Barrs heroes happy to have overcome 'absolutely mad' conditions

DOWNPOAR: St. Finbarr’s Brian Hayes celebrates a goal. Pic: INPHO/Ken Sutton

Brian Hayes and Eoghan Finn played their part in St Finbarr’s Co-Op Superstores Cork PSHC county final victory amid monsoon conditions at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday.

St Finbarr’s players and supporters were singing in the rain following their first Cork PSHC county final success in 29 years. Not even the incessant monsoon-like rain and driving wind could deter ‘les blues’ from celebrating a hard-earned county final success over the Rockies.

Brian Hayes finished with 1-1 and struggled to put it all into context immediately after an exhausting decider.

“It was absolutely mad out there as the (weather) conditions were brutal for both teams,” Hayes admitted.

“I don’t think anyone would have liked to play a game in hurling in that when they woke up this morning. Look, we just put the shoulder to the wheel and I think we were the better team on the day.

“There was nothing in it but those two second half goals gave us the breathing space we needed and we drove it on from there. It is an amazing feeling to have won.” 

Hayes was part of an effective St Finbarr’s forward division in which Ben Cunningham and Conor Cahalane came of age. Yet it was Hayes’ second half goal that kick-started his team’s path to glory.

“To be honest, I just saw Conor (Cahalane) win the break and I said I’d hold my ground,” the Barrs forward added.

“Thankfully he floated a great ball across the square and I just batted it in. Everything else fell into place for us after that. Páirc Uí Chaoimh is one of the best pitches in Ireland yet the ball was getting stuck in puddles. I tried to puck the ball at one stage and my hurley came out of my hand. It was definitely poor enough conditions to be playing in.” 

Centre-forward Eoghan Finn was another of the Barr’s players to make his mark on the county final. Selfless running off the ball coupled with a willingness to track back meant Finn could be pleased with his and his team’s afternoon’s work.

“It was very tough. There was only a point in it in our group game so everyone knew it was going to be tough out there today anyway,” Finn commented.

“The conditions just added to that. There has been a massive effort put in over the last couple of weeks and months. For a lot of us, it has been over the last ten years. It has been a long time coming and we are going to enjoy it now.” 

The fact Finn’s club is now on the cusp of a possible Premier Senior hurling and football ‘double’ means these are special times for the blues’ loyal supporters. A fact not lost on the centre-forward.

“There has been a lot of to-ing and froing with the football and the Castlehaven lads involvement as well,” Finn added.

“Everybody pulled together over the last couple of months. We actually enjoyed the buildup because we hadn’t experienced anything like this before. Thankfully, the Barrs came out on the right side of the result.”