Promoted football sides have benefited from surge in momentum

While there is of course no guarantees as to what will happen in the future, when it comes to GAA past performance can be a reliable indicator.

The sixth season of the round-robin system is about to start this weekend, meaning that we have five years’ worth of data to go on as we assess how promoted sides have done – and it’s encouraging news for McCarthy Insurance Group Premier SFC new boys Knocknagree.

No team has been relegated straight back down after winning the senior A title; in fact none has even been involved in a relegation play-off. Instead, the teams in question have tended to ride a momentum surge and the Duhallow side are already boosted by the fact that they reached the final of Division 1 of the league.

In 2021, Éire Óg had little time to dwell on their SAFC title as that final had been delayed from the previous year and they were straight into the new campaign – wins over Newcestown and Carbery Rangers gave them second place in their group and they ran St Finbarr’s close in the quarter-finals.

Mallow were the side that the Ovens club had beaten in the second-tier final and the North Cork side bounced back well by going one better in the 2021 season – then they followed that by topping their PSFC group in 2022 and reaching the quarter-finals.

While neither of the SAFC winners since then have made the knockout stages, neither have they been troubled by relegation. St Michaels’ contested a play-off with Douglas to determine who would advance after they finished with identical records while Newcestown came third in their pool in 2024.

Newcestown built on that progress last year as they reached the semi-finals – to do so they needed to come out on the right side of a quarter-final penalty shootout against Carrigaline, who had emulated them in bouncing straight back from relegation the year before.

The closest instance of a promoted side being immediately relegated came in the 2022 SAFC – Newmarket had to beat Bandon to preserve their status, but even then the Duhallow side were perhaps unfortunate to end up in the play-off as they had drawn a group game.

In any case, they remain an exception across all the grades. Three other sides coming up from the Premier IFC to the SAFC – Knocknagree, Kanturk and Cill na Martra – reached the quarter-finals, with Kanturk losing to eventual winners Newcestown on penalties in 2023.

Last year, Kilshannig finished bottom of their group but had gone into the last set of fixtures with a chance of qualifying for the knockouts and they avoided the relegation play-off.

The PIFC itself has seen the newly promoted sides have a cut on their ascension. While Rockchapel in 2021 were unable to advance from their group, Uibh Laoire the next year made it all the way to the semi-finals – a feat made all the more impressive as they had been operating at junior A in 2020 – and Kilshannig matched that in 2023, before of course building on that progress to go all the way in 2024.

In that final, they needed a replay to get the better of Aghbullogue, who were looking to go back-to-back after winning the IAFC in 2023. Last year, Glanmire followed their promotion with a quarter-final appearance.

As they left the IAFC, Kilmurry joined it followed Premier JFC success and promptly topped their group and reached the semi-finals, continuing a trend.

As mentioned above, Uibh Laoire got on a run in the 2020 season – that JAFC final was delayed until August 2021 but, having won that, they were intermediate A champions just three months later.

While Boherbue in 2022 couldn’t match that, they did make the semi-finals. The reduction of the IAFC for 2023 as part of the creation of the Premier JFC meant there was no applicable promoted team for that campaign, but in 2024 St Finbarr’s followed their victory in the inaugural PJFC by safely finishing in third place in the IAFC.

When the Barrs ascended from the fifth tier, Canovee joined it after romping to JAFC glory in 2023. They reached the final, denied by Kilmurry at the death, and while Inniscarra couldn’t match that feat last year, they qualified from their group and almost made the semi-finals.

Continuing evidence of the upward mobility that promoted sides tend to enjoy.