Old hat for Rockies, but Cloyne won’t be put off by the occasion

A FIRST-EVER Cork county senior hurling semi-final appearance for Cloyne this Sunday is ironic — given that Christy Ring, the man with the most senior county championships ever in Cork (ever was, ever will be), was a native.

None of those was won with Cloyne, Ring having transferred to Glen Rovers in the city in what was a fairly common occurrence at the time, where he added a senior football medal to the 11 hurling gongs he collected. The Maestro did, however, win a county junior title with Cloyne before his move, in 1939, the year he made his senior inter-county debut, a career that lasted until the mid-60s.

Their opponents? Different story entirely. Old hat for the hurlers of Blackrock, another Cork county senior hurling semi-final, bidding to make another final, add to their roll-topping 32 titles, complete the fourth three-in-a-row in the club’s storied history.