Erin's Own look to finish a hard year with a familiar fight for silverware

This has not been a kind season for Erin’s Own. In years gone by, they’ve always found something to show for their efforts – a title, a run, a reason to believe.

Last year was the first since 2021 that ended without silverware in hurling, their Intermediate A hurling challenge cut down by Lisgoold in the county final.

This year’s story has been tougher still. Their relegation play-off defeat to Newtownshandrum means that 2026 will be the first time in 38 years that the blue and red won’t line out in the top tier of Cork hurling.

Yet even in that disappointment, there’s a flicker of life. The Caherlag club remain alive in two competitions – as Junior A football selector Michael Mulcahy points out, there’s still something worth fighting for.

They face Carraig na bhFear in the East Cork Junior A Football Championship final on Monday, October 27 in Ballinacurra, while their U21 hurlers meet Bride Rovers in the East Cork semi-final on the Saturday.

“It's been good so far, getting to the final is brilliant. I wasn't expecting it at the start of the year,” Mulcahy admits. “We hadn't done a lot of training because of the hurling. But when the hurlers got knocked out, we had a lot of lads come back, which made training a bit easier.

“Things worked for us. We're in the final, we're playing Carraig na bhFear again, and it could go either way. It's 50-50.” 

The return of senior hurlers has boosted the panel, but Mulcahy stresses that loyalty to those who carried the campaign matters just as much.

“It's excellent for getting a squad and for training,” he explains. “We've tried staying loyal with the fellas we've had all year.

“Then you have the hurlers coming back, which strengthens up the whole squad, which is good. We had, I think, 34 togged out [for training], which is a huge number for what we've had so far this year.

“It's great and it brings a bit of buzz around to training and helps the training as well for playing matches and stuff like that.” 

FAMILIAR 

Erin’s Own know this championship well. They’ve lifted the East Cork Junior A title six times since their first in 1994, most recently in 2017 and 2019. That 2017 run even carried them to the county final – where they met John Fintan Daly’s Knocknagree, the same team now preparing for this weekend’s Senior A decider against Cill na Martra.

“I was involved that year,” Mulcahy recalls. “That was an unbelievable Knocknagree team, even though we gave them a good run, but they were just a different level.

They went on to win the All-Ireland that year. They are playing the Senior A final, and they could be playing Premier Senior.

“That'll tell you how good they were.” “I've played a lot of junior football down through the years, and they were just an exceptional junior team. Fair dues to them, they kept it going.” 

Erin’s Own have done the same. Resilience has long been their hallmark, and it’s showing again.

For 23-year-old wing-back Ronan Blackton, Monday week brings another reunion with familiar rivals.

“We seem to get drawn against them every year in the group,” he says. “There've been narrow wins, narrow defeats. I think a few draws have been thrown in there as well. So we're expecting nothing different on Monday week.” 

He, too, has felt the lift of senior players filtering back into the football setup.

“It's huge for us. To be fair, on the other hand, though, we got to breed a lot of young fellas like Tom Riordan, Cathal Nolan, Paddy Bennett and Darren Murphy, especially in those early games when maybe we didn't have everyone available.

“I know, but to be fair, to have everyone back now is a huge plus and to have, 30 lads up football training on a Tuesday night, we don't get that every year and we're just delighted to be back in a final.” 

It won’t erase the hurt of relegation, but a divisional title would at least end the year with pride restored. And there’s no doubt they’ll be the frontrunner for Senior A glory next season.