NEW O’Donovan Rossa hurling manager Aaron Collins is embracing the challenge of blending a multi-club panel into a cohesive unit.

The Skibbereen club has reached out to a number of neighbouring clubs in a bid to improve their fortunes at junior B level.

Ilen Rovers, Tadhg MacCarthaigh, Kilmacabea and Clann na nGael are among the clubs that do not field adult hurling teams, but Skibb have provided players from those areas with the opportunity to play. Even the Rossas manager himself is originally from Kilbrittain.

‘There are good quality lads there. When you have players coming in from other clubs and juggling different commitments, it’s tough to get the whole panel together as one bunch,’ Collins explained to The Southern Star.

‘We wouldn’t field a team without the players from the other clubs. The number of hurlers from Skibb alone wouldn’t be enough to fill a team. So, the players coming in from elsewhere have been a great boost.

‘With some of our players in college, it’s difficult to get everyone together for weekday training. Having said that, Skibb hurling is in a good place and there are talented young lads coming through. A lot of our players are only in their second or third year with the junior group. It is tough on them stepping up, but it’s a good learning curve.’

Seán Connolly is one of those talented young players. The Cork U20 footballer, who plays football with Ilen Rovers, linked up with the Skibb hurlers after his inter-county season ended.

Dan Nzunu is another player to watch, while Baltimore’s Tadhg Garrett is an exciting prospect who can strike off both left and right.

O'Donovan Rossa's Dan Nzunu in action for the Skibbereen club.

Experienced campaigners Alan Foley, Jason Nott and Shane Donoghue are still involved too.

Ciarán French from Leap is another addition to the panel, but he is sidelined with a cruciate injury. Flor Crowley and Micheál O’Donovan are also key absentees, while stalwart Rob Long is not involved this season.

Despite the injuries, Collins remains positive about the team’s prospects.

‘The key to us performing well is that we gel together,’ the Skibb manager explained.

‘There is a panel of 26 or 27 lads, including those who are injured. Every one of them is fighting for places. They all give their utmost. Some players have bad days and others have good days.

‘The bottom line is they all give everything they have. Their effort in any match is guaranteed.’

There are players still helping behind the scenes despite being sidelined, which Collins feels highlights the commitment within the group.

Take Flor Crowley, for example. The man who captained the club’s first county junior B-winning team in 2004 is still playing his part.

‘Flor may be injured, but he organises a puck-around for the lads who can’t make training on a Wednesday night. That is a great help to us as management,’ Collins acknowledged.

‘He has had a bad injury for the last couple of months. He’s nursing it away but, hopefully, he should be back soon.’

This is Collins’ first season as Rossas manager, having previously served as a coach in 2023 and 2024. After taking a year out in 2025, he felt the time was right to return in a bigger role.

‘The last spell was a great experience for me, so I hope I’m ready. Injuries have taken their toll this year between lads being unavailable and others not ready to come back. At the start of the season we also lost a couple of players and that hindered us,’ he said.

Collins moved to Skibbereen 18 years ago after getting married. He played for O’Donovan Rossa for three seasons before retiring because of work commitments, but coaching reignited his passion for the game.

Now he hopes to bring some of the Kilbrittain spirit to his Rossas side.

‘That was a huge thing for Kilbrittain. They had a fiercely dedicated panel. A massive advantage was having fellas from the same age group coming through together,’ he said.

With defeats in their opening two Co-op Superstores Confined Junior B Hurling Championship Group 4 games against Delanys and Bantry Blues, Skibb must beat St Oliver Plunkett’s on Sunday to have any chance of progressing.

They also need Delanys to beat Bantry, with scoring difference between the three Carbery clubs then likely to decide qualification.