St Finbarr's target remarkable treble in centenary year after camogie side delivered

Standing with the cup firmly in her grasp, St Finbarr's captain Stephanie Punch allowed herself a moment to reflect on another historic afternoon for the Togher club.

The Barrs retained their SE Systems Cork Senior Camogie Championship crown with a commanding 3-14 to 0-4 victory over Blackrock at MTU, sealing a third county title in succession and further cementing their place among the great teams in the club's history.

“I know, I managed to get my hands on it there. Look, we're familiar with it the last couple of years, so to get a three-in-a-row is unbelievable. This is just a history-making team and I'm so, so happy.”

Golden age

Success has become a familiar feeling for the Barrs, who have been the standard-bearers in Cork camogie over recent seasons and who also captured the Munster title last year before reaching the All-Ireland club final.

She is well aware that eras of dominance do not last forever.

“We're very aware that success isn't forever,” she said.

“I think something that we made sure to say is that you have to take advantage of it while you can. There was a fantastic group of girls in 2006 and they were good enough to win counties but they got to a county final a couple of years and they didn't come through.

“So we just made sure to make that point and we're delighted to have done it again.”

In driving rain and difficult underfoot conditions, the Barrs produced a clinical display that underlined why they remain the team to beat.

Stephanie felt their experience in adverse conditions stood to them.

“Over the last year we're probably used to playing in tough conditions,” she said.

“We went into January this year and we played in every type of condition, so although the rain is always off-putting, we knew that we had done this before and we'd be able to cope with the conditions.”

The latest triumph was built on another outstanding collective effort, but Player of the Match Sorcha McCartan once again provided the attacking spark. The Player of the Year nominee finished with 1-9 and was involved in all three goals, including setting up substitute Ella Wigginton Barrett for their third one.

Manager Brian O'Sullivan was quick to praise his star forward but insisted the victory was founded on defensive excellence and squad depth.

“ Sorcha is top class, we know that,” O'Sullivan said.

“But it is built on our defence as well and that is testament to Ciara Hurley (goalkeeper), and the girls coming off the bench. They set the foundation for the girls up top.

That is what the club is about, bringing younger girls through.”

O'Sullivan said thoughts of a three-in-a-row were largely kept in the background throughout the campaign.

“Cork is so hard to get out of, it is a minefield,” he said. “Our focus was on getting out of the group and moving through the knockout stages. We didn't speak about three-in-a-row much, but it is great for the club, absolutely.”

Historic

The significance of the victory stretches beyond camogie. The Barrs have already completed one leg of what could become a remarkable senior treble. Their hurlers face Glen Rovers in the county final this Sunday, while the footballers take on Nemo Rangers a week later.

Cork has not witnessed such a clean sweep of senior honours since 1954, when Glen Rovers won the hurling and camogie championships while St Nicholas captured the football title.

“The hurlers and footballers are flying too, which is great,” O'Sullivan said. “It is all about the players. They are putting in phenomenal effort on the pitch and off the pitch and there is great credit due to them. It doesn't happen by coincidence.”

For the camogie side, attention will soon turn to defending their Munster crown, with a quarter-final now awaiting.

“I suppose this year it's a quarter-final so we were lucky that we were straight into a semi-final last year,” Stephanie said.

“We'll probably get back to training towards the end of the week because we're an amateur sport and you have to enjoy these days. We'll enjoy the next couple of days and then we'll get going for a quarter-final again.”

Before that, there was one final tribute from the captain to the management team that has helped transform the Barrs into a powerhouse.

“They're unbelievable, to be honest,” Punch said. “Brian is the mastermind of everything, his mind is amazing, he has a plan for everything. They're the ones that have brought success back to Barrs camogie, so we really, really appreciate it.”