Erins Own in Cork are an emerging force in both hurling and football. Secretary Martin Bowen speaks to Hogan Stand magazine about their success and hopes for the future. For some clubs, it is a major struggle to win some silverware, however the Erins Own club have had success in abundance at underage and now they are ready to make the breakthrough at adult level. Erins Own are a dual club and they have successfully combined both games over the years, which has seen many trophies brought back to the club house. In 2005, the club won the Cork junior football championship and were unfortunate to lose out on a Munster title when Kerry side Ardfert just pipped them in the decider. "It was unfortunate to lose the Munster final," said Martin. "We missed a penalty in the last minute, which would have won the match for us, but that's football for you. You win some and lose some. The lads had a great year and can be proud of their achievement," he added. Diarmuid Cunningham trained the side last year along with David McNamara and Patrick Fitzgerald who acted as selectors. A number of players including Patrick have the distinction of playing in eleven consecutive county finals, an achievement that can be matched by very few. Based seven miles east of Cork City, the club has been in existence since 1963 when the parish clubs, Knockraha and Little Island amalgamated. Football and hurling had been played in the Parish of Glouthane for many years beforehand, but the decision was made to strengthen the local team and Erins Own was born. Teams were affiliated in Junior A, Junior B and Minor grades in hurling and football in the early years. A juvenile section was also formed and teams were fielded in Under 14 and 16 hurling and football. The early years at adult level were unsurprisingly not successful as it took time for the club to find their feet. It was in fact an achievement to fulfil their fixtures during a period when emigration was rife in the country. The club enjoyed success firstly at Under 14 hurling and later at Under 16 hurling, where three consecutive divisional titles were won. Just four years after their affiliation, Erins Own had their biggest triumph of that time when they won the East Cork minor hurling title. In 1970, the same group of players won the under-21 hurling championship, a further three years later, the East Cork grade A hurling title was annexed. 1980 saw the club make the step up to the intermediate hurling grade. The club grounds in Caherlag were purchased in 1978 and after much hard work and fundraising, the official opening took place on the 2nd of May, 1982. On the playing fields, the club reached the County Intermediate Hurling final but unfortunately lost to an impressive Milford side. However their time was to come and they captured the Intermediate title in 1984. This success was repeated in 1987 following which, they made the step up to the senior hurling grade. The club's greatest day came in 1992 when the County senior hurling title was brought back to the parish. Less than thirty years after the club was formed, they had reached the pinnacle of Cork hurling, a historic occasion that will live long in the memories of all concerned. "It was a great achievement to win the senior hurling championship and it was the culmination of years of hard work by many people. There was amazing scenes of jubilation after that and hopefully it won't be too long before we see them again," added Martin. Football success was also attained at minor and Under 21 level during this period and in 1994, the club won the County Junior Football Championship for the first time. On the 8th of June 1996, Erins Own opened a new complex with the official ceremony performed by then President of the GAA Jack Boothman. However, the club are currently in the midst of a major new development, where they are building three new pitches and redeveloping the grounds at a cost of Eur1.25 million. This includes the floodlighting of one of the pitches. "We plan to have our official opening of the new development next May and incoming GAA President Nicky Brennan has been invited down to perform the official ceremony," revealed Martin. "A lot of the funding was raised by ourselves and we managed to make Eur25k from a Golf Classic, a greyhound night made an additional Eur25k, while our weekly lotto makes Eur15k. We also received funding from the National Sports Council and other government bodies. "The membership of the club is in the region of 250 and it is a relatively big parish. In all we cater for 28 teams and that includes ladies football and camogie teams." The success of the junior footballers last year shows how strong a dual club that Erins Own are, although Martin admits that the hurlers controversial exit from the senior championship probably helped. Erins Own refused to play a senior championship match against eventual champions Newtownshandrum because county players Brian Corcoran and Kieran Murphy were both injured a week earlier playing for the county in the Munster championship. However, the Cork county board deemed that the match must be played and when Erins Own refused to field, they were thrown out of the championship and fined Eur2,000 much to the dismay of the Erins Own faithful. "It was a cruel blow to be told that we were out of the championship, but we just had to deal with it and we are looking forward to this year's campaign, when hopefully we can make amends. The imposition of a Eur2,500 fine was also extremely disappointing, particularly in view of the huge efforts made by our membership to fund the development work," stressed Martin. Most clubs produce a player at some stage that is that bit extra special, but Erins Own can lay claim to one of the greatest hurlers ever in Brian Corcoran. The All-Star defender and forward has left his mark on the modern game, while his return from self imposed retirement to win two All-Ireland senior hurling medals is fairytale stuff. Nonetheless, Martin pointed out that the club have produced many great players down through the years, although he does admit that Corcoran's status is at the top of the list. "Words can't explain Brian's contribution to hurling and indeed football down through the years. The shoulder injury that he sustained against Tipperary in the Munster championship ruled him out of the football campaign, which was most unfortunate. "We have had many great characters in the club, Kieran Murphy is really making a name for himself with the county hurlers, while he is also a very good footballer and played an important part in winning the county title," said Martin. Some other Erins Own players who have given great service to Cork down through the years are Cian O'Connor, P Kelly, P Fitzgerald, J Corcoran, T Kelleher, C Dillon, J Dillon, R O'Connor, T O'Keefe, F Horgan, F Murphy, S Murphy and T O'Leary, while many members have also made a wonderful contributions as selectors to various county squads. "Current chairman Paddy Twomey has given great service to the club, while Fundraising chairman Michael O'Connor was sub goalie on the Cork team in 1976 and he has played a huge part in raising the funds for the new development. Indeed our club is extremely fortunate to have had many wonderful officers to lead its development over the years." Principal among those are C Twohig (RIP), C Nicholl (RIP), H Collins, P Foley, S Twohig, E O'Connor, B Finn, B Murray and L O'Connell. Having spent the last 30 years as secretary, Martin deserves great credit for his sterling work. A club secretary has a busy schedule throughout the GAA year and anyone who has survived that length of time deserves a special mention. Martin's sons Shay and Alan both play for the club and have represented Cork at underage level, with Shay representing the county at underage level and indeed was sub goalkeeper on the Cork under-21 team that captured the Munster title in 2005. Erins Own under-21 hurlers captured their third county title in four years last year and the majority of these players were part of the minor side that won four consecutive titles from 1999 to 2002. This has laid the foundations for the senior team to make a serious assault on winning their second county title and Martin admits that it is time for the club to make that next step. "With the success that we have had at underage level, it is important that we carry on that work. We definitely feel that we have the players to win another championship and I firmly believe that if this side could make the breakthrough then they will remain serious contenders Cork hurling's No. 1 prize for some time to come." Martin works as contracts manager with GB Services, who are Insulating Contractors based in Cork. The Erins Own secretary has been employed with the company since 1978. Five years earlier, GB Services was established by company managing director Gerry Byrne, a Dublin native, who has settled in the south. JB Services employ 80 people and the majority of their work takes place within the county, however they also travel nationwide and are currently working as far as Elan in Athlone. Tweet

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