Having lost their senior status the previous year, Mallow demonstrated remarkable unity, resolve and team spirit to capture the 2007 Cork intermediate football championship. With a series of hard-fought victories, the men from Munster's crossroads re-claimed the IFC crown, proving that togetherness and solidarity can go a long way on the GAA field. Mallow won the Cork IFC in 1992. They held their senior status proudly for 14 years, even contesting a senior county semi-final against champions-elect Carbery in 2005. A year later, they surrendered their top-flight standing. Relegation came as a massive blow to everybody associated with the North Cork outfit. Two-thousand-and-seven was always going to be a make-or-break year. Would Mallow sink or swim? Defeat in the first round of the intermediate championship left them in right treacherous waters, with the spectre of relegation again looming menacingly from a competition format that allows little room for comfort. Rather than panicking, the management team - led by former county dual star Ronan Sheehan - called for calm and instilled a deep sense of camaraderie and relaxation in the players. The result was quite spectacular. Once the gnawing pressure was pushed aside and the Mallow footballers focused on playing football, their entire season was transformed remarkably. They had lost to Newcestown by six points at Ballincollig on April 12 and another defeat would have forced them into the intermediate relegation quagmire. However, rejuvenated, they recorded a super 2-9 to 0-7 Round Two win over St Michael's in Fermoy in late May. In the business end of the middle-tier knockout, Mallow produced the right answers each time hard questions were asked. On July 15, they eclipsed Mayfield by 1-8 to 0-8 in a quarter-final at Donoughmore; Blarney was the venue for a tight 0-10 to 1-6 semi-final triumph over Nemo Rangers; and Mallow completed the job and confirmed an instant return to the top table with a great 1-7 to 0-7 county final win at neighbours Killavullen's expense at Pairc Ui Rinn on October 20. Annascaul finally stopped the incredible run in the Munster intermediate club championship but that defeat took absolutely nothing away from what had been a fabulous year for Mallow. They had achieved their prime objective of promotion and were back in with the county's elite. Team manager Ronan Sheehan knew it was never going to be easy for the freshly-relegated side in '07. While outsiders may have cited his side as contenders, he always felt that the IFC could potentially present huge difficulties: "In a way, we may have been fancied, but usually when teams go down in Cork they stay down for a while. The championships are extremely competitive and it's even tougher now with the new system. If you lose your first two games, they you're in a relegation battle, with two teams from four going down. That places everyone under pressure. "We lost our first game and it was very tough after that because St Michael's had come down with us in 2006 and one of the two of us was going to be heading straight in relegation trouble again. It was an unusual and dark place to be, but we got the goals at the right time and won a match that probably could have gone either way." Still, there were eight points in it at the final whistle - was this the first sign Ronan saw of the character his team possessed? Did he suddenly believe they had the bottle to bounce back? "It was a good sign because it was always going to take a lot to win the intermediate. The lads had been knocked back the previous year when they were relegated and it was another disappointment to lose in the first round of the championship. "We decided after the Newcestown game that we were going to try to bring a fun element back into the club. There had been enormous pressure on all the players but we said that from then on that we would enjoy the game and get some fun out of it. At the end of the day, lads were only playing the game because they wanted to and there was no point taking it too seriously. With relegation and the new clubhouse and the demands of playing in the intermediate championship, the lads had been under awful pressure. Once that was lifted, they showed what they are capable of." The management team that had started the year dispersed mid-step, leaving Ronan - who had been a selector - to take gold of the reins. The 1988 All-Ireland U21 hurling championship winner assembled a five-strong backroom staff, which was completed by coach Alan Copps, Seamie Murphy, Pandy Healy and Kevin Murphy. "We're all good friends and four of us had played together on the 1992 IFC-winning team." The quintet set out to build bonds between the players and to foster a more light-hearted approach to the IFC. "It was hard work but it was also a lot of fun," Ronan continues. "We brought them surfing in Lahinch and we did a lot of different things that we hadn't done before. Because of that you could almost visibly see the spirits lifting. "We tried to introduce friendships right through the team and everybody was really enjoying their football. The lads rowed in behind us and it worked perfectly. We didn't put them under any undue pressure and they gave us the response we required. "In fairness, we didn't run away with the championship. It was a slog and we got a few breaks along the way. There was nothing between us, the Michaels, Mayfield or Nemo, but things went nicely for us and it all fell into place. The last three games could have gone either way but the unity in the team and the relaxed approach probably got them over the line. "Alan [Copps] had them very fit and they were buzzing in every game. They covered unbelievable ground during matches and the work ethic of the team was superb. They worked very hard for each other and that was crucial. The football might not always have been pretty but the effort was exceptional." Mallow's Player of the Year Diarmuid Kerrisk epitomised what the team was all about with superhuman displays in midfield, while former county man Cian O'Riordan popped up with many vital scores. "But we had to work hard for our scores and it was an overall team effort, with the defence particularly resilient and the work rate all over the field ensuring that our opponents couldn't get a foothold." Ronan accepts that industry and endeavour may not be enough at senior level in 2008, though. "We have to do it all again and the players know that," he says. "We have Castlehaven in the first round and they are looking good, having won the U21 and the Kellegher Shield last year. So our quality will have to improve. Hopefully, the fact that the lads have experienced relegation will stand to them and they won't want to go back down. "But there's a fine line between the two grades. St Finbarr's have just been relegated for the first time in their history and St Vincent's, who won the intermediate after 30 years of trying, also went straight back down last year. We know hard work is not going to be enough." Ronan himself enjoyed a long playing career with Mallow and he also represented the Rebel County with distinction at various levels in both codes. He was on the losing side in back-to-back All-Ireland MFC finals in 1985 and '86 and collected an All-Ireland minor hurling medal in '86 as well as an All-Ireland U21 hurling title two years later. He captained the Cork side that won the All-Ireland junior football championship in 1993 and also had a few run-outs with the seniors. His son Kevin is currently involved with Cork at U15 level in both football and hurling. "We are very much a dual club and some people would say that's to our detriment because we have seven or eight lads on both the senior football and intermediate hurling teams. Even though Mallow is a large town, we still pick from a surprisingly small bunch of players." However, that could soon change. Apart from the IFC success, the other big news in Mallow GAA in 2007 was the opening of their magnificent new clubhouse, which was built by local developer John Barry. "He bought the old grounds and built us a new state-of -the-art facility with four outdoor pitches, outdoor and indoor Astroturf surfaces, a gym, bar and all the associated facilities. "It has to be one of the most impressive clubhouses in the country," Ronan concludes. "Everyone who comes in to look at it is highly impressed. Even the Munster rugby team have been using the facilities. It's a huge boost to the club and it should have a positive long-term benefit. We have a good underage set-up in place and any young lad in the area would have to be attracted to the club now." Tweet

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