DAMIEN CAHALANE BEGAN the day with number six on his back and focused on defensive duties, but ended it wearing the number one jersey as his goalkeeping heroics helped Castlehaven be crowned Munster senior champions.
The Cork hurler has put in years of service for his club’s football cause but on a rain-lashed day of Limerick, he experienced a career highlight in a blaze of drama.
Cahalane was drafted between the posts for the shootout into the City End of the Gaelic Grounds. He scored twice himself in the shootout, smashed piledrivers to the net, and saved the attempt by Kerry All-Star Tom O’Sullivan to win the day for Dingle.
In a previous sporting life, Cahalane was a goalkeeper. Back in 2009, he was between the posts for Cork city soccer club Greenwood as they claimed national honours, lifting the SFAI Barry Cup at U16 level. His team-mates that day included close friend and Ireland international John Egan, while Daryl Horgan was on the defeated Salthill Devon team.
Cahalane scored a goal in that 3-1 victory on a May day in Turner’s Cross, launching a long punt downfield that flew to the net.
14 years on, he enjoyed another stunning moment of success between the posts, celebrating a fortnight before Christmas.
“Darragh (Cahalane) had a fantastic game inside in goal but it was an idea one of the lads had during the week, that if it went to penalties I might stand in goal. I played a lot of games in goal in soccer growing up so I had experience in penalty shootouts and coming up against penalties. It was a shot to nothing.
“When it comes down to it at that stage it’s a bit of a lottery and it might throw a bit of a spanner in the works for the opposition. We went for it and it paid off. On another day it might not have.”
Cahalane credited Anthony Seymour, a Cork U21 All-Ireland winner in 2009, for aiding his preparation.
“The other goalies were very good to me to be fair. We have another brilliant goalie that’s a sub for us, Anthony Seymour. He would have seen a lot of their penalties and had done his bit of research but we couldn’t get him in because we couldn’t make a sub so that’s why I ended up going in goal and he gave me the bit of paper. A few notes.
“I was going into the penalties, and not that it didn’t phase me or there was no pressure, but it was kind of bonus territory. I’ve been practising them (his own kicks) all along. I suppose keep doing what you’re used to. Going into the second one in particular I was thinking the goalie might be thinking I’d hardly go to the same spot again. I just went to the same spot again.”
Soccer was a constant theme through his teenage years but the sporting destination for Cahalane was never in doubt.
“It was something I really enjoyed but it was something I didn’t want to pursue. This is what I wanted to pursue growing up. Even aside from wanting to represent Cork, my main thing was representing Castlehaven. They would have been my club from two, three, four years of age.
“We were lucky enough then to go to the Barrs as well and were lucky enough to represent them in hurling. These are the days I grew up dreaming of. To put a bit of soccer experience into it was an aside.”
Cahalane captured what the victory meant to their group as they claimed the club’s fourth provincial senior championship success.
“It’s very special. We’ve gone to a place where our heroes in the club went before us. These are special times, for a very special place to all of us. we had a lot of guys who stood up when we needed it. Cathal Maguire probably had the game of his life in terms of just constantly taking the game to Dingle, who are a brilliant team. We knew we were going to be under pressure coming up here today. We had a lot of guys who really stood up and dug in.
“It’s going to be great going training over Christmas and being around family, giving people something to look forward to.”
