THAT was a busy sporting weekend to help beat off the January and bad weather blues, even if watching the likes of Spurs and Glenullin would do little to improve anyone’s mood.

We’ll say no more about Spurs, but we will come back to Glenullin and their awful showing in Croke Park later.

The rainy Sunday afternoon also provided my first glimpse of a Cork football team for 2026, as a second string outfit took on a more experienced Limerick in the McGrath Cup.

Conditions were difficult for what was a mostly callow Cork side and the concession of three goals gave Limerick a four-point margin of victory, 3-11 to 0-15. The result mattered little though as a far more recognisable Cork team had comfortably seen off Tipperary by 1-26 to 0-10 on the previous Tuesday evening. That win was enough to ensure qualification for another McGrath Cup final against Kerry this Saturday in Killarney (1.30pm).

There will be strong interest in John Cleary’s team selection to see if he will revert to the tried and trusted or continue with some experimentation.

The expectation is that Cleary will go strong to get more minutes into the legs of his key players before the Division 2 league opener, and so the bulk of the team that started against Tipperary will be recalled. That said, Cork also played a challenge game against Armagh last weekend and reportedly mostly first-choice squad players were used. If something similar is lined up for this weekend, then we might see more mixing and matching of personnel.

One position that is up for grabs with the departure of Sean Powter is centre-forward. There are a number of options available to Cleary now that weren’t used last year for various reasons. Ruairi Deane has alternated with Powter in recent years and was used there against Tipperary where he offers an extra kick-out option and a goal threat via his direct running. Clonakilty’s Conor Daly started against Limerick and was one of the few to really put his hand up in difficult conditions, particularly in the first half. Darragh Cashman at wing-back was the other who will be most pleased with his afternoon’s work.

David Buckley started at No. 10 and kicked a couple of frees but didn’t have the impact he might have hoped. I would still like to see David given the No. 11 jersey for a game or two in the league because that is where he was outstanding for Newcestown last year. The returning Steven Sherlock could also be eyeing up the central spot in the forwards given his aptitude for long-range kicking, while Eoghan McSweeney presents another different type of option for a calmer, more patient ball-carrier type.

Could St Finbarr's Steven Sherlock do a job at centre forward for Cork?

Sean Walsh, Sean McDonnell and Cathail O’Mahony would be other more unlikely candidates, while Bantry’s young tyro Dara Sheedy has been training with the squad also with an eye on the future.

Who gets the No. 11 jersey in the next couple of games is one of the interesting decisions for the Cork management even at this early stage of the season. I expect Deane may well get the nod for the game against Kerry this weekend, but it is a position that has regained more importance under the new rules – we’ll be using that phrase a little while yet, I venture – and I would like to see some rotation at 11 during the league campaign.

The goalkeeper debate has simmered ever since Alan Quirke hung up his gloves, and while Micheál Aodh Martin has rarely let Cork down, there is always a feeling that Cork are lacking an elite level goalkeeper to make the position their own. Martin is a very good shot-stopper but doesn’t have a commanding physical presence or a kick-out range to match the best in the country. Darragh Newman of St Finbarr’s is the latest challenger to the Nemo man and he may see game time in the coming weeks also.

The line-up for Saturday’s McGrath Cup final and performances against Kerry will have a substantial impact on the Cork management’s thinking for the league opener against Cavan in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday week.

Kerry have used a plethora of new players in their two McGrath Cup games to date, with a handful of more experienced operators thrown in for good measure. They had a good battle against Clare before obliterating Waterford last weekend with Tony Brosnan clipping 1-15 against the Déise. Jason Foley and Tadgh Morley are others to add experience but Jack O’Connor and Co will continue to give game-time to newcomers for the final against Cork.

Doing so represents a win-win situation for Kerry as losing will not concern them at all, whereas winning or even pushing a strong Cork team close will boost their already buoyant morale. Finding another first team squad player or two doesn’t hurt either. The team announcements for this iteration of the McGrath Cup competition are a little more intriguing than the usual.

With that game and the league openers the following weekend looming into view, the inter-county season is about to come to the forefront in earnest. There is one last kick, though, left in the 2025 club season as the senior club All-Ireland finals take place in Croke Park on Sunday. Ballygunner take on Loughrea first in the hurling before Dingle face St Brigids of Roscommon.

I’ll leave the hurling to the hurling people, other than to say congratulations to Kilbrittain on their All-Ireland success last Saturday. It was another excellent advertisement for the value of our club competitions. And the hurling finals on Saturday had more to offer in terms of entertainment than the football finals on Sunday.

I didn’t see Ballymacgelligot’s win in the junior final as I was watching Cork v Limerick, however I did tune in for the intermediate decider between An Ghaeltacht and Glenullin. Having trumpeted the club competitions and the new era of Gaelic football for about a year now, this was a reminder that football can still be quite ugly.

The primary reason for this was the overly-negative approach from the Derry champions who decided to drop as many as three extra players behind the arc and not press An Ghaeltacht players even with the wind behind them in the first half. Kerry might be gaming the system with their structures, and no Cork football person could be too thrilled at the prospect of a Kerry clean sweep of All-Irelands this year, however I was glad to see Glenullin’s approach not bearing fruit.

Be warned, though, more teams will do the same and do it better with more practice – we might see some slower, more pedestrian fare at times in year two of the great experiment. No game is perfect, mind you, but we really were spoiled in the last 12 months. Hopefully, though, the poor fare will continue to be the exception, and I expect the senior final to be a different kettle of fish. Dingle and St Brigids are both fine footballing sides, and there are quality players on both sides. If I’m not out of wishes, my last is that both teams will be at full strength for the biggest occasion of their lives.

If anyone thought I was wide of the mark in suggesting Paul Geaney and Tom O’Sullivan would value success on Sunday at least as much, if not more, than an All-Ireland with Kerry, then I present to you the words of Dara Ó Cinnéide just last week, reflecting on An Ghaeltacht’s 2004 All-Ireland club senior final defeat.

‘We didn’t jump the final fence. That would have beaten any All-Ireland I’ve ever won with Kerry. I captained the Kerry team in 2004, but I’d nearly swap it to get that St Patrick's Day back. That’s the sadness I still have with me.’

That sums up the importance of these club games more than I ever could.

Good luck to all involved on Sunday. Give us a couple more club crackers to sate our appetite before the big boys take over again. We’re blessed in the GAA to have both club and county competitions to savour. It’s not one or the other – it’s both.

One last word, congratulations to my old team-mate Aidan Walsh on adding an intermediate club football All-Ireland to his hurling equivalent with Kanturk. A rare achievement.