OLAN Corcoran has been a frustrated bystander during St Mary’s run to the Bandon Co-op Carbery Junior A Football Championship final.

When he went off injured after 13 minutes of their group win against Carbery Rangers on September 14th, Corcoran was Mary’s top scorer and viewed as a key man in any championship bid.

But he has been on the outside looking in as Mary’s momentum has shifted up a gear in the knockout stages. With head-turning wins over Mathúnas and Tadhg MacCarthaigh – the latter after a sensational semi-final comeback – Mary’s are back in a Carbery JAFC final.

But one big question remains this week: will we see Corcoran back in the Mary’s team that takes on Kilmacabea in Skibbereen on Sunday (3pm)?

‘Hopefully I’ll be alright,’ he suggested, offering an update on his shoulder injury. ‘Not too bad, getting there.’

Rating his chances as 50-50, Corcoran’s availability would be a huge boost as St Mary’s plot a giant-killing. He hasn’t featured in the last two and a half games, yet remains their second-highest scorer on 0-17 – just one point behind Niall Kelleher (0-18) – and still their joint-top scorer from play with 0-10, alongside Darren O’Donovan (1-7).

But Mary’s, to their credit, have shown they are not a one-man team. Look at the evidence: they beat last season’s finalists Mathúnas in the quarter-finals (0-10 to 0-9), and then an in-form Caheragh in a stunning semi-final (2-17 to 0-21), having been ten points down at the break. This Mary’s team is made of tough stuff – and Corcoran credits manager Daniel Cronin.

‘In fairness, the lads have been quite impressive in the last few games,’ says the former Cork U20 forward.

‘There is a great team spirit this year – Dan Cronin has really brought that in this season. He has brought everyone together, emphasising that no one player is bigger than the team, and that everyone needs to work hard for each other. That has stood to us this season.

‘It was massive for us to get Daniel this year. He’s a St Mary’s man, knows what the club is all about. Colm (Sheehy) is a brilliant coach, and Dan has helped push things forward and move us up another level.’

Corcoran is one of the rising stars in St Mary’s, the present and the future, but he highlights the importance of their experienced statesmen in this season’s run to the final.

‘There are a lot of leaders in that team,’ he says.

‘It’s a mix of lads who are younger and older. You have fellas like Jason Collins, Stephen Keohane and Brian McCarthy who were playing in 2014 – when we were nine or ten years old, we would have looked up to them.’

That trio knows what it’s like to win a Carbery JAFC title, and 2014 was the last time St Mary’s were the top football team in their home division, but they’ve been there or thereabouts over the years. They lost the 2021 final to Tadhg MacCarthaigh, having beaten Kilmacabea in the opening round that year. Semi-finalists in 2022, Mary’s knocked Kilmacabea out in the quarter-finals. Last season, the Kilmacs beat Mary’s by four points in the semi-final on their way to winning the title. So, recent history suggests there is little to separate the teams and that Mary’s have also beaten Kilmacabea – reasons for Saints supporters to be optimistic.

‘When everyone sticks together, we feel we can beat anyone on our day,’ Corcoran adds.

‘Football means a lot to us in Enniskeane. Getting to a West Cork final is a big boost to everyone, from underage right up to adult, and for the village as well.

‘We have huge respect for what Kilmacabea have done, but we know what we are capable of when we play well,’ he says, hopeful he will feature and make an impact in the division’s showpiece football game.