Christy O'Connor: Aghabullogue and Buttevant want to rewrite Cork v Kerry history at club level

Tradition. 

In early November, shortly before Aghabullogue played Thurles Sarsfields in the Munster Intermediate football quarter-final in Templetuohy, a photograph was taken of over 100 kids from Aghabullogue decked out in green jerseys and hoodies pucking balls in the wall-bar area of the mid-Tipperary venue.

The match was played in rich hurling territory against one of the most storied and traditional hurling clubs in the country but Aghabullogue were also latently showcasing their strong hurling heritage before a uniquely novel football fixture.

When Tipperary won the first All-Ireland ever played in 1887, they were represented by Thurles. When Cork won their maiden All-Ireland three years later in 1890, Aghabullogue flew the county flag.

Over a century later, Seamus O’Donoghue wrote about that success in the 1991 Cork GAA Yearbook, documenting Aghabullogue’s success from beating Aghada in the county final all the way to their All-Ireland final victory against Castlebridge from Wexford.

When Aghabullogue beat Kilmoyley from Kerry in the Munster final in Raheen, two special trains carried 1,600 passengers to Limerick, including 300 Aghabullogue supporters.

Accompanied by the Cork Butter Exchange Band, they were met at the station in Limerick by the Pork Butchers Band, with both bands playing the team to the pitch, a game Aghabullogue won by 2-0 to 0-1.

Ahead of the All-Ireland final on November 16 1890, the teams were only notified of the game on November 12, by postcard. Castlebridge sought a postponement due to the death of their parish priest, Canon Doran, but their request wasn’t granted.

Confusion raged up until the Saturday before the game as to whether Castlebridge would actually fulfil the fixture but Aghabullogue still travelled up to Dublin the night before the game.

When Castlebridge did arrive in the capital on the Sunday, they were met at Harcourt Street Station by the Longford Street Band, which played them to Clonturk Park, where an enormous crowd had assembled.

Dressed in white thin merino vests and drawers, Aghabullogue played in their bare feet, as did Castlebridge. Aghabullogue were reportedly the better side but Castlebridge adopted less-than-sportsmanlike tactics in the second half. After an Aghabullogue player had his toe broken by a Wexford's man hurley, the captain Dan Lane, withdrew his team from the field with the referee’s permission. 

The title was awarded to the Cork side the following week after a Central Council meeting.

That success has always framed a huge part of Aghabullogue’s traditional identity. 

The club have only had a football team since the late 1970s. Aghabullogue only entered a team in the Mid Cork Junior football championship for the first time in 1979.

Well over a century on from their successful odyssey in Munster, the next time Aghabullogue made a mark in the provincial championship was at Junior football in 2004 when they reached the final but lost to Finuge of Kerry by five points.

After so long in the wilderness in both codes though, the last three years have been more bountiful than Aghabullogue could have ever imagined, with doubles achieved in 2023 and 2025. The next step now is to try and bring a provincial title back to the club for the first time in 135 years.

TRADITION

It's a huge task on Sunday against An Ghaeltacht but Aghabullogue will at least lean on their incredible tradition in Rathkeale. In the Munster Junior final three hours earlier in Mallow though, Buttevant will need to do everything in their power to try and smash tradition.

It can be done. Knocknagree’s outstanding achievement in reaching the top grade of Cork football is one of the greatest modern success stories, but Knocknagree had already shown how they were able to rout convention and expectation back in 2017 when they defeated Dromid Pearses in the Munster Junior football final.

Over the previous decade, Kerry clubs had absolutely dominated the Munster Junior championship to such a degree that they were not only winning titles for fun – they were obliterating teams in the process. Across the previous nine seasons, Kerry clubs had won those Munster finals by an aggregate margin of 98 points.

Knocknagree’s success in 2017 hinted at what that club were capable of achieving, but it was also an outlier in terms of the Munster Junior club championship; Knocknagree are the only Cork club to have won a Munster Junior title in the last 18 years. 

Every other title has been won by a Kerry club.

That’s the challenge now facing Buttevant against Ballymacelligott. In the history of the competition, Kerry clubs have won 19 of the 22 titles, secured by 18 different clubs. Outside of Knocknagree, the only two other clubs to break the mould were Canovee in 2007 and Carbery Rangers in 2003.

Seven other Cork clubs have been on this stage before but were beaten by a Kerry club in the final; Kilmurry (who lost two finals), Dromtarriffe, Gabriel Rangers, Adrigole, Erin’s Own, Aghabullogue and Kiskeam. Adrigole and Dromtarriffe both came agonisingly close to getting over the line; Adrigole lost the 2006 final to Duagh by one point; Dromtarriffe went down to Beaufort by the same margin in the 2018 final.

The first club from the Avondhu division to appear on this provincial Junior final stage, Buttevant are a team well equipped to have a right cut at this championship because they have excellent forwards.

The Kerry clubs history of success in this competition means that Ballymacelligott are favourites to win again now. Yet Buttevant will aim to show – as Knocknagree, Canovee and Carbery Rangers proved in the past – that Cork clubs can be successful at this level too.

Tradition is often what you make of it.