Promoted sides bounce into new grades

Yesterday, we looked at how relegated teams in the Cork county football championships had fared in their first season down in a new grade.

While the last two teams demoted from premier senior to senior A – Newcestown and Carrigaline – had bounced back at the first time of asking, they were in a very small minority, the only examples of 13 to do so since the championships were reformatted. Twice as many were relegated again.

Today, we look at the opposite side of this particular coin, the teams adjusting to playing at a higher level after promotion the previous year. Again, it’s clear from the data on show that the power of momentum is a strong one.

Carrigaline return to the top flight after a two-year gap and they can take some comfort in the fact that their four predecessors as senior A champions gave good showings – all of them managed to win at least one match.

In 2021, Éire Óg had little time to dwell on their SAFC title as that final had been delayed from the previous year and they were straight into the new campaign – wins over Newcestown and Carbery Rangers gave them second place in their group and they ran St Finbarr’s close in the quarter-finals.

Mallow were the side that the Ovens club had beaten in the second-tier final and the North Cork side bounced back well by going one better in the 2021 season – then they followed that by topping their PSFC group in 2022 and reaching the quarter-finals.

While neither of the SAFC winners since then have made the knockout stages, neither have they been troubled by relegation. St Michaels’ contested a play-off with Douglas to determine who would advance after they finished with identical records while Newcestown came third in their pool in 2024.

The closest instance of a promoted side being immediately relegated came in the 2022 SAFC – Newmarket had to beat Bandon to preserve their status, but even then the Duhallow side were perhaps unfortunate to end up in the play-off as they had drawn a group game.

In any case, they remain an exception across all the grades. The other three sides coming up from the Premier IFC to the SAFC – Knocknagree, Kanturk and Cill na Martra – reached the quarter-finals, with Kanturk losing to eventual winners Newcestown on penalties in 2023.

The PIFC itself has seen the newly promoted sides have a cut on their ascension. While Rockchapel in 2021 were unable to advance from their group, Uibh Laoire the next year made it all the way to the semi-finals – a feat made all the more impressive as they had been operating at junior A in 2020 – and Kilshannig matched that in 2023, before of course building on that progress to go all the way last year.

In the final, they needed a replay to get the better of Aghbullogue, who were looking to go back-to-back after winning the IAFC in 2023.

As mentioned above, Uibh Laoire got on a run in the 2020 season – that JAFC final was delayed until August 2021 but, having won that, they were intermediate A champions just three months later.

While Boherbue in 2022 couldn’t match that, they did make the semi-finals. The reduction of the IAFC for 2023 as part of the creation of the Premier JFC meant there was no applicable promoted team for that campaign, but last year St Finbarr’s followed their victory in the inaugural PJFC by safely finishing in third place in the IAFC.

As the Barrs were leaving the new fifth tier, Canovee were joining it after romping to JAFC glory in 2023. They almost emulated fellow Muskerry side Uibh Laoire from three years previously as they made the final and led neighbours Kilmurry in the closing stages before

being denied at the death.

Nevertheless, they provided further proof of the bounce that promoted teams tend to get.