St Finbarr's succeed in getting Conor Cahalane red card against Ballyea rescinded
DELIGHT: Conor Cahalane celebrates after scoring of St Finbarr's second goal in the county final against Blackrock
CORK'S Conor Cahalane will be available for the opening game of St Finbarrs’ Cork Premier SHC title defence after successfully appealing the red card he received in last November’s Munster club semi-final defeat to Ballyea.
St Finbarrs' successful appeal clears Cahalane for involvement in their 2023 Cork Premier SHC group opener against the side they beat in last year’s county semi-final, Newtownshandrum.
Munster disciplinary officials deemed that Cahalane’s offence merited only a yellow card, and so his Munster club semi-final straight red was quashed.
The sending off occurred in the ninth minute of the Barrs’ Munster semi-final against Ballyea following an off-the-ball altercation between Cahalane and Jack Browne. The former caught the latter in the neck when attempting to throw away Browne's hurl.
Despite having to play with a man less for more than 50 minutes of the game, the Barrs finished just one point adrift of the Clare side, heightening the Cork champions’ frustration at the early dismissal of their main strike runner.
Barrs manager Ger Cunningham queried the decision with referee Michael Kennedy at half-time in Cusack Park and said afterwards that he was told Cahalane walked for “dangerous play”.
“The sending off was harsh,” Cunningham said at the time “Conor meant to throw the hurley away. It wasn’t intentional in any shape or form that he was going to throw it at the player’s throat. It looked dangerous, but it wasn’t. It was a yellow card.
“Conor is our vice-captain and one of our most influential players. There is not a dirty stroke in Conor. He plays it hard. He plays it tough. He has been magnificent all year. Losing him was a blow.”
St Finbarr’s have been drawn in Group C of the 2023 Cork Premier SHC alongside Newtownshandrum, Kanturk, and Sarsfields. The Togher club are bidding for a first successful defence of the Cork hurling crown since 1982.
