‘Schools are the foundation for inter-county teams’

Two Cork schools today bid to take another step towards bridging a 13-year gap since a team from the county was crowned Dr Harty Cup champions.

You must go back to 2006 when Midleton CBS, captained by Paudie O’Sullivan, became the last Rebel side to claim the Munster silverware.

That day, they surprised favourites St Flannan’s College who were seeking three Munster titles in a row.

Midleton CBS contested the final last year but they were well beaten by Ardscoil Rís.

This afternoon, the east Cork outfit, along with Christian Brothers College (CBC), will fly the flag for Cork hurling for the second consecutive year as they seek a place in the decider.

Midleton CBS meet De La Salle College Waterford in Dungarvan whilst CBC face Thurles CBS in Kilfinane (both 1.30pm). Interestingly, these pairings have already met in the group stage. Midleton CBS and De La Salle shared the spoils, while CBC emerged 15-point winners over Thurles CBS.

Last year, CBC pushed the current titleholders all the way in the penultimate round. Cork senior hurling selector Donal O’Mahony, a coach to CBC, is pleased with how their preparations have gone.

“We are ready to go and are happy with our progress. We are back in the Harty Cup now four years. The first year, we got out of our group. And we got to the quarter-final again the following year.

"We were beaten in the semi-final last year by Ardscoil Rís by three points. We were all square with a few minutes to go but they got a few points at the end. We have eight of that team and we also have good fellas who were on the bench that day. Final success is our goal.

This is a fantastic competition, and it is very competitive. CBC doing well in the Harty serves the clubs well. Schools are the key foundation for inter-county teams. We had a good run at minor and U21 last year, and schools play a massive part in underage.

Midleton CBS struck seven goals in their quarter-final against Our Lady’s Templemore. The goal fest, leading to a 17-point victory, naturally attracted plaudits, however hat consistency is hard to replicate, especially at this U19 level.

“When you look back on our quarter-final against Our Lady’s, I don’t think the scoreline does the game justice,” says mentor Brian O’Callaghan. “It was a tough game. It wasn’t the perfect performance that some people from the outside might think it was. Even though we scored seven goals, we still came away with a few things needing to be worked on. We haven’t talked too much about last year’s defeat. We have a new team this year. We would have about five of the team that lost to Ardscoil Rís starting.

"We have a few fresh faces and there is a good balance in the squad. We got to the Dean Ryan final recently, so this team would be made up of a mix from that Dean Ryan side and last year’s Harty.”

That Ardscoil Rís defeated them 12 months ago won’t weight heavily. Nor will the fact that the trophy has been absent from Leeside for over a decade. O’Callaghan insists they will not be looking beyond the Waterford clash with the focus firmly fixed on De La Salle. “It has been one game at a time for us, that is the way it has been all year. We are very happy to be in the semi-final. The lads have put in a lot of work. We have been without Olan Broderick (Cork minor) all along, he is getting back to full fitness.”

Spreading the wealth

Since 2006, the Dr Harty Cup has been won by three different counties - Limerick (5), Waterford (4) and Tipperary (3). During the same 12 years, four Cork schools were finalists – Midleton CBS (2018), St Colman’s College (2017), St Francis College Rochestown (2015) and CBS Charleville (2011)