Cork Hurling: Seán Walsh leads scoring charts with Conor Lehane, Ben Cunningham and Patrick Horgan also to the fore

Fri, 17 Jul, 2026 - 15:55

Jack McKay

For the fourth year running, Sarsfields have claimed the Cork Hurling League Division 1 title. And, for the second consecutive year, Carrigtwohill’s Seán Walsh has finished top scorer with Fr O’Neill’s Kevin O’Sullivan ending the year as runner-up once again.

It was Walsh – who scored a total of 5-78 – that also finished top scorer from play, sealing double honours for himself after Midleton held Jack O’Connor to only one point in the Riverstown side’s 2-17 to 2-16 final victory.

The impressive haul of 2-11 from former Cork hurler Conor Lehane was substantial enough in that decider to see him climb from the fringes of the top 10 to fifth overall, as the Midleton man ended the campaign with 6-45 across seven games.

He finished marginally behind his former inter-county teammate Patrick Horgan, who maintained fourth place, ending the campaign with 5-55 from only six games. Just ahead of him was Ben Cunningham, who finished third with 1-71, accumulated across seven matches.

Second-placed Kevin O’Sullivan’s 0-82 was an improvement on the 2-73 he put together in last year’s league campaign.

Following the league final and Lehane’s haul, it was Charleville’s David Forde who was displaced from the top five, falling to sixth with 3-49.

Seventh in the overall charts is Killeagh’s Ryan McCarthy with 6-30, marginally ahead of Sarsfields’ Jack O’Connor, who posted 2-40, though remarkably almost all of his tally came from play.

Midleton's Conor Lehane is tackled by Sarsfields' Daniel Hogan during the RedFM SHL final at Carrigtwohill. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

O’Connor is tied for eighth with Midleton’s Mikey Finn, who scored 1-43, while Daniel Hogan sits marginally behind with 1-42.

While Midleton and Sarsfields are the only teams with two representatives in the overall scoring table, neither Blackrock nor Douglas has anyone, as both Robbie Cotter and Mark O’Brien falling out of the top 10.

They do have ‘from play’ representatives though, with the Rockies’ Michael O’Halloran finishing fifth in that chart, hovering three points behind the third place tie of Conor Lehane and Jack Cahalane. Jack O’Connor takes silver behind Walsh.

Horgan and Forde sit sixth and seventh respectively, ahead of Douglas’s Mark O’Brien, who ties with Kevin O’Sullivan.

There’s a four-way tie for tenth in the from play charts between Cunningham, Patrick Walsh, Dean Brosnan and McCarthy, who all had very impressive league seasons.

Division 1 HL overall top 10 scorers:

1 Seán Walsh (Carrigtwohill) 5-78 (1-36 f, 0-1 65)

2 Kevin O’Sullivan (Fr O’Neill’s) 0-82 (0-49 f, 0-7 65s)

3 Ben Cunningham (St Finbarr’s) 1-71 (0-45 f, 0-4 65s)

4 Patrick Horgan (Glen Rovers) 5-55 (1-32 f, 0-6 65s)

5 Conor Lehane (Midleton) 6-45 (1-23 f, 0-4 65s)

6 David Forde (Charleville) 3-49 (0-27 f, 0-2 sidelines, 0-1 65)

7 Ryan McCarthy (Killeagh) 6-30 (0-17 f, 1-0 pen, 0-3 65s)

8 Jack O’Connor (Sarsfields) 2-40 (0-1 f)

8 Mikey Finn (Midleton) 1-43 (0-25 f, 0-2 65s, 0-1 sideline)

10 Daniel Hogan (Sarsfields) 1-42 (1-27 f, 0-2 65s)

Division 1 HL top 10 scorers from play: