Nemo forward Ronan Dalton: We're delighted to be back where we want to be

Three years of hurt melted away in an instant for Ronan Dalton as Nemo Rangers reclaimed the Premier SFC title with a 1-19 to 2-12 victory over St Finbarr’s at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday evening.

Having fallen short in recent campaigns, including last year's final defeat to the same opposition, Dalton admitted there was an overwhelming sense of relief as Nemo climbed back to the summit of Cork football for the first time since 2022.

“Absolutely delighted,” Dalton said afterwards.

“It’s been a tough three years. Just not being able to go all the way has been tough. But we’re lucky that we were able to dust ourselves down and come back as we did this year in January.

“The effort that’s been put in by Robbie O'Dwyer [manager], all the players and management this year has been absolutely brilliant and we’re just delighted to be back where we want to be.” 

The Trabeg club looked sharp, composed and clinical as they seized control of the contest.

Dalton felt the foundation for victory was laid during the first half, although he believed his side could have been even further ahead. Nemo led by six points at half-time.

“We were delighted with the start,” he says. 

“We probably missed one or two chances as well.

“We were looking to be clinical and we knew against the Barrs you have to take your opportunities."

St Finbarr's threw everything at Nemo and reduced the deficit down to a point to ensure a tense finish, but Dalton said there was never any panic within the Nemo ranks.

A key factor, he believes, was the strength in depth developed throughout the season.

“One big thing this year is that we’ve been able to blood a lot of fellas,” he states.

“We’ve built good depth and that’s helped us. In fairness to the Barrs, they just keep coming at you. You’ve got players like Brian Hayes and Ian Maguire and they’re some club.

“It’s a testament to them that they got to two finals in a row. They had the hurling final last week and then came again this week. Last year they won it by a tiny margin, and we were lucky enough to win it this year.” 

For Dalton, the triumph carried an extra layer of significance. 

“It still feels a bit surreal and a bit numb to be honest,” he admitted.

“The pain of last year is gone and it’s the complete opposite feeling now.

“We’re such a close-knit group and there’s probably more relief than anything. We’ve worked so hard for it.” 

Dalton already has one eye on the Munster campaign. Nemo’s last provincial adventure following a county title ended in disappointment at the first hurdle. The Tipperary winners Loughmore-Castleiney visit Cork on Sunday week. 

“We want to turn our attention to Munster pretty quickly. 

“The last time we won the county final, we probably didn’t do ourselves justice in Munster. We were probably still on a bit of a county-final hangover.

“We’ll try to get our heads turned around straight away because we want to give a much better account of ourselves this time. But for now, we’re absolutely delighted.”