Glory for Araglen in the littlest of Cork’s little All-Irelands

The Araglen players celebrate after defeating Freemount in the Co-Op Superstores J’B’ HC 2020 final at Páirc Uí Rinn. Picture: Eddie O’Hare

The parish of Araglen traverses the counties of Cork, Tipperary, and Waterford, but had a stranger passed through in recent days, they would be forgiven for thinking it had been claimed for Limerick such was the green and white on display.

On Sunday, they claimed the 2020 Co-op Superstores JBHC by defeating Freemount in an exhilarating encounter in Páirc Uí Rinn. This week is all about the All-Ireland final in Cork, and though this may have been the littlest of Cork’s little All-Irelands, the eruption of joy that accompanied Shane Scanlon’s final whistle will match anything that follows this week.

Cork will bid to end a title famine in Croke Park on Sunday, and Araglen wing-back, insurance-point scorer, Man of the Match and chairman, Thomas Kenneally, knows all about hunger, as one of three survivors from the Avondhu side’s last victory in 1999.

“It’s a great day for Araglen,” he said. “I’ll be honest with you, in 1999 we won the North Cork, which was our number one aim, and the county was just a bit of a bonus. We also won the hurling league, and we won the U21 double. I didn’t think at the time that that was going to be my last championship with Araglen until today. All we’ve won since is a division three hurling league so, this is a long time in the waiting.

“There’s a great blend of youth and experience and the youth have been driving us on since the start of the year.

“It’s just a shame that there were only 250 people here, we would have got rid of twice that number of tickets, but we’ll go back to Araglen tonight and celebrate with the rest of the community.”

Ultimately, it was Araglen’s greater teamwork that saw them through. It was clear that all of the traits that define the modern game in Cork have permeated to its very core. There were short puck-outs, pop passes, men off the shoulder and breath-taking scores.

Shane Motherway had two of them, so did Jack Kearney while Paul Hynes’ first half goal owed much to Jack O’Connor in its finish. Seán Brackett was excellent in goals, while Ben Carey and Shay Russell defended heroically. Yes, it was all a bit slower, there were a few more mistakes but in terms of commitment and intensity, it would have held its own with anything.

“Since the start of the year that’s what our coach Eoin Hickey has been drilling into us. Do the simple things right and just put the ball in the right places. The forwards made it very easy for us with the work they were putting in and we were trying to give them decent ball. It didn’t always work out, but you could see how they worked like men who were possessed.”

The glow of this victory will last a while on the banks of the Araglin river, but this Sunday will also see the uniqueness of this particular parish come to the fore.

“It’s a bit of a strange one! There are lots of green and white flags in Araglen and people are wondering what’s going on!

“The pitch is in south Tipperary, it’s the furthest south pitch in Tipp, I’m a Tipperary man myself but I’m a proud Araglen man.

“We all get on together, we’re all hurling together and there are four counties represented here — Seamie Gorman is from Kilkenny — but come Munster Championship, there’s a great buzz around the place.

“We wish Cork the best in the All-Ireland final, but my wife is a Limerick woman, so I’ll play my cards close to my chest on that one!”