Dr Harty Cup quarter-finals postponed

The four TUS Dr Harty Cup quarter-finals that had been scheduled to take place on Wednesday afternoon have all been postponed.

The games – Midleton CBS v St Flannan’s College, Gaelcholáiste Mhuire AG v Cashel CS, CBC Cork v De La Salle Waterford and Ardscoil Rís v Thurles – have been put back based on the poor weather that is forecast for Wednesday.

Next Monday, January 13, has been set as the new date for the four fixtures, with times and venues to follow.

Seven Cork schools featured among the 21 that participated in this year's Harty. Coláiste Choilm, Charleville CBS, St Francis College Rochestown and Fermoy's St Colman's College eliminated after the group stage.

Gaelcholáiste Mhuire faced St Colman's in a make-or-break last group game after both had lost to De La Salle - victory that day earned the northside school a place in the preliminary quarter-finals. There, they produced an epic comeback against Blackwater CS at Castlelyons, fighting back to force extra time before seeing off the Lismore school.

The AG now face Cashel, a repeat of the opening fixture of the 2023-24 group campaign, when they beat the Tipperary school, who were the defending champions at the time.

Both of the other Cork schools still standing progressed directly to the last eight. CBC have been very impressive to date, beating John The Baptist CS of Hospital, Ennis's Rice College and Scoil ba Tríonóide Naofa from Doon to top Group 1 with a scoring difference of 22 points. They and the winners of the other two four-team groups, Cashel and Ardscoil Rís, moved straight to the quarter-finals, while there was a draw between the three sides that topped the sections featuring three teams each.

Midleton CBS had fortune in their favour in that regard - after a 25-point win over Rochestown gave them top spot ahead of holders Nenagh CBS by the narrowest of margins, the East Cork school then came out of the hat for the quarter-final golden ticket.

The semi-finals of the competition, which had been down for Saturday, January 18, have been put back as a result and will now take place on Wednesday, January 22. The winners of the Midleton/Flannan's game will take on the victors of the clash between Cashel and Gaelcholáiste Mhuire while CBC or De La Salle will take on either Thurles or Ardscoil.

The final remains set for Saturday, February 1.

Meanwhile, the Canon O’Brien Cup hurling game between UCC and Cork, which had been due to be played on Thursday night at the Mardyke, has been postponed by 24 hours.

The match will now take place on Friday at 7pm. Entry to the venue is €5, with all proceeds going to the Dillon Quirke Foundation.