In defence of Imokilly: 'Why would you deny 30 Cork men the chance to hurl at the top level'

WITH Imokilly retaining the Seán Óg Murphy Cup the debate about divisional teams competing in the senior tier has re-opened.

Midleton played quite well last Sunday at Páirc Uí Chaoimh yet simply couldn’t cope with the power and class of an East Cork outfit led by Seamus Harnedy, Paudie O’Sullivan, Colm Spillane, and Bill Cooper.

Full-back Colm Barry doesn’t have the same profile, despite representing Cork at minor and U21 and lifting the Fitzgibbon Cup with Mary I, yet he is one of the anchors of the team and more than held his own against Luke O’Farrell and Conor Lehane last weekend.

While he understands why there’s a perception a county title with a division can’t match being successful with a club, he doesn’t believe it’s accurate.

“I met a fella coming down the street and he said ‘I wouldn’t like that ye are in the championship, well done but it’s not fair’.

“I explained to him that I want to play a good standard of hurling and with Castlelyons, a small parish, you just can’t compete with the Blackrocks, Midletons, Sars.

Their resources are far greater than ours so it’s a taste of their own medicine.

“I take great pride in saying I’m involved with these lads and pulling on the Imokilly jersey. It’s a privilege and I know I’m lucky.”

With two titles on the bounce and realistic ambitions of another in 2019, could their dominance be off-putting for hurling supporters?

“Look Imokilly only have four club championships. This is just a good crop of players and who knows if we’ll win anything again after this. There will be a natural lull period.

“I remember Conor Lehane delivering in the rain in 2013 against Sars in a county final and I was thinking ‘how am I ever going to get out there?’

“Why would you deny 30 good Cork club hurling men the chance to perform on the biggest day of the calendar in the county?”

His younger brother Jack was in goal with UCC this season, which meant the siblings faced each other in the county semi-final.

That marked Colm’s return to the Imokilly starting line-up, having missed the whole summer with a broken ankle.

He found this year’s final more satisfying than beating Blackrock 12 months ago because they didn’t really click for long spells on that contest. Fergal ‘Rasper’ Condon and his selectors had them ready on this occasion, though they didn’t deploy any man-marking tricks against Midleton, other than putting Harnedy at centre-forward on last year’s minor captain Seán O’Leary Hayes.

“It was a bit of a statement of intent that the management backed us to stick to our positions. Obviously there are certain tactics but it’s about empowering the players to deliver on the day and hurl with a bit of freedom.

“It’s easy to talk about experience as a concept but as a group when you’ve been there before it really does stand to you. Two weeks is a long build-up to be thinking about how you’ll perform but when you’ve done it before you feel more comfortable.

“Midleton have great youth but a lot of those lads weren’t involved in 2013. It was new to them and I think that gave us a definite edge.”

Barry does concede that, even if the stakes are high in the knockout stage of the senior championship, there isn’t quite the same responsibility with Imokilly as Castlelyons.

“You start out playing hurling for fun. You grow to love the game and it’s all about that sense of fun and enjoyment but when you get older there’s a lot of pressure attached to championship games. It’s just so serious and there’s so much at stake for the club.

“It’s not to say there isn’t pressure with Imokilly but there are other players who can step up if you don’t perform. That’s not to blow your own trumpet but taking that pressure away allows you to express yourself.

“I feel I play my best when I have a bit of freedom and that’s the mindset you’re always trying to get into.

“Someone like Paudie has to do a million things for Cloyne. With Imokilly he’s a forward who is there to score. That makes life much easier.”

Of course Barry would love to climbs the steps in the Páirc with Castlelyons, who were beaten by Courcey Rovers after a replay in this year’s PIHC.

“Our intermediate team at the moment is my close bunch of friends. We lost a Premier 1 county minor final to Blackrock and that’s the core of the team now.

“I’ve played 99% of my matches at full-back. The position just kind of suited me. Naturally as a team we developed quite early and our spine was myself, Colm Spillane, Cian O’Leary, Darragh Lawlor at centre-forward and Eoin Barry at full-forward. It stayed like that from U12 up.”

He gained a huge amount from hurling in Mary I, where Colm Galvin, Richie English, Declan Hannon, and Cian Lynch were team-mates, with Eamonn Cregan in charge and Jamie Wall coaching.

“Going to Mary I brought me in touch with hurlers I’d never have had the chance to line out with otherwise. We’d a tight group too because it’s such a small college.

“I couldn’t speak highly enough of Jamie because he’s just so smart in every element of the game and off the field as well.”

The teacher in St Joseph’s NS in Fermoy, where Kieran McCarthy from Ballyhooly is principal, wouldn’t say no if the call came from Cork to try out again.

“I’ve been in and out for challenge matches but I’ve never got a settled run at it. Look the decision isn’t mine to make but, even at 25, it’s still a dream for me. Who knows?”

For now though, there’s a bit of time off due from hurling, particularly as his girlfriend Aisling is based in Dublin.