IT’S the Barrs to lose. The Bons Secours Premier Senior Football Championship begins in earnest on July 28th with the divisions/colleges section having begun its tidying-up process since early June.
Defending champions Nemo Rangers denied St Finbarr’s their dream double in 2022. That will have hurt the Togher side deeply and will have been stewing in the back of players’ and management's minds all winter.
In the final last October, the Barrs didn’t show up, and didn’t play with the same intensity and physicality they had en route to the big day. The idea of the double seemed to have gotten to them mentally; they forgot about performing and winning the match. Nemo took full advantage, having spluttered their way through the championship, to allow Luke Connolly to climb the steps of the South Stand at Páirc Uí Chaoimh and collect the Andy Scannell Cup for the 23rd time in their history.
2023 will be the fourth staging of the revamped championship. To recap, it is three groups of four with the top two to qualify. Seeding was based on last year’s championship with Nemo, the Barrs and Castlehaven occupying the top seed spots. The best group winner will go straight to a semi-final while the worst placed second placed team will play the divisions/colleges champions in one of three quarter-finals.
The beauty of sport is that it’s all up for grabs again in 2023. Newcestown were relegated and Senior A champions St. Michaels were promoted. The West Cork premier senior club representation is down to three – Castlehaven, Clonakilty and Carbery Rangers, plus the Carbery division. It once stood at seven. It is cut-throat business at the top table and once again we have a West Cork ‘Group of Death’, with the three clubs joined by Valley Rovers to form Group A.
First to the divisions/colleges section which began on June 8th. MTU decided not to enter a team this season while Beara, having shown signs of re-growth in ’22, pulled out of the championship at the eleventh hour. That left Imokilly, Duhallow, Avondhu and Muskerry in the preliminary section with Tadgh Crowley Cup champions Carbery and UCC seeded and awaiting the outcome.
The preliminary section was a bit of a farce this year. Avondhu didn’t play a game and made a semi-final. Muskerry lost two games and made a semi-final while Imokilly won a game but still found themselves paired against favourites Duhallow in a semi. Anyway, whatever way it worked Duhallow emerged having defeated Muskerry in the final. The second thing that annoyed me was why both finalists were not allowed through to play UCC and Carbery? A draw resulted in Carbery being paired with Duhallow while UCC went straight to the final. Duhallow are now in a position where they hold all the aces with three games under their belts. With a division or college, momentum is everything. A little more thought needs to go into this section for next season.
The Barrs are the bookies favourites and the only teams that look capable of ruffling their feathers are Castlehaven and Nemo Rangers. Outside of that top three the only other teams I could see taking a big scalp in a quarter-final or semi-final would be Ballincollig and Clonakilty if they get their act together.
Castlehaven's Brian Hurley under pressure from Clonakilty's Gearoid Barry and Thomas Clancy during the Bon Secours Cork PSFC battle in 2022.
Getting that win on the opening day is key to progression. In the aforementioned ‘Group of Death’ Ross play the Haven in a derby on Friday 28th with Valleys meeting Clon. If Castlehaven have everyone it’s hard to see my own club beating them. However, there is talk that the Cahalane brothers, Damien and Conor, may not be back from their hurling expedition across the Atlantic while Brian Hurley may not recover on time from injuries suffered with his county. Valleys have had a change of management mid-league with Barry Casey, formerly of Skibbereen, taking the reins. Martin O’Brien took over from Haulie O’Neill in Clon and if he has a fully-fit deck, they will have too much for Valleys. Clon have been top heavy in defence regarding talent in recent years but the emergence of Conor Daly and Darragh Gough and how they impact the championship could determine how far the Brewery Town men progress. Castlehaven and Clon to qualify here.
Group B contains Nemo, Ballincollig, Carrigaline and Éire Óg, with Nemo and Ballincollig meeting in round one at Páirc Uí Rinn. Ballincollig holds no fear of Nemo. This game should determine first and second in this group. Ballincollig got a lot of key players back in the latter stages of the league to preserve their Division 1 status, but Luke Fahy will be a big loss to them having picked up an injury against Roscommon. The return of the Coakley brothers to Carrigaline, having been playing in Dublin with St Judes, has seen them win Division 2 in the league. They have been dicing with relegation in recent years but if there’s an upset in this group it could be Carrigaline. Nemo and Ballincollig to qualify.
In Group C it’s the Barrs, Mallow, Douglas, and St Michael’s. The Barrs will have too much for Mallow, and Douglas’s league form suggests they will beat Michaels in the opening round. The Barrs and Douglas to qualify here. The relegation battle is a hard one to call with the so-called weaker outfits all well capable of pulling it out of the fire when the pressure really comes on. With fine weather and solid pitches, it should be an exciting six weeks of football at the group stage.
The opening round of Premier SFC fixtures is as follows:
Friday, July 28th – 7.30pm, Nemo Rangers v Ballincollig at Páirc Uí Rinn; 8pm, Castlehaven v Carbery Rangers in Clonakilty.
Saturday, July 29th – 3pm, Carrigaline v Éire Óg in Ballincollig; 5pm, Douglas v St Michael’s in Páirc Uí Rinn; 5pm, St Finbarr’s v Mallow in Blarney; 7.30pm, Clonakilty v Valley Rovers in Bandon.
