GOLEEN’S rise has certainly turned heads in recent seasons.

The county confined junior B title was won in 2024, followed by a Carbery junior A quarter-final appearance in 2025.

After falling short in the knockout stage to Tadhg MacCárthaigh last year, Goleen are aiming to go one step further when they face St Mary’s in a quarter-final on Friday (5.45pm) in Skibbereen.

Matthew Sheehan, in his first year as captain of the Mizen club, is happy with their progression.

‘You’d like to say you would expect success. The first two group games against Ballinascarthy and St Colum’s were crucial, because if we lost those, you’re going into Barryroe winless. The expectation depended on how the results went,’ Sheehan told The Southern Star.

‘We have good quality players in our team that are able to compete at this level. In years trying to get up out of junior B, we felt that we might be able to compete. This was our second year in Division 1 of the Carbery league too. It gives us that belief that we are able to play at this level and to not be afraid of anyone.

‘We are in the same position as we were last year. You could say that we are trying to right the wrongs. For us though, it’s a different year. You’re playing a different opposition in St Mary’s. It is a big task but that’s why you play football. That’s why you go training back in January in winter conditions, to play knockout championship games.’

The belief garnered from the league has carried into the championship. Goleen have played seven games at junior A since the start of last year. They’ve won three, drawn two and only lost to Tadhg MacCárthaigh and Barryroe.

Even those defeats were both by a point. There is evidence that they can compete. Added to that, Goleen earned a draw against St Mary’s in the group stage in 2025.

‘It’s a big game for the club. We’re looking forward to the occasion. We feel like we might have something to prove. It gives us another opportunity to play knockout football, which everyone wants to be in,’ the captain added.

‘We have had tight games in this grade and it’s good confidence for us going into the game that if we do play to our potential, we’ll be there or thereabouts.’

What makes their performances more remarkable is the numbers available to them.

They have only 23 players to call upon. That’s if everyone is fit.

‘For many years, we were trying to get up to junior A. Between losing junior B county finals, we were always thinking we’d love to get up to junior A and test ourselves. We have a tight pick numbers-wise and haven’t had anyone new come into the squad for the last three, if not four years. It’s a tight group,’ Sheehan explained.

‘We started off our work this year in January and did a small bit of gym stuff over Christmas to get back into the swing of things. We try to work on as much stuff as we can but it is hard to work on different scenarios. You can’t really do 15-on-15. We are trying to make do with what we can.

‘It is a really tight group and we hold each other to a high standard in training. We don’t let the numbers be an excuse for us. It helps us and pushes us on more. It’s the same core group since I came into the junior set-up around six years ago.

‘We all know each other. We all grew up together. We went to the same school and everything. We know each other inside out. We are holding each other to a high standard within training, which then can obviously lead into match day.’

This year, Sheehan (24) is playing alongside his 21-year-old brother Adam Sheehan in midfield.

That wasn’t always their position, however.

‘Originally, Adam would have always been in goal and I would never have really been a midfielder, more so at wing-back or wing-forward. We are both now getting used to it,’ the Goleen captain said.

‘We have other brothers on the pitch as well. Patrick and Michael Sheehan are brothers as well. There’s a couple of sets of brothers on the team. It’s special sharing these moments with family members.’

Sheehan is honoured to take the role of captain as well but anybody else could have taken it on too. Everyone is a leader in this Goleen side.

‘I took over from Pádraig (Reidy) this year, but you could pick anyone on that team to be the captain. Everyone is talking in training and on days before games. It might not be me that’s talking in the huddle. It can be Pádraig, Eoghan (Sheehan), maybe Tadhg (Cullinane), Dan O’Driscoll, Mike O’Reilly. There’s a lot of leaders all over that pitch and anyone of them could be captain. It’s a privilege to be the captain of this group of lads this year,’ Sheehan said, as he leads his team into a battle where they will show no fear.