Danny Dineen: Underage surge and county glory have lifted Ballinora

Ballinora’s Danny Dineen says last year’s county breakthrough has transformed the club as they prepare to open their McCarthy Insurance Group PIFC campaign this weekend.

Their first group game is against Nemo Rangers’ second team in Ovens on Sunday evening (7.15pm).

Looking back on that dramatic IAFC success, secured after a replay win over Ilen Rovers, Dineen still struggles to find a better word than “incredible” to describe it.

“It really was,” he says.

“Two unbelievable games. Both could have gone either way, but to come out on the right side of it was just brilliant for the club. To score the goal right at the end from Kevin Werner, it was the best way to win the county really.” 

Ballinora weren’t widely tipped as contenders at the start of 2025, but inside the group there was quiet belief.

The Muskerry club hadn’t won an adult county title since 1997 and had never won the championship at intermediate A level.

Continuity on the sideline under manager Willie Lyons helped, but Dineen says their approach was simple.

“We said we’d take it game by game,” Dineen said.

“We probably had a bit of luck getting out of the group too. The year before we had two wins and a loss and still didn’t get out, and we were battling relegation before that season. But we had confidence in ourselves and the management had confidence in us.” 

Their statement win over Kilmurry in Ovens at the semi-final juncture last year was certainly a turning point for Ballinora.

“Kilmurry were probably favourites that day. We were down in that game and came back. After that, we knew we were good enough to actually win the championship. They gave us a serious test – as hard as any game you’ll play – and it definitely stood to us going into the final.

“We were battle-hardened going into the Ilen Rovers game. We came of age.” 

What struck many after last year’s county final replay was the wave of young Ballinora supporters at the two games.

Dineen says that buzz hasn’t gone away.

“It’s still there,” he smiles.

“The underage is only getting better and better. Even Ben Hegarty winning the All-Ireland with the Cork minors – that’s great for the club.

“There’s a real buzz because of him and because the underage in both hurling and football is getting stronger. The population is increasing too, so it’s looking good in Ballinora.” 

The momentum from last year’s county win has carried into 2026, and Dineen says the league campaign, where Ballinora finished third in Division 5 despite missing several players, has been valuable.

“We were happy enough with the league,” he states.

“A few games didn’t go our way, but we were down a lot of players. It was good to get through it and now we’re looking forward to the championship.

“There were a lot of new faces this year too, which is great. You need that depth. We had injuries last year, so getting lads game time in the league was important.” 

Attention now turns to Sunday’s opener against Nemo Rangers’ second team, a fixture that always carries uncertainty.

“You never really know what you’re going to get with Nemo,” Dineen admits.

“It’s the first game, so they’ll be strong enough. But every team is strong in this grade. We’ll take it one game at a time.

“No matter what happens, we have two more games in the group against Naomh Abán and Fermoy. They’re all going to be interesting games."