Clonakilty selector Eoin Ryan delighted with the performance and win against Eire Og
Clonakilty's Thomas Clancy gets his pass away as Diarmuid Dineen of Eire Og closes in during their SFL clash in Ovens.
Clonakilty ended their 2026 McCarthy Insurance Group Cork Football League Division 1 campaign with a 0-19 to 0-17 victory away to Éire Óg on Sunday.
It was a productive outing for Clon, with the likes of Darragh Gough among their key performers.
Finishing on the same amount of points as the table toppers Knocknagree and second placed Castlehaven, Clon missed out on making the league final by the narrowest of margins.
Although recording five league wins and finishing with 12pts, a scoring difference of +3 was what ultimately saw Clonakilty come up just short, compared to the league finalists of Knocknagree (+21) and more agonisingly Castlehaven (+4).
But this overall will not deter Clonakilty, as the West Cork men look to mount a strong championship challenge.
On the league win against Éire Óg, Clonakilty selector Eoin Ryan told “It was a good workout. It was good to get the win today and we dug it out fairly well in the finish there.
“To be honest, last year was our first year back in Division 1 and we made a big thing about getting to the league final.
“We had a good league run, but when it came to championship then we slacked off.
"So we will have a better run in the championship hopefully this year.”
Assessing the 2026 Cork SFL campaign as a whole, Ryan added:
“You’d be very pleased with it. We got more fellas onto the pitch and there is young fellas holding their hands up.
“The panel is bigger after the league than it was at the start of the league. So we would be very happy with the work out there.”
Overall, Clonakilty have won the Cork PSFC title on a total of nine occasions, the most recent success coming in 2009.
In 2021, Clon came ever so close, losing out as Steven Sherlock landed a late winner to see St Finbarr’s edge out a one point, victory 0-14 to 0-13 at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
The 2026 Cork PSFC will see Clon in what looks a tasty looking group to say the least.
There will be a West Cork derby contest against Castlehaven, a Knocknagree side who are riding the crest of a wave at the moment and a Ballincollig side full of potential.
First up for Clon is a meeting with Knocknagree, with Ryan outlining that is what their full focus and attention will be on over the coming weeks.
“We know we have a very big task first day.
“We will have to be really at it and we know that. We have to be properly prepared and leave no stone unturned.
“We have to be ready for Knocknagree. They are a good team and John Fintan Daly has them well prepared.
Ryan added: “We are only looking at the first game. The first championship game is huge because if you can manage to win the first game, you are looking up."
For Clonakilty it is all systems go for the championship opener against Knocknagree on July 25, a game which is pencilled in to take place in Carrigadrohid.
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