It's 30 years since Nemo stopped the Barrs Cork County senior double 

IT'S 30 years since Nemo Rangers denied St Finbarr’s the double by defeating their southside rivals 0-13 to 0-4 in the Cork Senior Football Championship final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in 1993.

It was a derby for the ages - and the fixture resonated last year when the two clubs met in the final once again, just weeks after the Blues lifted the Seán Óg Murphy Cup.

1993 was actually the first time that the two clubs met at that stage of the competition – and it added a whole new dimension to a sporting feud that gets blurred when walking through Turner’s Cross and the halls of Coláiste Chríost Rí.

To Nemo, it was a special day considering 21 years had gone by since their first ever victory in the Cork Senior Football Championship. They were also out for revenge after losing the 1992 final to O’Donovan Rossa, a group that would go on to win the All-Ireland.

They watched that from the outside, plotting their return to the top while St Finbarr’s fought on two fronts. 

The Blues ticked one trophy off their list by beating Carbery in the final of the Cork Senior Hurling Championship. 

That helped foster a unique sense of excitement in Togher, a feeling that was enhanced by the panel losing three consecutive finals between 1989 and 1991. 

This surely had to be it, was the consensus around the parish. Andy Scannell had to be coming back after that much disappointment in such a short period of time.

The 1993 final ended up as a collision course between two giants of Cork football and Nemo were tipped as slight favourites by reporters.

The Cork Examiner put that tag on Nemo over the way they beat Muskerry in a replay of the semi-finals. 

The newspaper – in an extended preview of the game – did advise supporters to be cautious as the club were expected to beat O’Donovan Rossa in 1992 and they went home empty handed.

What Nemo had was resilience and talent, and they used that to tear through the early rounds of the Cork championship.

Muskerry threatened to derail their plans, as Nemo were without Shea Fahey for the semi-final in Innishannon. 

The club were over run in midfield on the day, and they managed to get a draw with two Colin Corkery goals going a long way.

In Togher - the hurlers were celebrating their success over Carbery and seven members of that panel were looking ahead to the football final. 

The Cork Examiner said that this could give the club an added edge, as the dual-players were full of confidence.

The Blues also had experience to steady them on the day as goalkeeper John Kerins and wing backs Michael Carey and Mick Slocum still remained from their last championship success in 1985.

With these factors taken into account by local reporters, it was predicted to be a close final and that is exactly what happened at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

Nemo lined out as follows for the final: D Bevan; J Kerrigan, N Creedon, P Dorgan, K Cowhie, T Griffen, T Nation, S Fahy, S O’Brien, J Kavanagh, T Dalton, S Calnan, P Lambert, E Fitzgerald, C Corkery.

St Finbarr’s lined out as follows for the final: J Kerins; K Scanlon, S O’Leary, M Carey, B O’Connell, N Leonard, D Haines, E Barrett, P O’Keeffe, I O’Mahony, J Costello M Comyns, J Keating, M Buckley, B O’Shea.

The actual game was a ‘lacklustre’ as the two teams seemed to be afraid of losing the ball and giving away cheap turnovers. 

That led to a slow 60 minutes that did very little to create a sense of fanfare in the stands filled with 9,000 spectators.

Nemo took an early lead and St Finbarr’s tried to get back in the game by creating space for Ivan O’Mahony. 

His shot was put out for a 45 by Don Bevan, and that ended up as one of the few moments of promise from a Blues team that struggled to create anything in the final third of the pitch.

Everywhere else was a battle – with the midfield a scrap between Eric Barrett and Paul O’Keeffe and their rivals wearing black and green. Slocum used all of his experience to close down space and stop Nemo’s forwards, but that only lasted so long.

Corkery was one of those players that took advantage of when the Barr’s were pried open, and he finished with 0-6 in his personal record book. 

That inspired Nemo to win 0-13 to 0-4 and the Andy Scannell Cup returned to Turner’s Cross.

The club used this as a springboard to win the Munster Senior Club Football Championship, and Errigal Ciarán were beaten in the All-Ireland semi-finals. 

Nemo’s run concluded at Croke Park with a 3-11 to 0-08 victory over Castlebar Mitchels.

It a historical season for the club and it concluded in the only way that Nemo know how to finish out a campaign. 

30 years it still resonates as one of the defining matches in a rivalry that dominates Cork football.