Munster Club IHC: Ballinhassig in familiar territory

While Cork clubs have been the standard-bearers in the AIB Munster Club IHC, converting that provincial supremacy to a national level has proven difficult.

Ballinhassig, who won the Co-op SuperStores Premier IHC last month, carry the Leeside flag into action this weekend as they take on Tipperary intermediate champions Upperchurch-Drombane. FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles is the venue, with throw-in at 1.15pm.

The brilliant 2-22 to 1-19 win over Ballincollig at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh four weeks ago secured the title for the south-east club.

While they fell to an early 0-5 to 0-2 deficit playing against the wind, Ballinhassig worked their way back well and led for the first time when a long-range Patrick Collins free put them 0-7 to 0-6 in front. His brother, their captain and chief marksman Ger, was to the fore as they retired with an 0-11 to 0-10 half-time advantage.

Matters remained tight in the third quarter, with Ballincollig drawing level with 17 minutes left before the award of a penalty to Ballinhassig soon after. Ger Collins scored a goal from that and it gave them the momentum to drive on, with Conor Desmond rifling in another goal with five minutes left to give them breathing space. Though Stephen Wills did get a late goal for Ballincollig, Ballinhassig would not be denied.

It was their third time winning premier intermediate, and they are looking to create a bit of history as, if they were to go all the way to Munster glory, they would become the first club to do so twice, having also managed it in 2005.

Following on from Bride Rovers two years previously, Ballinhassig were the second of what is a total of ten Cork winners of the provincial championship - Limerick and Clare are joint-second with three each, while Tipperary and Waterford sides have both won twice and Kerry senior champions Kilmoyley overcame Courcey Rovers to take glory for the Kingdom in 2022.

What is also impressive is that Cork’s ten wins have come from a total of 14 final appearances, with Clare next on seven. And, perhaps surprisingly, between Ballymartle’s victory in 2010 and Kanturk in 2017, there were only two Cork clubs who managed to make the decider, Youghal beating Ballina of Tipperary in 2013 and Newcestown being defeated by Clare’s Wolfe Tones na Sionna in 2015.

Both Ballymartle and Kanturk built on the county and Munster success to go all the way to All-Ireland glory at Croke Park, but they are very much the exceptions - Blarney in 2008-09 are the only other Cork intermediate champions to ascend the steps of the Hogan Stand.

Kilkenny, hardly surprisingly, are very much the ruling powers at national level - 11 All-Ireland final appearances with eight victories mined from that. There is of course no disgrace in Cork being second, given that no other county has managed more than one: there is a nice sense of democracy to the fact that clubs from Antrim, Carlow, Galway, Kildare, Limerick, London, Tipperary and Westmeath have all tasted glory.

Such considerations are of course far from the minds of Ballinhassig this weekend, though. Should they emerge victorious from Thurles, they would be favourites for the title going into the final against Tallow of Waterford or Clare’s O’Callaghan’s Mills but beating a Tipp team on home soil represents a serious challenge.

What is most certainly in their favour is the fact that the county Premier IHC is so tough to wind, given the openness of the field. As all four teams in their group - Ballincollig, Ballinhassig, Castlemartyr and Kilworth - were level in points going into the last match, Ballinhassig have been playing knockout hurling since early September and the hope is that that will stand to them.