Hoops look to join club legends
Johnnie Cocozza of Castlebar Celtic in action against Ayman Yousif of North End United during the Sports Direct Men's FAI Cup first round match between North End United and Castlebar Celtic at Hollygrove Townparks in Wexford. Picture: Tyler Miller/Sportsfile
From one big occasion to another, this group of Castlebar Celtic players will look to join the great teams of the 1960s and 1980s as they look to retain the Connacht Cup this Sunday.
Celtic won back-to-back in 1959 and 1960 as well as ’85 and 86’. Chances of this magnitude don’t come very often and Mervue United stand in the way of the Hoops for a chance to join the legends of the club.
When club captain Ioseph O'Reilly looks at this current generation, it seems making history is just part of the job.
“With this group of players, they're so young and nothing phases them. All they do is make history with the club now. We're going for three in a row leagues. We're going to hopefully go for back-to-back, hopefully go and do back-to-back cup titles, which hasn't done in a long time, nevermind for Mayo teams.”
Celtic's provincial rivals Salthill Devon were the last team to retain the Cup, and the Hoops would love nothing more than to get one over the side that defeated them in the FAI Junior Cup quarter-final after extra-time.
It will be another Galway opponent who will be standing across from them this season in the shape of Mervue United. Celtic have enjoyed the better in recent meetings, defeating them 2-1 in the 2022 competition before winning 4-1 a year later in the semi-final. But O'Reilly is expecting a much tougher outing on this occasion.
"They're in the Connacht Cup final for a reason. They're also going head-to-head with Salthill in the Galway League so it will be a tough game. They're young and up and coming, with one or two senior fella also but we've the week ahead now to kind of focus on them."
There is not much time to dwell on their FAI Cup win last Sunday, which saw an injury-hit side come through against FAI Junior Cup finalists North End United. Jordan Loftus, Jason Hunt, Oran Groarke and Niall Brennan all missed the game but are all back in contention for the final.
O'Reilly does not envy the jobs of Stevie Gavin an Declan Flynn ahead of the final, with some big selection headaches ahead. Brian Walsh, Ben Murphy, Fionn Mahon, Luke Kelly and Eoghan Hughes all put themselves in contention for starting spots but given the strength in depth, some players could find themselves outside the 18-man squad named for the final.
Celtic finally claimed 'La Decima' last year, defeating Maree/Oranmore for a record tenth Connacht Cup. With that pressure off them, now comes the unique pressure of joining the pantheon of club greats. They face a big test against Mervue, but it is one they are more than capable of coming through.
