Premier IHC: Ballincollig don't want to lose Ronan Curran just yet

While Ronan Curran’s time with the Ballincollig hurlers will be a brief one, the end date remains a moveable feast.

The three-time All-Ireland winner will be a key part of the backroom team of new manager Ben O’Connor, meaning that the 2025 season will be a case of one-and-done for him and the mid-Cork side.

However, that season is still in train – they take on Dungourney in today’s Co-op SuperStores Premier IHC semi-final in Caherlag (4pm) and victory would put them in the final in a fortnight.

Fenton Denny is one of those who has helped Ballincollig to get this far and he is keen to ensure that Curran’s involvement lasts another while longer.

“He's as honest as they come and this [Cork] is a big gig for him, but his main focus is now,” he said.

“That’s what he’s reiterated to us since it’s come out and we appreciate that honesty.

“We know where we want to go and where he wants to take us.”

So far, it has been a mutually beneficial relationship as Ballincollig have enjoyed the benefits of the St Finbarr’s man’s expertise.

“When you heard the news, it was kind of like, you're going to act like a sponge for all year,” Denny says.

“Whatever he has to offer you, you're going to be all ears there for it. It's just whatever nuggets you take from it, really, and I think the lads have taken it really well.

“It’s well and good getting someone like that but we have to be, I suppose, receptive of the coaching he's going to give us as well. That's kind of the thing here, there's a massive respect there.”

Curran, working under manager Eamon Keating, is carrying on the previous good work of Johnny and Danny Dwyer and Denny feels it has been an enjoyable journey for the panel, not least because of the precarious nature of the grade.

“It's great in that almost anyone can win it,” he says, “but the flipside of that is that anyone can end up in the relegation either, anyone can get knocked out.

“We got to the semis last year, but there was no guarantee you were going to get back to, like you had to earn it, like.

“You can see some teams that, when they do drop, they kind of keep dropping, and you see some teams, when they do rise, they keep rising.

“It's one of those grades where contenders come from all angles.”

If any reminder was required for Ballincollig, it came with the opening defeat to Ballinhassig, which essentially served to put them on a knockout footing. Since then, though, wins over Kilworth, Castlemartyr and Carrigaline have provided momentum.

“Any loss is tough to deal with,” Denny says, “it's just how you kind of bounce back from it.

“I suppose it's a cliche kind-of-thing to say, but Curran was brilliant, it was just kind of more of a reset and go again.

“There was a lot of learnings after that game but since then, we’ve kind of backed it up with three nice performances here in the last couple of weeks.

“It's kind of showing that we have kind of built on from it.”