Hamilton HS Bandon relishing huge test against Mercy Mounthawk in Corn Uí Mhuirí semi-final

Hamilton High School Bandon will appear in only their second ever TUS Corn Uí Mhuirí semi-final today.

The West Cork side take on holders Mercy Mounthawk in Mallow with throw-in at 12 noon. They are the last Cork team standing with the other semi-final an all-Kerry affair of St Brendan’s College Killarney and Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine Kenmare.

The Hammies' previous and only last four appearance was in 2022 and their run to this round of the famous football competition has surprised many this season. They will be underdogs this afternoon against the Kerry opposition, but that won’t bother them.

Hamilton High School manager Paddy Lordan says his team have the belief that they can be very competitive.

“There’s a great buzz in the school and we are delighted to be in the semi-final,” he said.

“We set a target at the start of the season of getting out of the group as a minimum. That would have been before any draw was made. We beat Coláiste an Spioraid Naoimh, drew with Clonakilty Community College and beat Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine Kenmare. It was a difficult group, but we were quietly confident of qualifying and to finish top was great. We avoided the preliminary quarter-final as that was the hurdle we fell at last season.

“We wanted to do better than that so to be in the semi-final is brilliant. We played very well the last day against Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne. It was a great performance, but we know that we have to up it another notch or two at the weekend.” 

Hamilton High School will look to take a Kerry scalp for a third time this season in the Corn Uí Mhuirí having defeated Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine Kenmare in the group stage and then Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne in the quarter-final last Wednesday week.

“The talk had been about Patrician Academy and Rochestown and to be honest, we were happy with that,” Lordan says.

“There hasn’t been any pressure on us. We are the last Cork team in the Corn Uí Mhuirí and while that is great and an achievement in itself, it’s not something we are buying into either. Yes we are proud of it, but we aren’t turning it into a Cork versus Kerry thing. At the end of the day, it’s Hamilton High School against Mercy Mounthawk.

“Obviously our opponents at the weekend are an exceptional team. Any team that wins the O’Sullivan Cup in Kerry isn't bad and their results in the Corn Uí Mhuirí last season and this season speaks for itself. We won’t be going into this with any fear though. What we have been saying to the lads all season really is that we will go out with our plan and see how we get on. We will make tweaks at times, but we always worry about ourselves.

“There’s huge talent within our squad and we are aware of that. In one sense, I am delighted that people are seeing that now. There are certain individuals on our team who might have not always been involved with Cork development squads. There’s some serious talent in our squad that is coming to fruition. I have been involved with this group since U14 level in the school and I have seen them develop.” 

Hamilton High School delivered a really strong team performance last day out in the quarter-final against Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne and the manager knows a performance is a must this afternoon.

“The main objective is to give a good account of ourselves. We will be going into this with the mindset that we can win this game. There’s no point in playing if we don’t believe that we can come out on the right side. Once we play to the best of our ability, I will be happy with that.” Lordan concluded.