Marie Buckley recalls going door to door around Castlehaven in 2015 to gauge if there would be interest in setting up an adult ladies football team in the Cork parish. Seven years on, and after their fourth consecutive promotion, that leg work has paid off.
Earlier this month, for the second campaign in a row, Castlehaven won a county final after a free-taking contest. This year, it was Glanmire they defeated - two 25m kicks to one - after the intermediate decider had finished level following normal time and extra-time.
"We had already been through it last year because we'd won in the same fashion," club chairperson Buckley tells Balls.
"That was nearly more frightening at the time. It was pure relief.
"Rachel Welton, the girl who took the winning free, she actually scored one of the frees as well last year. She's a very cool character."
Intermediate Champions @CastlehavenGAA hard luck @glanmireladies pic.twitter.com/iXAOXQ3xli
— Cork LGFA (@CorkLGFA) October 5, 2022
Welton's kick sent Castlehaven into the senior ranks. It was their fifth promotion overall, since they started out in the Cork Junior D Championship. This year's step up the ladder did not look likely during the second half against Glanmire when they were seven points down.
"We were the same last year in the county final, and we pulled it out of the bag to draw the game," says Buckley.
"Glanmire were the best team we'd come up against this year, a super team, super football. They had their homework done on us. It was hard for us to break them down in the first half.
"We just kept tipping away, and got the goal. That settled us, and then there was the interception for the second goal. For a while there, we were getting a little bit worried.
"This team has great character. They are like a big family. A lot of them would have played their football with other clubs at a younger age. And only when we set up the adult club in 2015, a lot of them came back to Castlehaven.
"They just have a great friendship. They really have each other's backs all the time."
Three years prior to the adult team being established, they began playing underage ladies football in the club. That year, Castlehaven took part in the 'Gaelic for Girls' programme.
"It was run like over six weeks on a Saturday morning where you had girls U6 to U12, and you had coaches in to coach," Buckley explains.
"When we did this, we saw the interest that was there. We had 120 - 140 girls turning out every Saturday morning.
"2012, when we set up the club, we played U10s and U12 blitzes. Then in 2013, we put out an U12 team, and then progressed along.
Congratulations to the Intermediate Ladies Football team and management on great win in the County Final . Commiserations to a gallant Glanmire team . Haven Abú pic.twitter.com/s9XuskInej
— Castlehaven GAA (@CastlehavenGAA) October 1, 2022
"Everybody plays football now. Everybody in the schools. We have great underage coaches, great underage numbers.
"We didn't think that we would have this success as quick as it has come. There were six girls on the panel last Saturday that were only U5s, and U6s, when we set up the underage club. Now they've won an intermediate county medal.
"It's great now that our girls get to wear the blue and white of their own club and to perform at the highest level, which they deserve.
"We come from a very small population, surrounded by the sea all on one side, and then there are two other parishes on the other side. We're out on the edge of the ocean. There's girls from Tragumna, Castlehaven, Union Hall. We're all mixed together.
"Even this year, our second adult team, our junior team, got to the county final, but lost out on the night. They also got to a West Cork final. We have two adult teams making county finals.
"If you're from Castlehaven, you're always driven for success! I just think you put on that blue and white jersey and you just want to perform and win. We're a special breed down here. We're very proud of Castlehaven, it's inbuilt in us."
Next year, Castlehaven will play in the Senior B Championship. As they've risen through the ranks, preparation for the new campaign is taken ever more seriously.
"This year, the girls started back in January, and they were in the gym for those winter months, they go to the beach in Inchydoney, do the sand dunes for the months of January and February," says Buckley.
"There's a great management team there.: Dinny Cahalane, John McGuckin, Brian Hourihane, Meabh Davis, and Tina Browne.
"They are always looking at new ideas, bringing fresh ideas to training. They give fierce commitment, and the girls respond to that. They want to win."
Quiz: Can You Match These 11 GAA Clubs To Their Counties (Part 2)?
