IT was tighter than he would have liked in the final moments, but Joe Burke was full of praise for his Bandon players after their county final victory over Aghada.

The Lilywhites scored 0-22 from play with nine players getting on the scoresheet in a display where they converted 67 percent of their attempts.

Conor Calnan, Charlie Long and Jack Cullinane made their presence felt on the scoreboard, but this was a collective effort that swept Bandon to the county title.

‘There were a lot of different scorers. Conor Calnan got 0-4 from midfield and young fellas like Jack Cullinane stepped up big time,’ Burke noted.

‘There was a nice number of scores and the backs were superb all through. They’ve been superb all year, but they were really good and they nullified some of Aghada’s dangerous players. We were delighted with the work rate overall. It was impressive stuff.

‘We led the whole way. Obviously there was the last couple of minutes but in fairness to Aghada, they didn’t give up. They stuck at it, and got a couple of goals. It was a tight squeeze at the end but overall, we played really well.

‘Our use of the ball and our hurling was good and our work rate too. We were delighted with it. We would have liked to have won it by a small bit more and have less of a panic at the end but sometimes a point win is just as good. The margin doesn’t really matter.

‘Darren Crowley, Mikey Cahalane, Peter Murphy and Mark Sugrue were around ten years ago and their experience was invaluable too. Overall, it was a really workmanlike performance and I’m just thrilled to bits with them.’

The premier intermediate grade will be the next challenge for Bandon. The draws for the 2027 championships won’t take place until next month but Bandon are thrilled to be back in the third tier of Cork hurling.

‘It will be a big challenge next year. We’re delighted to be back up there again after a few years away,’ the Lilywhites boss added.

‘Every grade is so even now with the way the championship is structured. You need to be at it to be able to get out of your group stages. The fear of relegation is there for every team now in every grade. They’re really good competitions. We’re thrilled to be playing premier intermediate hurling in 2027.

‘The players have had a couple of good days! The celebrations were fantastic. After last year, everyone was on a high after coming out the right side of it this year. It’s just fantastic.’

It’s been a year of positives for Bandon hurling. As well as winning this county title, the juniors reached the last four of the Carbery junior A, while the club also fielded a third team.

‘This year was our first time in a long time having a third team out and we had 40 fellas training there a lot of nights. There’s a massive interest in it,’ Burke said.

‘The work that has been going on in underage over the past few years is unbelievable and the numbers are always growing. A lot of credit has to go to the underage club. They’re the people involved in the teams there. With the hours and hard work they’re putting in, it’s a credit to them.’