Freemount aiming to reap some junior joy in county final

Freemount are hoping that it’s second time lucky in terms of 2020 county finals when they clash with Araglen in the Co-op Superstores JBHC decider at Páirc Uí Rinn tomorrow (3pm).

Earlier this year, it looked as if the junior B hurling and football and junior C football competitions would be cancelled. When this planned cessation was announced at the May meeting of Cork County Board, Freemount delegate John O’Flynn was one of those expressing concern and, now, following the reversal of that move, he is a selector as the team face into a second decider of the much-delayed season.

Back in June, Freemount made it to the JCFC final, losing out to Lough Rovers, but they regrouped to bounce back in the JBHC with wins over Randal Óg and O’Donovan Rossa. Now they face Araglen, whom they saw off in the JCFC during the short window of activity in 2020.

“It’s funny, in a way,” O’Flynn says.

“Last year, when the competition was due to be played, we were short a few players but they’re back with us now this year.

“We got to the final of the junior C final, but we had a bad day in Páirc Uí Rinn against Lough Rovers.

“We have a couple of Lismire players that play hurling with us and football with them. Other than that, bar a couple that just concentrate on the hurling, the teams would be the same.

“We wouldn’t have put much of an emphasis on football over the years, hurling has nearly always been the main code.”

In the past, Freemount have won six Duhallow junior A championships.

“We were junior A all along,” O’Flynn says.

“We made it to the county junior A hurling final in 1998, against Bride Rovers,” he says.

“It’s a game we could have won, really – they were a much better team than us but, on the day, we could have taken them.

“A few of that team played for Bride Rovers in the county senior final ten years later.”

While Bride became an established senior club, Freemount struggled to get back to the same levels and ultimately took the decision to decamp to junior B but, as O’Flynn outlines, it was a move that has had a positive effect.

“The first year that we came down junior B was 2019,” he says.

“We had a number of players lost and others were shoving on so we were struggling at junior A. When you go out and all you’re concerned about is how much you’re going to get beaten by, you need to have a look at that.

“By dropping down, we were able to play in the junior B championships and leagues but still be in the junior A hurling league in Duhallow. The only thing we lost out on really were junior A championship matches and, the way we were going, we were losing all of those anyway.

“We felt that, by going this way, we’d get a lot more games and be a lot more competitive and we won the Duhallow championship in 2019. We played Castletownroche in the county semi-final that year and I would say that it’s the last game in Cork that went to two periods of extra time.

“They won in the second period and went on to beat Lough Rovers in the final. This is our second attempt at the competition, even though it’s a year late.”

At underage level, players from Freemount play under the banner of St Mark’s with neighbours Meelin.

“Numbers are a problem and that’s the main issue,” O’Flynn says.

“We’re joined with Meelin and Rockchapel but even then some of the underage teams have to play in the lower grades as it’s 13-a-side.

“The last couple of years, we’ve got more younger players in so you’d be hoping that, if we did win, we’d more competitive back up at junior A.”

And helping them get there is renowned coach Mossie Barrett, to whom O’Flynn gives much credit.

“Mossie has been with us for the last three years,” he says.

“He would be primarily recognised as a football coach but he has been doing both codes with us for the past while.

“He’s a great coach and we’re lucky to have him.”