St Finbarr's will be forewarned going into Clonmel Commercials battle

St Finbarr’s might be favourites this weekend in their AIB Munster Club SFC quarter-final but they will be forewarned.

The Togher side, who won the McCarthy Insurance Group Premier SFC title last month after a four-year wait, take on Tipperary winners Clonmel Commercials on Saturday in Clonmel (1.15pm).

One advantage that St Finbarr’s will have is that they will be well rested. They haven’t played competitively since defeating Nemo Rangers three weeks ago.

On the other hand, their opposition only won the county in Tipperary last Saturday after victory over Kilsheelan-Kilcash.

There was a sad reason behind the delay though. It was due to the untimely passing of Tipperary football boss and proud Clonmel Commercials clubman Philly Ryan midway through last month, the championship was paused for a short period.

There were emotional scenes last weekend and naturally so given how much of an impact Ryan had on Clonmel Commercials.

It’s a quick turnaround for them, something they won’t be bothered by. They have enough quality and experience to deal with something like this.

They have a brilliant forward in the experienced Michael Quinlivan, Séamus Kennedy has no shortage of experience either at the back.

Seán O'Connor is a player we know well on Leeside. The sharpshooter played a key role when UCC won the Sigerson Cup in 2023.

Clonmel Commercials will have no problem with the underdog tag. They are the only team to beat Nemo Rangers twice in Munster Club SFC history.

They are a side not to underestimate and St Finbarr’s will be absolutely well aware of what’s ahead of them.

Clonmel Commercials were raging underdogs three years ago in the provincial quarter-final against Nemo and turned them over by seven points at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

St Finbarr’s will want to make the same impact though that they made when they last competed in the Munster Club SFC back in the 2021/22 campaign. The city outfit lifted the trophy before losing the All-Ireland semi-final after extra time to Kilcoo of Down.

In total, the Barrs have won the Munster title on five occasions. 

A lot has happened since they defeated Kerry’s Austin Stacks in January 2022 in the Munster final. 

If St Finbarr's are tuned in though, the expectation is that they will have enough to navigate a tricky looking test.

The winners will play Clare’s Éire Óg in the last four on Sunday week.