Na Piarsaigh have taken learnings from recent years as they bid for a successful SAHC season

Na Piarsaigh haven’t been too far away in the Co-Op SuperStores SAHC over the last two seasons.

But then again, the other teams in the grade could say the same thing, there isn’t a puck of a ball between all of them. 

For Na Piarsaigh though, it really has been a case of so close yet so far. They drew with Killeagh in 2023 in the final group game to miss out on qualification on scoring difference and last year, were beaten by Castlelyons at the quarter-final stage after an epic penalty shootout.

It’s obvious what the aim for the northside club is this year, to get back to the top table after suffering demotion in 2022.

“We have learnt a lot from the last couple of seasons,” selector Christy Connery says.

“It’s never nice to lose a game in the way we did against Castlelyons, but it was probably one of the best performances that we put in last year. It was gratifying to a certain extent. There wasn’t too much we did wrong that evening to be fair, maybe a few better decisions on the ball, but that happens.

“The strength in depth maybe wasn’t what we would have liked. It’s all about building on it and seeing if we can go a step or two further in the championship this time around. Unfortunately, we have lost a few players from last year, the Forde brothers and the Gunning brothers, so that hasn’t helped, but we have young lads coming, which is great.

“Sometimes, a bit of freshness is what is needed. We have made progress since relegation, but still have a lot more work to do. Relegation was the end product of where the club was going for a few years. Realistically, we are in a transition period now if you want to call it that.

“There have been some great players that have retired in recent years, the likes of Christopher Joyce and so on. There are new lads coming through, there’s no quick fix. We were relegated for a reason because we weren’t good enough.” 

Na Piarsaigh meet their old foes in Killeagh once again tomorrow in Midleton at 7.30pm in their first game in the group. It doesn’t get any easier after that, Carrigtwohill and Fermoy are the other opponents in the group.

“I would say the Senior A grade is more competitive than Premier Senior,” the Na Piarsaigh selector said.

“All of us at this Senior A level are evenly matched. We only know too well of the fine margins. Of course, our aim is to get Na Piarsaigh back to the top, but it’s going to take time, hopefully not, hopefully it will be a work in motion. We are under no illusions, it will be tough.

“We are hopeful for this year, but we will wait and see. We have to hit the ground running.” 

To do that, the northside team will have to defeat a Killeagh side who are ticking along nicely. They earned promotion from Division 2 this year while Na Piarsaigh just about survived in that division. 

“If we are being honest, Killeagh are probably the form team in Cork at the moment. It’s going to be a really difficult test for us. Please God we can be on the right side of the tight margins this year. We are approaching the championship with confidence and hopefully it will go our way.

“We are all looking forward to the start of the championship, it’s a great time of the year.”