How the Munster Club SHC was won: Super Sarsfields savour provincial glory

Given that so much attention has focused on Cork’s poor record in the AIB Munster SHC record over the past decade and a half, it’s only fair that Sarsfields’ achievement should be hailed.

The Riverstown club know all too week about how Newtownshandrum’s 2009 victory had remained the last Leeside triumph – in 2010, 2012 and 2014, their provincial campaigns came to ground, while the 2008 one had, too.

Then, after bridging a nine-year gap between county titles in 2023, it was Sars’ misfortune to run into a Ballygunner team that was close to the height of their powers – the final score at Walsh Park 57 weeks ago was 2-20 to 0-9 for the Waterford side. For Sars to effect a 21-point swing in emerging victorious by 3-20 to 2-19 at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles on Sunday showed the deep resolve in the team and now they can look forward to an All-Ireland semi-final and the chance to grace Croke Park in the new year.

Even so, the idea that the club would be Munster champions is still surreal to captain Conor O’Sullivan.

“I was only saying to my brother Eoin on Saturday that, when I was younger, I remember going to see Erin’s Own and Newtown play in Munster finals with my Dad,” he said.

“I always thought playing with Sars was achievable, I always thought playing with Cork was achievable, but it actually seemed too far to imagine a Munster championship with Sars. It’s unbelievable.”

Sars winning the Munster championship at the fifth attempt also carries some irony as they represented Cork this year as county runners-up, with champions Imokilly unable to advance.

In some ways, that was a help, in the mind of Jack O’Connor.

“It was tough losing a county final to Imokilly,” he said, “but in a weird way, it is nearly a good thing because you are going into the Munster championship with nothing to lose. There is no pressure on you.

“Nobody expected anything of us all, we were rank outsiders. Our thing all week really was just that we are going to give it everything and our work rate was going to be our number one mantra.

“That's what we brought, you could see there with the turnovers, the tackling, and the scores we got from the turnovers, it changed everything and set the tone for us for the whole game. That's what got us over the line.”

The four-week break between the county final and the Munster semi-final against Feakle afforded Sars the time to regroup and refocus. Certainly, once the new competition started, there was no lingering hangover.

“We lost to a very good Imokilly team,” Daniel Kearney said.

“Kerins O Rahillys didn't win a county championship in Kerry a few years ago and they should have beaten Kilmacud so they're a bit of inspiration, examples like that. There is a template there.
"We were written off, we had nothing to lose but it was just to get the performance in. You can see the quality of players that we have. It's great that we could showcase it on the big stage, and people could see it.”

O’Sullivan expands on that, while also making the point that Sars’ previous track record perhaps lacked some important context beyond the bare figures.

“It was tough to bounce back, initially,” he said, “but I remember saying, before the Feakle match, that if you can win one game, you’ll forget the county final and have a bit of momentum.

“I do think that we got a bad rap – all the games we lost in the Munster championship, last year aside, were tight and the teams we lost to were winning Munster and getting to All-Ireland finals.

“We weren’t that far away from it but, at first view, it looks like a horrendous record.”

The heavy loss to Ballygunner brought that into sharper focus. It meant that there was never a stage on Sunday where Sars believed they had won but, equally, it made the achievement all the more satisfying.

“To be fair, last year – I knew everyone says it was a horrendous performance out of us but that was Ballygunner not letting us play,” O’Sullivan said.

“They’re brilliant. Even near the end, we were seven points up and Pauric Mahony goes to me, ‘Well done, Conor,’ and I was saying to him, ‘Ye’re going to come back, ye’re going to win it.’

“I said it in my speech and it wasn’t false platitudes to them, they’re the best club team we’ve ever seen. They’re unbelievable, it’s frightening when you think about it.

“It’s unrealistic for any club to look to copy what they’ve done.”

In a way, the Suirsiders were the ideal opponents as Sars exorcised a few demons.

“Last year was a shocking game but looking back on it, we didn’t feel we did ourselves justice,” O’Connor said.

“We didn’t believe that we were a team 17 points worse than Ballygunner. We left a few opportunities behind us in the first half and they got a killer goal just before half-time.

“Then, we came out in the second half and there was a gale-force wind came on their side and it fell apart then. We said we wanted to right every wrong from last year and we did, so that’s the main thing.”

For Kearney, who has played in All-Ireland finals with Cork and also been there for the previous Munster campaigns with Cork, it was special to be part of this.
“A few years ago when we lost in the group stages to St Finbarr's, I remember looking at the lads and thinking, “Is this it?’” he said

“Just the last few years to bounce back and to win a county and Munster club, you couldn't write it.
"We started on this journey when we were 17-18. Now to be on the other side of it, 34-35, it's what dreams are made of.”

And hopefully, there’s more to come as the All-Ireland final against Slaughtneil looms. O’Sullivan could be leading Sars out at Croke Park, but the idea needs processing – not to mention that the challenge is big.

“Again, it seems so far beyond reality to be talking about it or thinking about it,” he said.

“I’ve seen Slaughtneil playing, the one that was on telly a few weeks ago, and we were all nearly saying that it seemed to be the best game of hurling played all year.

“We’ll have to be fully at it and hopefully there’s only one way to go from here.”