Knocknagree can make an instant impact at Premier Senior but Barrs laid down a marker

St Finbarr’s won their 11th football county in dramatic fashion at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday, with Nemo Rangers yet again tasting the bitter taste of defeat.

The Barrs had lost the 2010, 2017 (after a replay) and 2022 county finals to Nemo, and indeed had never beaten them in a county final ever, so they will have enjoyed this.

Conversely, Nemo, who used to seem invincible once it got to county final day, have now lost the last three deciders. This was the tightest margin of the three, so this will sting for a while.

At this time of year, in wintry conditions, you would not be surprised to be subjected to a tough watch, with slow build-up play and low scoring, but Sunday’s showpiece final was anything but. Both sides looked to move the ball at pace and trusted their shooters, even if those attempts were not always on the money.

The Barrs looked the slightly slicker team early on with some fine scores coming from Steven Sherlock, William Buckley, Ethan Twomey and Brian Hayes, while Ian Maguire and Hayes were getting on a world of ball in the middle.

The game really flipped into gear in a hectic three-minute spell from the 21st minute that saw Nemo go from three down to three up, thanks to a blistering goal from Kevin O’Donovan and a super two-pointer into the breeze by the Nemo Brian Hayes. Nemo were threatening to pull into a sizeable lead only for Sherlock to land a free from fully 50 yards out, with the outside of his trusty right boot, as Nemo led by two at the break.

It turned out to be the opening part of the Barrs' scoring burst, as Sherlock and Rickey Barrett combined down in the left corner to set up a goal for Brian Hayes just after the change of ends.

The Togher club looked the better side after that, but Nemo hung in there and were rewarded for their perseverance when Conor Horgan brilliantly landed a two-pointer as we entered stoppage time to level proceedings.

That only proved to be the start of the drama, however. Cillian Myers-Murray, who had just come on, landed a beauty of a score to regain the lead. And then there was a collective inhaling of breaths in the Park as Horgan’s late equalising attempt came back off the post, to the delight of the Barrs faithful.

In the curtain-raiser that was the Senior A final, Cill na Martra will have serious regrets over some of their decision-making in the first half, as it left them with a hill to climb that proved too steep in the second half.

LOW PERCENTAGE

Firstly, there were a few extremely speculative pops at the posts from outside the two-point arc. Considering they were playing into a very stiff breeze, those were not good percentage plays, with none of them ever threatening to trouble the scorekeeper.

Then there was the sight of a speculative 50/50 ball being sent in the direction of a teammate deep in their own half when the opposition player happened to be one Daniel O’Mahony. It was no surprise that this ended up as a turnover and one quality O’Mahony pass to Niall O’Connor later, the Knocknagree marksman blasted it to the net.

Cill na Martra, to their credit, fought bravely in the second half, but they just could not get the goals they needed to bridge the nine-point half-time deficit, with Knocknagree ending up worthy winners.

It will be very interesting to see how they fare in Premier Senior next year, as they would appear to play a style of football that could well prosper in the top tier.

A special word for Buttevant, who were crowned Premier JFC champions on Saturday after a comfortable victory over St Nick’s. For decades, the thought of any north Cork side lifting county silverware seemed remote, but it is encouraging to see more clubs from Avondhu becoming more competitive.

They have some way to go to reach the heights of fellow Avondhu clubs Clyda Rovers, with their Premier Intermediate title in 2013, and Kilshannig, who won that same title in 2024, but it is certainly a decent start.

With footballers of the calibre of Cathal Hanlon, who kicked a wonderful eleven points, Mark Lenahan, who kicked three, and former All-Ireland minor winner Michael O’Neill, who scored the crucial first half goal, Buttevant can be confident of making their presence felt up a grade.