff could make an impact at county level.

So far, it's right on track.

The Beara club are through to the last four of the county confined junior B football championship and face Tracton in Friday night's semi-final in Rossmore (8pm).

When he took over in 2024, Hurley remembers Glengarriff having just 13 players for their opening game in the confined competition. He responded by putting a three-year plan in place.

After failing to win a game in the championship in 2024 and reaching the quarter-finals last season, Glengarriff have gone a step further this year. That’s visible progress.

'This was the plan,' the Glengarriff manager says.

'The lads have put in a huge amount of work and training, and we're here now, in a county semi-final in the year we targeted to have a real go at it.

'After three years, lads will get fed up listening to the same voice, no matter who it is, so this is what we targeted.

'We kept building, getting them up to the pace of it, and this was the year to have a go.'

Glengarriff emerged as runners-up from a three-team group that included Belgooly and Doneraile. Having beaten the latter 0-8 to 0-6 in their opener, they lost to Belgooly 3-14 to 3-12 after falling 12 points behind inside the opening quarter.

Glengarriffe's Darren Harrington bursts past Castlelyons' Seán Óg Maguire. (Photo: Paddy Feen)

Next came a 0-15 to 2-7 quarter-final extra-time win over Castlelyons, and despite the result, Hurley feels there is more to come.

'We made heavy work of Castlelyons. We were disappointed with how we played. Some of the shot selection was poor, but we got over the line. That's the main thing,' he says.

It's a sign of Glengarriff's progress that they can be critical of a performance after winning a county quarter-final. They haven't reached this stage to make up the numbers. They believe there is more in them yet.

‘It probably is a good sign,’ Hurley agrees.

‘It’s about performance. I wasn’t happy with it against Castlelyons. None of us were.

‘When you’re disappointed after a win, I suppose that says something.’

Taking the next step requires a change in mindset, and Glengarriff are on the right path. Winning the Beara junior B championship last season was a stepping stone, as is reaching the county confined semi-finals.

‘This is an opportunity that doesn't come along too often,’ Hurley points out.

‘You can go through a career and win nothing. So when you get a chance, you have to take it.

‘They’ve more in them yet, definitely. There’s more there.’

Even though Glengarriff are missing key players like defender Paul O’Sullivan (gone to Australia) and midfielder Luke Harrington (in America), there’s plenty of quality in this squad. The quarter-final win offered further evidence of their depth, with Brian O’Sullivan O’Connell starring at midfield, Callum McElhinney kicking 0-4, and both Jack Harrington and Gearóid O’Sullivan contributing 0-2.

These footballers have given a lift to their locality too. Callum McElhinney, who scored the winning point in the Beara junior B final replay against Garnish, previously told this paper: ‘It was an unbelievable feeling, the buzz around the village afterwards. For three weeks after, everyone in the village was talking about it.’

It shows how important football is in and around Glengarriff.

‘It gives a lift to the area. People are going to matches, talking about matches – that’s what a club is about,’ Hurley adds.

‘We had 13 players a couple of years ago. Now we’ve 24 or 25 togging out. That shows the interest we have. They’re enjoying it, and we’ll see where the journey ends.’

The next stop is Rossmore on Friday against a Tracton team that topped Group 2 after wins against Argalen, Ballinacurra and Brian Dillons.

‘We played them a couple of years ago and they beat us when we were very light – we had about 15 players that day.

‘I think we’ve a fair chance, but there has to be a big improvement.’