Case for Cork's final four: A new Premier Senior hurling champion awaits

Sarsfields are gone, so Cork will have a different Premier Senior hurling champion. Imokilly will remain the last team to successfully retain the title, when they won their second and third in a row in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Sunday’s double header gives us four contenders all with something different to aim for. Glen Rovers will be searching for a first title since 2016. Midleton are vying for only their second county crown in 13 years. St Finbarr’s are in pursuit of a second in 33 years. Kanturk are battling for a first ever. No doubt two exciting semi-finals to look forward to.

Midleton v Glen Rovers 

Glen Rovers haven't beaten Midleton in championship hurling under the new format. Their last win over the east Cork club was in the first round of the 2019 championship.

Since then, the Magpies have won out on three occasions, and will be looking for a fourth win on the trot. Midleton ended an eight-year title wait when they beat Rovers to the 2021 county title, then got the better of the northsiders again in the 2023 group stages, the year that the Glen were relegated.

The last meeting was in the 2025 quarter-final, Midleton 2-19 to 2-17 winners. And, for good measure, they won this year’s league meeting, 0-15 to 0-13.

Midleton are the only team yet to taste defeat in this year’s championship. They won all three group games and earned the bye to the semis, but they only beat Newcestown and Bride Rovers by one and two points respectively. In this year’s championship, the Magpies have conceded just 18.7 points per game, the lowest of the four semi-finalists.

Their scores have come from all over the pitch; 14 different players have hit the target across the three games, and Conor Lehane's 0-22 tally is only a third of their total.

The Glen have been much improved on last year, though. The northsiders are averaging 26.8 points a game, three points more than they did in 2025. Patrick Horgan has been so influential, with 1-35 to his name after having played every available minute. Eoin O’Leary (3-9) and Simon Kennefick (2-9) have been in good form and will bring a considerable goal threat.

Midleton haven't played in almost a month, while the Glen brought down Charleville a fortnight ago. Will the four-week break leave Midleton rested or rusty?

Injury concerns to key players point to the former, but never, under the current format, have the team who took the short route to the semi-finals gone all the way.

Kanturk v St Finbarr's 

Kanturk's ascent has been the story of the championship, and for good reason. Last year they finished bottom of their group without a win and averaged 19.7 points a game. This year they're averaging 31.3.

They've scored 10 goals in four games, including four in the quarter-final that knocked out Sarsfields.

Brian O'Sullivan is the championship's leading scorer among the four teams left, with 2-44. That's 40% of Kanturk's total. He’s been exceptional. Colin Walsh (2-14), Liam O'Keeffe (3-4) and Alan Walsh (2-5) have also come up with big scores, but they have depended heavily on O’Sullivan’s frees.

It’s nit-picking from a team who have done so well this year, but you can be sure that St Finbarr’s will be careful not to give away too many. The Barrs been strong defensively too, only conceding two goals in four games, but their route to the semis was unconvincing to say the least. An eight-point loss to Midleton preceded a strong win over Bride Rovers, but they crept through to the knockout stages after drawing with Newcestown.

Their 1-24 to 1-13 quarter-final win over a depleted Imokilly isn’t the best measure of where they’re at, and aspects of that display against the east Cork division were troubling.

Regardless, they’re here, and they’ve got more to offer. The Barrs have registered 17 different scorers, none more impressive than Cork senior William Buckley, who has 0-20, all from play. He will be very hard for Kanturk to stop.