Castlehaven v Nemo Rangers Cork Premier SFC final clash earmarked for August

Cork GAA officials unveiled the county’s 2021 master fixture schedule, as well as the dates for the postponed 2020 deciders.

Tue, 04 May, 2021 - 22:27

Eoghan Cormican

The outstanding 2020 Cork county senior football final between Castlehaven and Nemo Rangers will be played on the weekend of August 6-8, if Cork are not still involved in the All-Ireland SFC.

At tonight’s Cork County Board meeting, Cork GAA CEO Kevin O’Donovan and chairperson of Cork’s competitions control committee Pat Horgan unveiled the county’s 2021 master fixture schedule, as well as the dates for the postponed 2020 deciders.

The 2020 Cork SAFC final involving Éire Óg and Mallow will be played on Saturday, June 19, less than two weeks after club matches are sanctioned to return. If the Cork footballers reach the Division 2 League final, which is scheduled for that weekend, then the Cork Senior A decider will be pushed back to June 26. O’Donovan told the meeting the board executive has secured the release of Cork panellists from the two clubs to play the final on either of the two dates mentioned.

The Lower Intermediate hurling final between Castlemartyr and Russell Rovers is fixed for the weekend of July 10/11, with the Intermediate A hurling final (Aghabullogue-Éire Óg), Premier Intermediate football final (Kanturk-Knocknagree), and Intermediate A football final (Mitchelstown-Rockchapel) to be played on the August Bank Holiday weekend, provided the Cork footballers do not progress beyond the Munster championship.

If Cork are involved in the All-Ireland championships, those games will be pushed back.

“If Cork are still in the championships, those games and the 2021 competitions bounce out week after week and then our noses are up against the glass for the Munster club championships,” said O’Donovan.

The 2020 Cork JAFC quarter-finals will be played on June 18-20. The Junior B divisional county quarter-finals will be played the following weekend.

“The 2020 Junior B divisional competitions, we feel they should be completed. The Junior B and C open competitions, unfortunately, we don’t see a space for those,” O’Donovan remarked.

Turning to the 2021 Cork county championships, if Cork do not reach either All-Ireland senior final then the county football championship will throw-in on August 21/22. The first round of the various hurling championships will commence on the weekend of August 28/29.

The county quarter-finals have been pencilled in for the weekends of October 9/10 and 16/17. Semi-finals follow on October 23/24 and 30/31. County finals will be played across the first three weekends in November.

The early rounds of the 2021 colleges/division section will be played on Wednesday, July 14 and Wednesday, July 21.

O’Donovan also told the meeting he expects the 2020 All-Ireland U20 hurling final, which Cork are involved in, to be scheduled for early July.

League action in Cork will throw-in on June 7. There will be no promotion or relegation in the league this summer. Groups of eight have been drawn up based on finishing positions in the 2019 league. These groups were adjusted after the recent county championship draws to avoid repeat pairings.

The league will run for approximately 10 weeks, with finals on August 1 and August 8.