THIS season, Barryroe may be ranked as the third best team after the premier junior hurling group stages and Cloughduv sixth, but that was far from the story last year.

In 2025, the Muskerry club beat Barryroe 1-25 to 1-9 in the final round of the group stage, a result that consigned the Carbery men to a relegation play-off.

After beating Meelin to preserve their premier junior status, Barryroe have kicked on this season.

Not only did they lift the county league Division 7 title, winning seven of their ten games, they won their opening two championship games against St Finbarr’s and Argideen Rangers to seal progression with a game to spare.

As they renew rivalry with Cloughduv in the premier junior quarter-final on Saturday (4pm) in Enniskeane, manager Kevin McCarthy still doesn’t forget the sides’ previous battle on September 5th, 2025.

‘It’s a very tough game for us. They gave us a big beating in Páirc Uí Rinn last year in the final group game. We know what’s ahead of us and we just hope we can do better,’ McCarthy told The Southern Star.

‘That game is in our minds but for us, Saturday is a new game. We hope we’re a bit better than last year, but it’s still going to be in your head. We know what’s coming and we’ll be ready.

‘This is knockout hurling now. There are no more second chances, so that brings its own edge, which I think fellas are looking forward to. Knockout hurling is good, it’s competitive. That’s something and players and managers thrive off.’

The absence of Olan O'Donovan through injury is a blow.

Another motivator for Barryroe is putting their recent 1-21 to 1-18 defeat to Mayfield behind them. That was an opportunity to advance straight to the semi-finals, but the loss means Barryroe must take the long route.

‘We are happy with how we are going, but the last day we were a bit off against Mayfield. I don’t know why, but we just seemed a bit off. Still, overall we’re fairly happy.

‘There’s definitely a better performance in them. It wasn’t the way we wanted to finish the group stage. We’ll be looking for a big improvement against Cloughduv,’ McCarthy added.

Momentum is a huge asset to have, and after their county league victory and fairly comfortable progression from their group, confidence will be oozing through Barryroe.

It’s a boost for a club looking for their first county hurling championship since 2007.

‘To get the opening two wins was huge, especially given we were at the opposite end of the championship last year,’ the Barryroe boss noted.

‘We were in the relegation play-off this time last year, so it’s great to be out of that. Not being in that and being in a quarter-final is brilliant.

‘Momentum is everything. We suffered a bit of a dip against Mayfield, but look, you can’t fault them. They’ve worked hard and we’re looking forward to Saturday.

‘We have played some tough sides so far so that will stand to us. Going from the bottom of the group to qualifying in one year, the players are going to be fairly confident after that. We’d like to think we’ll give a good account of ourselves now and push on even further,’ the Barryroe manager said.

A big blow, however, is the absence of top scorer Olan O’Donovan (elbow injury), who is ruled out for Saturday. The former Cork underage footballer hit 1-11 across the first two games against the Barrs and Argideen and the Sky Blues missed his threat in their latest defeat.

Luke Murphy and Ryan O’Donovan have scored 2-16 combined and are well able to fill the void. This is the time for them to deliver.

‘There are good players on the panel and they’re all putting their hand up at the moment. They are looking for a place. Hopefully, they can keep that form going,’ McCarthy explained.

‘We have great individual talent, and they’ve shown huge commitment. There’s nearly 30 training most nights. They’re all well capable of coming on and doing a job.’

Further indication of the pool of players is the success of Ibane Gaels.

The amalgamation was crowned Carbery U21A hurling champions recently and have provided Barryroe panel depth and competition for places.

‘There’s a good feeling around after Ibane winning the Carbery U21. The young fellas are going well to be fair to them. You have to have a good blend of youth and experience. That is always good. Olan is a loss but we’ll just get on with it,’ the Barryroe boss said.