U-turn as Muskerry U21 A FC final back on this weekend 

Following lengthy talks, the Macroom Motors Muskerry U21 A football championship final will now take place on Sunday.

The attractive decider between Ballincollig and Éire Óg was initially pulled by the Muskerry GAA Board on Wednesday night due to no venue being found, but a resolution has now been established. The U21 B decider between Donoughmore and Inniscarra remains off at the time of writing. 

“Following our efforts in securing pitches for the U21 A and B football finals this coming weekend, we contacted 15 clubs and unfortunately there is no neutral venue available due to the inclement weather at present.

“With this being the case, the CCC of the Muskerry Board have taken the decision to postpone these two finals until a later date in our fixture plan.” The Muskerry GAA statement read on Wednesday. 

Ballincollig against Éire Óg is now down for decision in Donoughmore with throw-in at 3pm on Sunday. White smoke only came just after 3.30pm this afternoon.

There was a big push from three of the clubs in question to complete the finals this weekend, with the deadline to complete the games on Sunday.

Tossing for home advantage was ruled out, so Éire Óg stepped forward with a proposal to host the U21 B final, while Donoughmore did the same in order to get the U21 A final played.

The weather for Sunday isn’t great with Met Éireann forecasting heavy rain and wind. It remains to be seen if the Ballincollig and Éire Óg game even goes ahead depending on the condition of the pitch on Sunday morning.

It’s a familiar pairing in the Mid-Cork U21 A football decider.

Ballincollig and Éire Óg have overall dominated this particular championship for the past 20 years or thereabouts, so it was a surprise that not even one of them reached the final 12 months ago.

Both fell at the semi-final hurdle as Ballinora went on to win the Mid-Cork crown for the first time after victory over Naomh Abán.

Sunday’s final will be the sixth time in seven seasons that both near neighbours will go into battle in the decider.

It's nicely poised in an encounter that should draw a large crowd regardless of the weather. Ballincollig will be looking to the likes of Cillian Power, David O’Leary and Ethan Donovan to shore up the defence.

Up front, Danny Miskella, Pete Kelly and Conor Dalton can all make an impression on the scoreboard.

For Éire Óg, the likes of Shane O’Callaghan and Cillian Murphy will be important in defence. The Clifford brothers, Colm and Darragh, will be key around the middle of the park. Up front, Seán Murphy, Johnny Galvin, Seán Hurley provide the firepower.

The Muskerry U21 C football final scheduled for Saturday in Ballincollig at 3pm between Blarney and an amalgamation of Iveleary and Dripsey has been called off. 

Elsewhere, the Barnes Jewellers Avondhu U21 A football championship final between Kilshannig and Mallow has been postponed. It was due to be played in Mourneabbey tonight, but the pitch was deemed unplayable this morning.

The Avondhu Board looked at other options, but they made the call to push the decider out to the summer. It’s provisionally down for Saturday, June 28.