Buttevant boss pays emotional tribute to Miah Ahern after historic county success 

Buttevant manager Joey Hanlon was an emotional character in so many ways following a historic success at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday evening.

The Avondhu side defeated St Nick’s in the McCarthy Insurance Group Premier JFC final on a scoreline of 1-15 to 0-10.

It ended Buttevant’s 99-year wait for county football glory at adult level.

The winning boss had the late Miah Ahern firmly in his thoughts. The former Kildorrery player passed away in December 2023 after a battle with cancer. 

At the time of his passing, he was a selector under Hanlon and was key to Buttevant’s Avondhu JAFC success in 2022. The number 22 jersey is retired as a mark of respect.

“The players deserve this triumph so much, we’ve had tough times over the last number of years,” Hanlon says post-match.

“Losing a young man Miah Ahern to cancer two years ago was tough. Last year we brought that with us and I suppose it was baggage. This season we said we’ll go out and represent him.

“He’ll always be with us. We’ll be going over to Kildorrery to his grave with the trophy. He said on his deathbed that he hoped that we would go on and win the county. We’ve done it now. This is for him."

It was a final where Buttevant never allowed St Nick’s to play their brilliant football that brought them to this stage. The black and amber were able to enjoy the last few minutes before the final whistle blew.

Four two-pointers, all in the opening 30 minutes, laid the foundation.

“It’s just absolutely fantastic. Winning this county has been the aim for us. We’re over the moon. We can drive back up to Buttevant as an Intermediate A club now.

“It's so rewarding. It hasn’t sunk in to be honest. It was a super performance. We visualised that performance. It underlined how much we’ve grown up.

"We kicked some really good two-pointers. The thing about the two-pointers is, out of 10 shots you could kick over five and that’s 10 points. That’s our motto is to go for the two-pointers.

“It did help us settle down. It was nice to be able to look around and shake fellas’ hands just before the final whistle. This does mean the world to us.

“We’ll definitely enjoy ourselves over the next few days.” 

This current Buttevant crop have written themselves into the club’s history books. 99 years of hurt is over. 1926 was the last time the North Cork club won an adult county football championship.

“It wasn’t our baggage at all really, that 99 years. In fact, we didn’t even know about it until we got to the final, so it certainly wasn’t our baggage. It was on the club’s back, I suppose.

“We have plenty of plans and I know you might think that we overlooked the final by making plans, but if you don’t believe, you’re nothing. We believed that we’d win today and we’re really going to celebrate it now.” Hanlon ended.

Buttevant will face Waterford side Shamrocks away from home in the Munster JFC quarter-final on Saturday week (8th).