Munster SFC draws to take place this Saturday

THE 2024 Munster SFC draws will take place this weekend.

The draws will be broadcast live on RTÉ Radio 1 Saturday Sport and will be streamed on the RTÉ website. With the 2023 inter-county season in the rear-view mirror, and only a small number of managerial positions to be filled, attention has turned to the 2024 campaign.

John Cleary’s Rebels will find out their opposition this weekend as they aim to make a serious impression in the Munster championship. Cork haven’t won the provincial title since 2012 when the Leesiders hammered Clare in the final on a scoreline of 3-16 to 0-13, played in front of a crowd of 9,139 in the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick.

The 2023 Munster finalists, Kerry and Clare, will be seeded for the 2024 competition and both go directly to the semi-final stages. A bowl including Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford will be drawn to provide two quarter-final pairings. There will be an open draw for the semi-finals, which will be Kerry, Clare and the two quarter-final winners.

The 2023 campaign was largely positive for Cork in what was Cleary’s first full season at the helm, but despite all the good work achieved, there would have been disappointment and regrets over the 0-14 to 0-13 defeat in the Munster championship quarter-final to Clare above in Cusack Park in Ennis. Cork came into it on the back of a strong Division 2 league campaign after finishing mid-table while Clare were relegated from the same league albeit very unfortunate to do so.

Cork’s target would have been to reach a Munster final in all likelihood against Kerry, but it wasn’t to be. Reaching an All-Ireland quarter-final in 2024 at the very least for a third successive season will be high on the list, but making a Munster final will also be top of Cleary’s agenda. The squad return for pre-season training in the middle of November.

While the Munster championship has been somewhat diluted by the introduction of the All-Ireland group-stage system, winning a provincial football championship for the vast majority of counties is a significant achievement. Cork have been stuck on 37 Munster titles since 2012, wouldn’t it be nice if the Rebels pushed up to 38 next season. The Leesiders have work to do before they catch Kerry, with the Kingdom on 84 crowns at the top of the roll of honour, with Cork 27 ahead of third-placed Tipperary.

Cork, under Conor Counihan, were in their pomp in 2012, and the manner of their Munster success that year suggested Cork would be around for a while. But, it doesn’t always work out like that and by the end of the 2013 campaign, Counihan stepped down as boss and since then there hasn’t been too much to shout about in truth.

Keith Ricken started to turn the boat until he had to resign due to illness, and there is no doubt since Cleary was initially appointed on an interim basis in March 2022 before getting the position full-time in July 2022, that Cork seem to finally see light at the end of the dark tunnel.

Between 2003 and 2013, Cleary shared in no fewer than eight Munster title triumphs as a key member of the Cork U21 management set-up. As a player, the proud Castlehaven man won six Munster senior medals and no doubt he would love to win one at senior level as a manager.

This scribe can remember Cork beating the old enemy in 2008 in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on a scoreline of 1-16 to 1-11. It was a magical day down by the banks of the Lee. Michael Cussen coming off the bench to score 1-1, Daniel Goulding putting in a masterclass of free taking as he finished up with seven points, five coming from placed balls. Winning a provincial championship mattered back then and still matters today.

Cork will head into the 2024 season 12 years without claiming the Munster championship crown. It’s about time that comes to an end. The draw on Saturday will hopefully be the starting point of a successful 2024 campaign for the Rebel footballers.