WE’RE in this period of rest as we wait for the football championships to burst back into life this month. Good things come to those who wait.

Still, we had football to sate our appetite last weekend, with the Carbery U21A final and the county senior A championship with the deferred meeting of Éire Óg and Clyda Rovers.

Castlehaven had an exciting one-point win, 2-12 to 2-11, over Clon in the U21A final in a contest that provided further credence to Carbery’s decision to play this championship in July and August. Given the gap between games, it was no harm at all for these young players to get more championship games in the summer months. Kudos to the board where it is due on that decision.

In the senior A contest, Éire Óg comprehensively beat Clyda Rovers, 2-22 to 1-3, to further outline their credentials as contenders for promotion back to premier senior. Their midfield pairing of Darragh Clifford and Colm O’Callaghan will take a lot of beating at club level. I backed them as the team to beat before a ball was kicked and they are proving themselves as being right in the mix.

This week, given that we covered the Carbery junior A championship in detail last week, and to allow us to focus more in depth on the senior grades next week, I will look at the lie of the land at premier junior and the two intermediate grades.

Starting in Group 1 of premier junior, already-qualified Kinsale can seal direct qualification to the semi-final by beating already-eliminated St Vincent’s, and the form certainly suggests they will. The other game throws up a tasty Duhallow derby as neighbours Millstreet and Cullen meet in Knocknagree. The boys from the bigger town might just have the edge here to claim the second spot in what is a straight shootout. A draw will also be enough for Millstreet with their superior scoring difference.

Group 2 is still all to play for with Cobh on top with three points, Inniscarra and Glenville both on two and Urhan trailing behind on one. The tightness of the previous games shows there is very little to choose between the sides, and I suspect Urhan might turn the tables on Cobh. A draw in the other game would leave all teams on three points, but I take Inniscarra to prevail here meaning they will top the group and Urhan will pip Cobh on the head-to-head criteria. This group is one of those where the results could quite easily go the other way completely.

Group 3 is where a lot of the local interest lies, with Kilmacabea joint top on three points with Canovee, but trailing on scoring difference. This group is a three-horse race with Na Piarsaigh already eliminated, and Canovee will beat them comfortably to top the group and most likely go directly to a semi-final.

That leaves the Kilmacs versus St Nick’s as pretty much another shootout, with a win or a draw putting the Leap club into the knock-out rounds. St Nick’s are no mugs at this level, though, and reached the final in 2024. That said, if Kilmacabea can carry their form from the first two games and keep the upward trend going, they can do enough to progress to a quarter-final in their first season at this grade, which will be a fine achievement.

Group 1 in the intermediate A grade is similar to Group 1 in premier junior in that Kilmurry have already qualified and face bottom side Glanworth expecting to seal direct passage to the semi-final, and we agree that they will.

The other game then is a very exciting looking straight shootout between Ilen Rovers and Buttevant. A draw will suffice for the Avondhu outfit, while Rovers need the win. I am always wary of tipping against the West Cork teams, and Ilen were a whisker away from winning this championship last year, yet Buttevant look a strong team that are on the rise and might shade this in a very close contest. Again, my predictions of late have been less than infallible, so Rovers could very well prove me wrong again as they did a couple of times last year.

There is a dominant team in Group 2 also as Mitchelstown look poised to qualify after two wins and with a +16 scoring difference. That will become relevant if they lose to Dromtarriffe and St Finbarr’s second team beat Gabriel Rangers, however I expect the opposite to happen in both contests. That will leave the other three teams together on two points each, but Dromtarriffe’s better scoring difference – six ahead of St Finbarr’s and ten ahead of Gabriel Rangers – could be enough to see them through. Mitchelstown direct to the semis and Dromtarriffe to fall over the line is my call.

Lastly, in Group 3, Adrigole are already through on four points and face Kildorrery. Form tells us the Beara men can make it three from three here, meaning Bandon versus Boherbue is another straight-up play-off game. Boherbue are a point ahead of Bandon so the Carbery side need to win, but Boherbue have been slightly more impressive in seeing off Kildorrery and only losing out by a point to the leaders, Adrigole. Again I risk upsetting some friends and relatives by tipping another Carbery defeat – Boherbue to join Adrigole in the business end of the championship.

At premier intermediate, the battle resumes to join Uibh Laoire, already safely qualified and eyeing the direct route to the semi-final. The Muskerry side face Rockchapel, who are on three points, and Uibh Laoire will likely complete the group with their 100 percent record intact. That will mean Glanmire can take advantage with a win against Bantry Blues. Glanmire need to win and hope for a ten point swing in their favour against Rockchapel. That said, I have a feeling Bantry have one big game in them to avoid the relegation final, and may upset their opponents here. Rockchapel to join Uibh Laoire then, regardless of their result.

In Group 2, Kiskeam and Macroom are joint top on three points and go head to head in Kanturk to determine who will top the group and definitely advance. As with Carbery Rangers’ group in junior A in Carbery, a draw will send both sides through. Aghada and Castletownbere trail the leaders on one point each and their contest will decide who might take advantage of a defeat for either of the top two. Castletownbere need a Kiskeam win and a minimum 13-point swing with Macroom to progress, while Aghada need the opposite result and a similar scoring difference turnaround. I’m tipping Kiskeam and Castletownbere wins here, but Macroom’s scoring difference buffer may leave the Beara team ultimately disappointed.

In Group 3, only the scoring difference separates the four teams who are all on two points, with just nine points scoring difference between Nemo Rangers (+4) and Fermoy (-5). The Capwell second string take on Naomh Abán and Fermoy will face Ballinora. The permutations are multiple, however I’m going to hope for simplicity here and backing Naomh Abán and Ballinora to secure the wins they need. Again, the games are highly unpredictable so don’t be surprised if the very opposite happens.

In fact, I defy anyone to look at all of the games on offer and be able to correctly predict all or even most of them. There is very little to choose between most of the teams in most of the games, and that makes for close games with huge excitement to boot.

If you haven’t noticed by now, I am a big fan of the club championships in Cork these days. Next week, we’ll look at the big guns in senior A and premier senior, and it will be no different at those grades.

Just one more weekend to put down before the football action returns, we are very much looking forward to it.