Premier SFC: Liam O'Connell confident Ballincollig can put it up to St Finbarr's

Liam O’Connell played for Ballincollig in their last Premier SFC semi-final appearance in 2022.

The Village got soundly beaten that day against Nemo Rangers. A lot has happened since then including O’Connell signing for AFL club St Kilda in 2023.

He’s home now given it’s the off-season Down Under. The 22-year-old will be a crucial player for Ballincollig in Sunday’s semi-final against St Finbarr’s at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh (4pm).

O'Connell has played the last two games for the Village in the victories over Douglas and Duhallow.

“It was great to get the clearance from St Kilda to play for Ballincollig,” O’Connell says.

“They really understand and it shows what it means to me how important the GAA is in Ireland.

“St Kilda are really, really good at allowing me to play. I probably found it a bit difficult to adjust back to Gaelic football at the start.

“Actually against Douglas in the first game back, I found it challenging.

“You’re not as clean with the ball as you’d like to be, and probably dealing with that in your own head, but I love being home.

“The group have been so supportive, Luke Fahy, Liam Jennings and some more of the older boys have been great to me. It has just really helped me settle back in.

“We're building away the whole time, which is really positive.” 

Ballincollig take on a St Finbarr’s team who were outstanding in their quarter-final game two weeks ago, beating the holders Castlehaven on a scoreline of 6-11 to 0-19.

O’Connell was impressed, but is confident in his own team.

“St Finbarr's were super. I mean, when you see a team scoring six goals in the Premier Senior Championship, it does raise eyebrows.

“We are looking forward to the challenge. We’ve got that kind of right blend of youth and experience with a few lads that were part of the 2014 county winning team.

“Liam Jennings, JP Murphy, Seán Kiely, Cian Dorgan, a few others. We have then some of the lads that just won the Premier 1 Minor title last year, David O’Leary, my brother Ben and more. We’ve probably got a good panel at the minute.

“It's as strong as I've seen it since I’ve been involved the last number of years. I’m excited, we will focus on ourselves.” 

There’s a valid argument to make that Ballincollig have a point to prove having not delivered in their last semi-final appearance three years ago.

They are the underdogs on Sunday, but if they can give a top performance, who knows what might happen.

“I think we definitely do have a point to prove. I suppose we haven't played in the knockout games for the full 60 minutes over the last few years. We’ve played in patches.

“We’re just trying to develop the whole time with so many young lads to become more consistent as a team, which I think we’re taking steps in the right direction in that regard.

“We’re excited to see what we can do against St Finbarr’s. It is going to be a huge challenge, but we’ll embrace it with open arms, absolutely.”