IT was a reward well worth the wait as Ilen Rovers finally got their hands on the 2025 Cork LGFA junior D county title after seeing off Ballinhassig at MTU Cork.

A delayed decider, held up by an appeal involving Ballinhassig, was only played at the end of April, but Ilen made light of the disruption with a dominant display.

Blitzing the opening half, the West Cork side powered into a 3-7 to 0-3 lead at the break and, despite conceding three second-half goals, held firm to secure a deserved 4-14 to 3-11 victory.

Adding the junior D county cup to an already impressive roll of honour was just reward for a committed group of players and management.

‘It was very important to win this county title considering how the previous year ended,’ Ilen Rovers manager John O’Driscoll told The Southern Star.

‘Going forward, we have to keep pushing on as a group, moving up the grades and playing at a higher standard. This group of girls needs to keep improving.

‘We’ve been involved in a lot of finals over the years. While the venue was important, we probably would have had a bigger crowd at the original venue in Timoleague. The switch to MTU Cork only happened the Thursday before.

‘That said, a lot of our girls have played in bigger stadiums with their county or school, so it wasn’t a major factor. It was still good for them to experience playing there again.’

Ilen’s strength in depth was evident in their spread of scorers. Kate Carey led the way with 2-5, while Clare Collins and Keelin Murphy also found the net.

Carla O’Regan (0-5), Cork senior Emma Hurley (0-3) and Maebh Collins (0-1) added to an impressive tally.

‘We couldn’t have asked for a better start,’ O’Driscoll added.

‘The girls played a senior standard of football in that first half. In the second half, we had a reasonable amount of control, even though we conceded two goals in quick succession.

‘We rallied, regrouped and got going again. The scores kept coming and kept us ticking over.’

With the county title secured, Ilen Rovers have quickly turned their attention to 2026 – and early signs are promising.

They have raced to the top of the Division 6 county league, yet to drop a point, and look well placed to make an impact in the junior C championship later this year.

‘We are going well in the league,’ O’Driscoll said.

‘We made the final last year where Ballinhassig beat us, but we had a lot of girls away on holidays.

‘It’s important we move up the divisions there too. It can be difficult to get teams to travel down to us in the lower leagues – that’s a county-wide issue, not just in Division 6.

‘The long-term plan is that, in four or five years, we’ll be competing at junior A or intermediate level.’