The hour cometh for Cork's famed Na Piarsaigh club

EYES ON THE PRIZE: Na Piarsaigh's Kelvin Forde wins the sliotar from Erin's Owns' Cormac Dooley during the Co-Op Superstores Cork PSHC at Pairc Ui Rinn. Pic: Eddie O'Hare

Sixty five unbroken years - so runs the length of Na Piarsaigh’s stay in Cork hurling's top flight.

The club’s acquisition of senior status came in the same year as the Soviets launched Sputnik, Dev returned for a third term as Taoiseach, and Elvis released ‘All Shook Up’.

But there’s a real danger the famed northside club are now all shook out and could today lose their grip on the top flight status they have held since December 1957.

Winless and pointless at the end of their three group outings last month, Na Piarsaigh find themselves in a relegation play-off against Charleville. 

On the line so at Mourneabbey (2pm) on Saturday is 65 years worth of tradition, during which time the club thrice took hold of the Seán Óg Murphy Cup, in 1990, 95, and 04, and produced such Cork greats as Tony O’Sullivan, Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, and John Gardiner.

“It has been a long journey for the club since 1957. We’ve been a long time at the top level of Cork hurling, and we’d like to keep it that way if we could,” says Na Piarsaigh manager Frank Nodwell.

Heading into these seminal games, the word pride can be loosely thrown around, particularly when a club of such vintage as Na Piarsaigh is involved; pride in their past, pride in those who wore the black and amber before them, and pride in their top flight longevity.

Nodwell, though, wants his players to first and foremost have pride in themselves going out the dressing-room door.

“You want them to play for each other first of all, and obviously you’d like them to play for the club and jersey, as well, as we have had some fantastic people down the years, both as administrators and players, and you’d like to go and win it for them.

“But mostly you’d be hoping they play for themselves, that they’d have pride in their own performance to go out and win. That’s really what we are looking for.” 

Last month, the club advertised for a Games Development Officer. The part-time role, a first for the club, will form a central plank in their efforts to “rebuild” underage structures.

Despite success at Premier 1 U16 and Premier 2 U18 level last November, Nodwell says underage numbers are poor and believes victory at Mourneabbey is imperative to increase the club’s attractiveness to potential new members.

“The part of the city we are in, it’s an older part of the city. There is not a whole pile of new housing estates in this part of the city.

“Numbers are very low with our underage teams at the moment. Our U17s are a very good group, they operate in Premier 1, but they too are low on numbers.

“A lot of our other teams are playing in the second tier and they’d be relying on players from the age-grade underneath them, as well.

“Success breeds success. If you are winning you are more likely to get younger players involved in the club. But if things aren’t going well, parents might be less inclined to bring a young fella up and get them involved.

“We need to do everything we can to get numbers into the club because they are so low. If we could stay up, you have that tag as a senior club and there’s the attraction to get people in.

“It would be a relief, number one, if we could stay up, and then we’d be trying to drive it on next year because there are good underage players coming through and so you’d have the nucleus of a good squad in the years to come.”