Inniscarra hurlers looking to make most of first final in nearly two decades

BY JOHNNY CAROLAN

You have to go back to 2003 – the last year where the Intermediate Hurling Championship was the second tier of Cork hurling – for Inniscarra’s most recent appearance in an adult hurling final.

The Mid-Cork side lost out to Bride Rovers on that occasion – their opponents would go on to reach a senior final five years later but ‘Scarra’ were unable to build on their achievement of reaching the decider. While the camogie club in the parish has enjoyed success, it has taken until now for the men’s team to contest a final and attacker Owen McCarthy can see the effect it has had.

‘It’s great for the club,’ he says.

‘Every night we’re down training, there are a load of kids there, pucking around.

‘It’s brilliant to see and it just boosts the whole club, there’s been a real buzz the last few weeks.’

Inniscarra topped their group comprising Bandon, Valley Rovers and Youghal, whom they beat in their opening game. That set them up to all but secure qualification with a win over Bandon by 3-18 to 0-12, but it wasn’t an easy run-out by any means.

‘The Bandon game was tough, a serious physical battle,’ McCarthy says.

‘Valleys was the same and Ballinhassig the last day in the semi-final was another challenging game.

‘We’ve had a few tough battles this year and it’s good to get out on the right side of them.’

Earning one of the top two seeds meant they bypassed the quarter-final stage, though that can often prove to be a double-edged sword as the four-week break proves too much and teams are left rusty.

Inniscarra were able to work things to suit themselves, though.

‘We actually took the first week easy,’ McCarthy says.

‘We basically just trained away as normal after that, focused on one game and put our shoulder to the wheel.

‘The week off definitely helped as a few fellas had niggles from the Valleys game. They were able to rest up so the time frame worked out perfectly, really.’

This year, Inniscarra are managed by Paul McCarthy, son of the legendary Gerald. Last year, he was in charge of the Seandún team that reached the final of the divisions and colleges section of the premier senior championship and he and his selectors decamped en masse to Inniscarra.

McCarthy feels the fresh voices have had a strong impact.

‘Yeah, it’s worked well,’ he says.

‘As a group of players this year, we just asked for a change, to do something different.

‘We started off well in the league and got a bit of momentum there.

‘There’s a nice spread of players around and we felt that we could do better. This year, we just put the heads down and it’s been going well.

‘Obviously, it’s a huge step now going in against Castlemartyr.

‘They’re a serious team. I’d know a lot of them from playing underage and we’re under no illusions, it’s going to be a serious battle.

‘They’re flying the last few years and we just can’t wait now, it’s going to be a serious battle.’