Midleton, Glen Rovers and Sarsfields top seeds for 2022 Cork Hurling Championship

Cormac Beausang of Midleton after last month's Cork Premier SHC final win over Glen Rovers Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

COUNTY champions Midleton have been seeded for Cork’s 2022 Premier SHC along with Glen Rovers and Sars as Board executives fine-tune formats for the new season.

Cork’s league-based championships have been a big hit, but CEO Kevin O’Donovan says further tweaking is necessary to raise standards and guarantee games for all tiers and ages.

The ‘A’ seeds for the Premier SFC have a novel feel about them with champions St Finbarr’s joined by beaten finalists Clonakilty and top group performers Douglas. Perennial challengers Nemo Rangers are now down in the C/D tier as a result of their failure to emerge from the group phase this year.

The ‘B’ seeds, i.e., second ranked team in the groups, Castlehaven, Valley Rovers, and Éire Óg and the remaining six teams in football’s top tier will be Ballincollig, Carbery Rangers, Carrigaline, Nemo, Newcestown and Senior A winners this year, Mallow.

In Hurling, the second seeds in the group phase are Blackrock, Douglas and Erin’s Own with Bishopstown, Charleville, Na Piarsaigh, Newtownshandrum, St. Finbarr’s and Senior A champions Kanturk making up the remainder of the 12-team competition.

Mr O’Donovan confirmed in a memo to clubs that hurling’s fourth tier, the Lower IHC, will continue for one more season, before the remaining clubs are dispersed into a new look county junior championship. He explained: “The lower IHC is to be abolished at the end of 2022 with the (third teier) IHC increasing to 16 teams. The additional four sides will comprise of 2022 Junior A hurling champions and both 2022 LIHC finalists, The remaining slot will be decided by play off between both LIHC losing semi-finalists. The winner will be promoted to IAHC. The loser will play the bottom placed team in IAHC 2022 for the final IAHC place in 2023.” As the national debate on the most suitable under age grades to retain players continues, Cork says it will stage County U19 league and championship competitions in 2022. Matches will be played midweek to avoid adult and Minor fixtures at the weekend. League Groups of four will start at the end of March and clubs will be asked to play these league games without Cork Minor and U20 players. All teams will play a cup or a plate semi-final giving a minimum of four leagues games in each code. A knockout championship will begin on July 13 and run on a weekly basis to the end of August, to finish before the return to school/college.

Croke Park sources insist that the minor grade will remain at U17 in 2022, though speculation continues that the U20 grade will be changed to U19. Some counties have introduced their own initiatives to avoid player dropout – including Kildare, which says it has had success with a new Under 23 competition this year.

The top seeds in Cork’s Senior A competitions were also confirmed - St. Michael’s, Ilen Rovers, and Béal Áth an Ghaorthaidh in football, and Fr. O’Neill’s, Carrigtwohill, and Newcestown in hurling.

Cork is also planning to reshape and enhance its outdated County league structures. Ten-team divisions, guaranteeing nine games, is proposed for 2023.

“The Divisions will be split into Groups 1A 1B, 2A & 2B, 3A & 3B (and 3C football) for 2022,” O’Donovan explained. “Teams are allocated based primarily on their finishing league position in 2019 and secondly on their championship status for 2022. Groups 1A and 1B are of the same standard, for example, and are evenly graded. In 2023, six Divisions of ten teams each will be in place, based on finishing positions at end 2022.”