Premier Junior Hurling: St Catherine's can go one better this season

It just goes to show how competitive the inaugural Co-Op SuperStores Premier Junior Hurling Championship was last year when the beaten finalists ended up reaching the All-Ireland decider.

St Catherine’s would have been one of the fancied sides to win the Cork championship in 2023 under their experienced manager Denis Walsh, and they were very close to rejoining the intermediate ranks but Erin’s Own’s second team pulled out all the stops to win 1-14 to 2-9.

It does help when you have a Cork senior hurler in Robbie O’Flynn coming off the bench to help you over the line which was the case for the Glounthaune based side. O’Flynn was back from injury and with the first team out of the Premier SHC at that juncture, it was an opportunity to get game time.

Second teams can’t progress out of the county championship these days and of course St Catherine’s had to get over the disappointment of losing the decider and given they are a very young team, it was a fair achievement that they went on to achieve what they did.

The Munster championship is a minefield in any grade and none more so than down at junior level but St Catherine’s were the last ones standing and while they would have been disappointed not to perform to their best against Kilkenny side Tullogher-Rosbercon as they lost 2-21 to 1-13 in the All-Ireland final, the experiences and hurt of last season should stand to them for this championship campaign.

Walsh’s side have to navigate a difficult Premier JHC group first if they want to get back to the latter stages of the championship. Second teams Glen Rovers and St Finbarr’s will be tricky opponents as will Argideen Rangers. The team in yellow and purple open their championship campaign tomorrow against the Glen in Lisgoold at 7.30pm.

St Catherine’s had a solid Division 4 hurling league campaign considering they were up against the likes of Kilworth, Cloughduv, Youghal, Bandon and Ballyhea. The Ballynoe-based outfit finished in third place, collecting 10 points from nine games, two points off the promotion spots.

At the start of last season, not many would have fancied Erin’s Own reserves despite the fact that they won the County JAHC title in the previous season. Also, not many would have expected Tracton to fall through the trapdoor in what was a big surprise having made the final in 2022. It showed how unpredictable the Premier JHC was in 2023 and it could well follow similar lines this year.

St Catherine’s will be looking to go one better and when you have a look at their team, they have plenty of youth and a bundle of energy. Goalkeeper Eoin Davis is arguably the best at this grade of hurling while full-back Eoghan O’Riordan and centre-back Oisín Fitzgerald provide a strong backbone to the defence bringing physicality and leadership.

Kyle Wallace impressed in midfield last year and wherever he plays, he will be a key player. Up front, the Imokilly side have no shortage of firepower with Seán O’Donoghue, Rory Galvin and Eoin Condon all fine hurlers.

St Catherine’s will hope the old saying of having to lose one before you win one applies to them in this campaign.