Cork hurling talking points: Can the Glen cope without their constant star, Patrick Horgan?

The Rebels sharpshooter is an injury doubt for this evening's showdown with Newtownshandrum. 

HOGGIE: Glen Rovers' Patrick Horgan wins the ball from Bishopstown's Barry Murphy during the Co-Op Superstores Cork PSHC at Páirc Uí Rinn. Picture; Eddie O'Hare

1) Busy Barrs boys 

The first of Sunday’s quarter-final double-header represents a seventh game in eight weekends for the Barrs’ five busiest dual players.

There are, of course, far more than just five dual exponents across the two panels, but we’re going to focus here on those who did not miss a single round of action during the group stages.

As strange as this will read, the busiest of the lot doesn’t even line out for both Barrs teams - he being Barrs hurler and Castlehaven footballer Jack Cahalane.

The youngest of the Cahalane brothers played every regulation minute across the three rounds of hurling and three rounds of football, and would have played every single minute full stop had he not been substituted in injury-time at the end of St Finbarr's Round 3 win over Sars.

With Castlehaven in quarter-final action next weekend, his schedule will read eight games in nine weekends. And we strongly suspect he’ll have at least one semi-final to look forward to in the fortnight after that.

Irrespective of their talent, at what point does such a demanding schedule begin to catch up with a dual player?

The same question applies to Jamie Burns, full-back on both Barrs teams, Billy Hennessy, half-back on both Barrs teams, Ethan Twomey, and the free-scoring Brian Hayes (he’s hit 2-8 in the hurling and 2-7 with the big ball).

This Barrs quartet bought themselves next weekend off by virtue of securing a bye to the football semis. No question but they’ll need it.

2) A rising tide lifts all boats - yet again 

Busy too are the Imokilly hurlers, for whom there is a definite pep back in the collective step. And the same as during their 2017-19 ownership of the county title, the feeder clubs are contending for silverware of their own.

In Fermoy this evening, 2020 Junior champions and 2021 Lower Intermediate winners Lisgoold will look to position themselves one hour from an Intermediate A final appearance. Three of their brightest - John Cronin, 2021 Cork minor DiarmUíd Healy, and Liam O’Shea - should see action for Imokilly on Sunday.

Also in Intermediate A quarter-final action this evening are Dungourney, who have Shane Hegarty and Jack Leahy (another 2021 Cork minor) on Denis Ring’s Imokilly team.

Tomorrow in Cobh, Castlemartyr, the same as Lisgoold, continue their bid for a third successive promotion when they chase a Premier Intermediate semi-final place. The 2021 Intermediate A champions had four starters on the Imokilly team that won last month’s colleges/divisions final - Ciarán Joyce, Brian Lawton, Darragh Moran, and Mike Kelly, while two more - Joe Stack and Barry Lawton - came off the bench.

You can’t beat momentum, and Denis Ring will be hoping it is once again transferable from club to division.

3) Will the real Douglas please stand up?

Speaking to two Barrs men earlier this week, their reservations around Sunday’s quarter-final centre on the possibility of potential-realising-Douglas showing up, as opposed to the more frequently spotted underperforming one.

With Douglas, you see, you just never know what you are going to get.

After they hammered Glen Rovers in the group phase last year, Eoin Cadogan told this reporter: “Douglas, we have been talking and talking. And people have been talking about us and the potential and the underage and all that, but we have never delivered on it. I have been playing senior hurling and football for nearly 19 seasons and I have nothing to show for it.” 

They came through that group unbeaten, but then fell by 10 points to Blackrock in the quarter-final. Already this year they have given us wildly contrasting displays against Midleton and Newtownshandrum.

On paper, they should be challenging year after year. But consistency they just don’t do.

4) Mr Consistency finally missing?

We’ve looked and looked and looked, and we simply cannot find a single Glen Rovers Cork senior championship game that Patrick Horgan didn’t feature in since making his debut 17 years ago.

The reason we were looking is that injury has put a question mark over his involvement in this evening’s quarter-final against Newtownshandrum.

We got in touch with former Glen managers, and neither can they recall Hoggy ever missing a game. One former manager told us he had Hoggy for two years at minor and he never missed a game during that period either.

Including his 2005 debut against St Catherine’s, the Glen have since played 79 Cork senior championship games. Horgan played in every single one.

There were two he departed early because of red cards - 2014 Round 4 against Bishopstown and last year’s quarter-final against Imokilly - both of which the Glen won. Horgan had his red cards rescinded both times.

5) Can Na Piarsaigh pride compensate for absent personnel? 

Keeping with injury, Na Piarsaigh will play tomorrow’s Premier Senior relegation play-off against Charleville with one hand tied behind their back.

During the club’s PIFC Round 3 game against Bantry last Sunday, Evan Sheehan suffered a leg injury that has ruled him out of the relegation decider.

Sheehan is one of three Na Piarsaigh players that started for Cork in the 2017 All-Ireland minor final. None of the three will line out tomorrow as alongside the injured Sheehan, Dáire Connery - who hurled senior for the county last season - is also in the sickbay, while Craig Hanafin is travelling abroad.

In light of absent personnel and low morale, pride will have to be leaned heavily on as the class of 2022 seek to extend the club’s 65-year unbroken stay in Cork hurling’s top flight.