Premier Senior Hurling: Who will be crowned champion and who will disappoint?
St Finbarr's Brian Ramsey scores a point despite the efforts of Glen Rovers' Donagh Coughlan. Picture: David Keane.
WITH the Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship upon us, the opener between the Glen and Blackrock throws in tonight in Páirc Uí Rinn.
With that in mind, here’s my attempt at predicting the unpredictable, Premier Senior hurling.
I’m expecting another gripping championship in 2023, and there are seven teams that are all within a shout of being crowned champions.
Imokilly and Douglas are both strong, but I don’t think either of the two will have enough to win outright, while Midleton and Blackrock are another two who will also have their eyes on the Seán Óg Murphy Cup.
I think Sars were far too strong in Division 1 this year to be ignored. They annihilated Fr O’Neills, Carrigtwohill, Na Piarsaigh, Blackrock, Erin’s Own and Kanturk, before winning convincingly in the league final.
They’ve certainly benefited from having few players on the Cork panel, and as result they’re coming into this one with a cohesive squad. They’ve got strength in all areas of the pitch, and the quality of Daniel Hogan and Daniel Kearney will be key if they’re to go far this year.
Reigning champions St Finbarr’s will of course be hoping not only to retain the cup, but to complete the double, and their footballers got off to the perfect start last weekend with a win over Mallow.
They have been drawn with Sars, Newtownshandrum and Kanturk, and would be unlikely to not at least make the knockout phases.
With the quality of Damien Cahalane, Ethan Twomey and Ben Cunningham, partnering the fact they’ve got more depth across both codes than any team in the county, they will be strong favourites again this year.
Despite all that, I’ve gone with Glen Rovers. The Downey brothers both made big strides at intercounty level, and with Horgan also in fine form, they’re going to be incredibly difficult to beat.
The only weakness I can see, is that if they’re struck with injuries to key players, things will deteriorate rapidly. They lack depth.
After losing two finals in a row in 2020 and 2021, plus the disappointment of being knocked out by Newtownshadrum last season, the Glen will be itching to set that right in 2023, and I believe they will.
This is certainly the most straightforward to predict. I’ve gone with Bishopstown, for several reasons.
They struggled massively in the league this year, and were relegated from Division 2, only winning two games, against Mallow and Bride Rovers – two clubs competing in Senior A.
You could argue with Kanturk, Erin’s Own, and Charleville, but I feel all three have the quality to beat Bishopstown when it matters.
Not only that, but the Town have been drawn into the group of death, with Midleton, Blackrock and the Glen. All three have featured in at least one county final in the last three seasons, with the Magpies winning one in 2021, and the Rockies the year prior.
It’s hard to choose anyone but Fr O’Neill’s as the dark horse. The Ladysbridge/Ballymacoda outfit are on a high after their Senior A win, and with an impressive Division 1 league campaign where they narrowly missed out on a league final, they’ll be strong this weekend.
A group with Erin’s Own, Douglas and Charleville is as good as it gets, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them top the group.
They’ve got cohesion, quality and pace, and can strike down any of the giants on a good day, as evident by their league form this season.
With Cork senior Declan Dalton cementing his place on the intercounty team this year, I have no doubt his power and shooting will aid them to another successful season.
This is incredibly tough to call, but based on the group format, there can only be two choices here in my opinion. Despite all three being contenders, one of the Group A giants is guaranteed to go out.
I believe it will either be Midleton or Blackrock.
The Magpies were certainly underwhelming last season, and despite the huge number of players on intercounty duty at both senior and U20 level, they managed to turn things around and finish strongly in Division 2.
I feel as though their ability to find quality in depth will make the difference over a Rockies side who’ve been wildly inconsistent and have struggled to be competitive at times.
I would argue Midleton are the better of the two. The east Cork side should just about have enough to edge through and could even go all the way.
The Rockies will definitely be deflated after losing at the final hurdle last year, and it will be a big ask to turn up and get out of this group.
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