Cork Hurling: Do the divisions and colleges still belong? Results suggest yes

Since the introduction of the split season and the revamped Cork club championship formats, opinions have been firmly divided.

On one side, there’s widespread support for the split season’s clarity. Players, management teams, and clubs benefit from a more structured calendar, and that’s reflected in the numbers. A poll carried out last season showed an overwhelming 89% of players surveyed in favour of the current system.

But the opposing argument focuses on what’s been lost – particularly around the inter-county season’s condensed nature and the broader promotion of Gaelic games. From a Cork GAA standpoint, certain competitions have borne the brunt of this shift.

The U21 club championships have suffered, not because of any format change per se, but due to the sheer volume of fixtures packed into a 12-month cycle. Perhaps more noticeably, the Divisions/Colleges section of both the PSHC and PSFC has also seen a decline, especially in participation.

So, has the competitiveness of the Divisions/Colleges section in hurling been weakened?

Ahead of this week’s Divisions/Colleges semi-finals, Imokilly meet Avondhu on Saturday evening (7pm, Church Road), while UCC take on Muskerry at the same time at Riverstown on Sunday – so it’s a fair question to ask.

Imokilly, heavy favourites and reigning county champions, have dominated since the format switch in 2020. They won three titles in a row before the restructure and have added just one since. 

Yet no other team from the Divisions/Colleges bracket has reached a PSHC semi-final since UCC did in that first season under the new format.

Still, when you look closer, the Denis O’Riordan Cup winners have consistently made an impact.

COMPETITIVENESS

In 2020, UCC saw off Duhallow in the semi-final before narrowly beating Imokilly by three in the final. They carried that form into the PSHC knockout rounds, beating Na Piarsaigh and losing out to eventual champions Blackrock by a single point after extra time in the semi-final.

In 2021, Imokilly edged UCC by a point before dismantling Seandún 4-36 to 0-16 in the semi-final. But their run ended at the PSHC quarter-final stage against Glen Rovers, who later lost to Midleton in the final.

The 2022 season featured a healthy eight teams in the Divisions/Colleges section. Avondhu beat UCC in the semi-final but were well beaten by Imokilly in the final. The East Cork outfit were later knocked out by Blackrock on penalties. Again, the team that beat the Denis O’Riordan Cup winners made it to the final, though Rockies would fall to St Finbarr’s.

In 2023, all but MTU fielded, with Imokilly once again coming out on top. They beat Avondhu in the final, saw off Douglas comfortably in the PSHC quarter-final, and lost in extra time to Sarsfields – who would go on to lift the title.

Last season, Carrigdhoun didn’t take part, but Muskerry made it to the final. What followed was one of the most one-sided deciders in recent memory: Imokilly 6-31 Muskerry 0-17. They powered past Fr O’Neill’s and Blackrock to book their place in the PSHC final, where they beat Sarsfields by six.

So while it’s highly likely that Imokilly will claim a fifth straight Denis O’Riordan Cup this season, how far they go in the county championship remains to be seen.

What’s clear, though, is that for all the criticisms levelled at the Divisions/Colleges section since the 2020 restructuring, the winners have remained consistently competitive, and relevant, in the wider championship picture.