Dungourney's young guns rise to the occasion to claim Cork IAHC
JUBILANT SCENES: Dungourney players celebrate after defeating Cloughduv in the Co-Op Superstores Cork IAHC final at Pairc Ui Chaoimh. Pic: Eddie O'Hare
Dungourney hurling is on the rise and who’s to know where it will stop?
They won their first Cork intermediate title with youthful industry and dizzying forward movement from a starting team containing four 18-year-olds, a 19-year-old, and three 20-year-olds. Their average age? 21.5. Their oldest player? Shane Hegarty, who showed he’s far from past it with a man-of-the-match performance at the ripe old age of – *checks notes* – 28? Niall Motherway (27), the mathematician behind that average age calculation, and Ryan Denny (25) are the only others over 23 years of age.
Their top-scorer Jack Leahy (0-8, six frees) is 18. Paul Flynn, who made four point-blank saves to keep Dungourney ahead when their lead was under threat, is 18. He must’ve been next in line for man of the match.
The other half of the parish, their underage partners Castlemartyr, are going for a third county title in three years next Sunday. Who knows if Dungourney could do the same at premier intermediate next year? They certainly weren’t expected to do it at this level. Not this year. Knocked out at the group stages in each of the last two years, they’ve been outsiders every step of the way. You can’t win anything with kids. For Dungourney, it’s no longer a matter of if they can win but if can they win at higher and higher levels.
“I’m the fourth oldest on the panel and I’m only 25 so the future is bright,” said Denny, who overcame an MCL injury to start.
“This team is up and coming. This team is only going to get better, I can tell you that. We’re ready for the challenge next year. You saw Castlemartyr, what they did to the grade, and it’s there to be taken if we put our foot down and motor on now over the next few years.”
Their forward movement bamboozled Cloughduv at times. Denny, Leahy, and Hegarty rotated through the lone-full-forward role. They scored 1-14 between them but Hegarty (0-4) did the most damage. Having picked off three points from midfield in the first half, he was moved inside on the resumption. He won a penalty – fouled by Cormac O’Driscoll – for Denny to convert on 34 minutes, won three frees for Leahy, teed Leahy up for another goal chance, and clipped a late insurance point. Cloughduv sent captain Eoghan Clifford back on Hegarty but it was too late to stem the tide.
With extra numbers out the field, the winners choked Cloughduv between the 45s, especially in those final 28 minutes after Flynn’s fourth flying save. 0-13 was the lowest Cloughduv have tallied since their last IAHC final, a 0-15 to 1-10 loss to Blackrock in 2019, and 2-5 less than they mustered when beating Dungourney in the group stage. They failed to score in the final 12 minutes of play, as their wides total rose to 13 (five from placed balls, plus another free off the post), and couldn’t create the goal chance they needed.
It was quite the turnaround from the early minutes when they created three one-on-one openings in the space of five minutes. Flynn saved each and every one, Aidan Murphy, Brian and Mark Verling blocked by the Midleton CBS student as Dungourney’s other 18-year-old stars, Leahy and John Ahern, landed the opening points.
Cloughduv only led once all day, scoring four points in five minutes to go one up on 22 minutes as Dungourney went 13 minutes without a score, with Leahy denied by Conrad Crowley when through on goal. But Leahy and Hegarty, who combined for six points from midfield across the half, saw them in level, 0-8 apiece.
After another Flynn save from Brian Verling, Dungourney made the winning move. They didn’t score from play between Denny’s 31st-minute point and Hegarty’s 62nd-minute insurance score but still outscored Cloughduv by 1-5 to 0-5, thanks to Denny’s penalty and five Leahy frees.
“I told the young lads, I was only 17, 18, in 2015 when we got to the county final,” said Denny of Dungourney’s last title, also won against Cloughduv at junior A.
“This is a time to cherish. I spoke in our psychology meetings at the start of the year and I said, ‘These are moments to appreciate and these are moments to enjoy. When I was 17, 18, I might have thought that success comes around every year and it just doesn’t so these are times to enjoy with your family, your friends, and your community, and, I’m telling you, Dungourney will be absolutely hopping tonight!”
J Leahy (0-8, 6 frees); R Denny (1-2, 1-0 pen, 0-1 free); S Hegarty (0-4); John Ahern, C Griffin (0-1 each).
B Verling (0-6 frees); M Walsh (0-2); C O’Driscoll, A Murphy, J Mannix, M Verling, S O’Donoghue (0-1 each).
P Flynn; M Leahy, M McGrath, D Healy (capt); S Rohan, N Motherway, C Padden; Jack Leahy, S Hegarty; James Ahern, B Forbes, John Ahern; N McGrath, N Flynn, R Denny.
C Griffin for N McGrath (h-t), C Flynn for N Flynn (41), W McCarthy for Rohan (47), N McGrath for James Ahern (58), C O’Doherty for M McGrath (60+1).
C Crowley; L Kelleher, B Ahern, Ó O’Driscoll; S Curzon, C O’Driscoll, E Clifford (capt); W Ahern, E Moynihan; M Walsh, A Murphy, J Mannix; M Verling; B Verling, C Ryan.
S O’Donoghue for Moynihan (h-t), P Buckley for Curzon (47), C Canty for Mannix (48), S O’Connor for Ryan (54), D Walsh for Ó O’Dirscoll (60+1).
P Lyons (Bishopstown).
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