Mick Hennessy convinced Fermoy can move up another gear

With the Cork Premier IFC title safely under their belt and having bridged a 54-year gap to return to senior football, the next focus for Fermoy is tomorrow’s AIB Munster Club IFC final in Mallow. And a meeting with the Kerry champions, Kilcummin.

The Kingdom have dominated the province, winning the competition 11 times (four for Cork) and they are seeking five-in-a-row.

Incidentally, it was Fermoy’s fellow divisional side Clyda Rovers who were the last Rebel outfit to lift the Risteárd Ó Cuimín Cup in 2013.

Mick Hennessy, who is a sergeant with the Defence Forces in Cork, is the Fermoy manager. At just 34, this is his first time in charge. However, he knows his troops quite well.

“I played with Fermoy from U14 up to when I was 30. I’m playing Junior B now with Grange. I am from there as well. There is a good blend of players between Grange and Fermoy.

“We are all footballing lads. We are looking forward to Sunday. To be heading into a Munster final this time of the year is fantastic.

“Kilcummin, more than likely, will be our toughest assignment this year. No doubt about it, and they will be ready for us as well. They are a quality team, they were senior for years. I don’t know what the intermediate standard is like in Kerry but I do know they will be good opposition.

“We got through Cork, and to be fair, I don’t think we hit fifth gear. So I think there might be another gear in us coming into the Munster final. We are still flying. It is going into the unknown really, but we can only worry about ourselves.”

“We have a few injuries but we will have a couple back as well. We will have to wait before we make a decision on the team. Tomás Clancy is available (unavailable for the semi-final) and we are looking forward to having him back in around the middle. He was training with us on Wednesday night. He is involved with Cork and they are in pre-season.”

Fermoy didn’t score in the second half of their provincial semi-final against Moyne-Templetuohy, and only bagged two points in the latter 30 minutes of the quarter-final against Galbally. Hennessy is not perturbed by the statistic.

“I have no doubt there will be a full 60/70 minutes in us for this game. People have their opinion on our performances in the last two games. I have mine too. Pretty much at half-time in the last two games, no disrespect to the opposition, we were fairly comfortable. Based on that, we sat back a small bit. Teams get a bit defensive too when they have a big lead. But I would be very happy and content going into this game that we will give it both barrels.

“We have addressed it and moved on. We haven’t dwelled on it, far from it. We have been written off in most matches all year and we are still winning. We are definitely tighter now as a unit. We are harder to break down, the proof is that we don’t concede many goals (only two in Cork and Munster championship). We are fairly handy going forward too.

“It is great for the players and it is great for the club to be in the final. Our U8 team is playing at half-time again on Sunday. The last time Fermoy were in a Munster final was 2009 (junior hurling). There are four Cork teams out of six in Munster finals this year and that is a great achievement. It is a sign that Cork is rebuilding. Hopefully we can push on and get that win.

“The ultimate goal is senior football and we have achieved that. Without doubt the hunger is still there. This team are a bunch of winners, they don’t like losing. They are a super bunch of lads and they are genuine competitors. There is good bond there. I wouldn’t fear senior at all next year. I think we will embrace it and drive on.

“I was minor manager in 2009 (when he was out injured for 12 months) and we got to the Premier final and lost to the Barr’s. Look at the Barr’s now, a lot of them were playing in the senior county final.

“I remember the Fermoy U21s, they would have been playing against Castlehaven a lot in county finals. Now, they are getting their chance to go senior.”

The current county championship might be just finished. Nevertheless, clubs are already preparing for 2019.

“Most clubs are planning pre-season. Loading weights and all that. It is different for us. We are still in playing mode. There are two trains of thought. Are the lads going to be tired next year? When do you give them a break? When do you do your pre-season? All that has to be taken into account. We will do our homework and we will do it right and be ready for next year.

“For now, it is Sunday we will have to be right for. It is a short journey to Mallow. We have played there before. Some people have said to me it is great the game is there. That they would go. If it was, say, in the Gaelic Grounds, they mightn’t travel. It also means more Fermoy supporters will probably come.”