John Horgan: Munster glory shows impressive depth of Cork hurling
Fermoy's James Fitzpatrick is tackled by Killeagh's Christy Coughlan during the Co-Op Superstores JBHC final at Páirc Uí Rinn. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
BACK in the '70s and '80s, Cork clubs, the big three in the city, the Rockies, Barrs and the Glen reigned supreme in the Munster Club Championship and it was very difficult for the rest to get a look in.
Those teams contained some of the finest hurlers the country has ever produced, players with plenty of Celtic Crosses in their possession. Given the very competitive nature of the game in the province, it was hugely difficult to end up on the winner's rostrum on final day and that remains the case to this day.
One achievement that eluded those great Cork clubs was that they never managed to put three titles together in three consecutive years.
They won back-to-back titles but not the three on the trot and quite a few other clubs outside the county, Na Piarsaigh from Limerick, Sixmilebridge from Clare, Roscrea from Tipperary, Mount Sion from Waterford retained the crown but putting three together proved to be a bridge too far.
However, that all changed last Sunday in Thurles when Ballygunner achieved the quite remarkable feat of the three-in-a-row.
Firstly, it's difficult enough to win three county titles in your own county although Ballygunner have won 10 in 10 years in Waterford. Now that they have gone further than all the rest in the province has to mark them down as one of the greatest club teams of all time.
And you just have to admire what they managed to achieve against Clare's Clonlara last Sunday, you just have to admire greatness in any code.
In the games against Sars and Clonlara, it would be fair to state that the result was almost beyond doubt by the 20th minute. They just hurled the opposition on both counts off the pitch in that period and some of the hurling that they played was a joy to behold.
Against Clonlara they were simply awesome, waves of attacking play resulting in some sublime scores from superb hurlers like Pauric Mahony, Kevin Mahony, Dessie Hutchinson and Patrick Fitzgerald.
When you have the game all but wrapped up by half-time there might be a tendency to take the foot off the accelerator a slight bit thereafter but that wasn't the case at all on a bitter Winter's day in the great hurling theatre that Semple Stadium is.
Yes, they were magnificent all through and to quote Anthony Daly in Monday's he stated that it was a vintage performance, full of panache and brilliance, decorated with some outstanding scores and it was heavily loaded with every aspect of steel and resolve that has made this team great.
That in one sentence summed up Ballygunner's display and whether or not they go on to win the All-Ireland club title, this achievement may not be equalled for a very long time and maybe never.
The Munster decider was in stark contrast to the Leinster finale between O'Loughlin Gaels from Kilkenny and Na Fianna from Dublin. This one was an enjoyable affair all through and it went right to the wire with the men from Noreside getting home by the bare minimum.
They'll be a threat in the All-Ireland, aren't all Kilkenny club teams in all grades? The biggest hurdle awaiting Ballygunner could be the Galway champions, St Thomas though. Cushendall from Antrim will be no pushover for any opponent either and there is the prospect of some great hurling to look forward to in the new year.
Whilst saluting Ballygunner for what they have achieved, we must also give warm words of praise to Castlelyons and St Catherine's for winning out in Munster in the intermediate and junior grades respectively. There's only a few miles separating both clubs and both achievements have to be given a top rating.
And all the more so because in representing Cork in those grades you have to get through a tough group stage initially at home and thereafter even more difficult opponents in the knockout stage of the competition.
The Premier Intermediate grade in Cork is regarded as being the most competitive of the lot with six or seven teams being fancied by different pundits at the outset. Very little separates the vast majority of the 12 participants and you just cannot predict with any degree of confidence how things will pan out.
In the Cork final, Castlelyons had to dig very deep to get the better of Kilworth after eliminating last season's beaten finalists, Castlemartyr in the semi-final.
St Catherine's came up short in the premier junior final against Erin's Own and did not play particularly well in that game. Not winning our own county title can have a devastating effect for a lot of clubs and some might throw their hat at it when they represent the county, just wanting the season to end.
They reinvented themselves under the astute guidance of former Cork boss, Denis Walsh and the reward was theirs in Mallow last Saturday against Feenagh/Kilmeedy from Limerick. Walsh, a top hurling man, had no problem in giving youth its fling and they dug out a win of great significance.
They might not have come out on top on Leeside but now they are going to be worthy Cork representatives in the All-Ireland series as will, of course, their near neighbours a few miles down the road in Castlelyons. So, two of the three Munster club hurling titles have ended up with Cork clubs and as they say, two out of three ain't bad.
A mention must be given too to the Cork County Junior B winners Fermoy who defeated a very highly-rated Killeagh side in the decider at Páirc Uí Rinn. Junior B might be the seventh tier of Cork hurling but winning it means every bit as much as the team that wins out much further up the line.
Fermoy had a fine blend of youth and more experienced campaigners and that balance has paid a rich dividend.
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