Corn Uí Mhuirí: Sem must limit influence of Mounthawk midfield to stand a chance

Mercy Mounthawk play St Brendan's Killarney in the Corn Uí Mhuirí final at 12 noon on Saturday. 

FOUNDATION: Ben Murphy, on the ball for Mercy Mounthawk, and Daniel Kirby, have become the midfield bedrock for the Tralee school. Picture Dan Linehan

Mercy Mounthawk won a maiden Corn Uí Mhuirí this weekend last year by edging past Tralee CBS. Were they to successfully defend their crown at the expense of the other Kerry post-primary aristocrat, it would cement the legacy of this special Mounthawk group.

Through no fault of their own, the champions haven’t been remotely tested on the road back to this afternoon’s final. All five winning margins were comfortably into double-digit territory. Three of them reached the 20-point margin.

The only bit of turbulence they’ve encountered this season was the semi-final of the Kerry Colleges O’Sullivan Cup, against today’s opponents, and the subsequent final win over Tralee CBS. But those games are now two and four months in the rearview mirror.

Ben Murphy was at centre-back for the 0-23 to 3-8 O’Sullivan Cup semi-final win over St Brendan’s. His subsequent move to midfield created a partnership with fellow Kerry U20 Daniel Kirby that has been the bedrock of Mounthawk’s dominance to date. From their own kickouts, especially, the Sem must come with a plan to limit the influence and involvement of this pair. Lumping restarts out around the middle, as nearly every other team has done to date, is no recipe for success.

The other pair the Sem need to be so mindful of are forwards Tomás Kennedy and Paddy Lane. The latter is at 7-38 (2-19 from the placed ball) for the competition to date.

St Brendan’s, chasing a 25th crown, are certainly advantaged and stronger for their successful navigation of both Tralee CBS and Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine post-Christmas. Hamilton HS Bandon and Rochestown showed gaps in the Mounthawk defence that Joey McCarthy, Ben Kelliher, Josh Bowler, and Oisín Fleming must exploit, if and when the opportunities arise.

All available evidence, though, points in only one direction.

Verdict: Mercy Mounthawk

Corn Uí Mhuirí path to the final 

Mercy Mounthawk 

Group 3: Mercy Mounthawk 4-16 Abbey CBS 0-8 

Group 3: Mercy Mounthawk 5-14 Skibbereen CS 1-6 

Group 3: Mercy Mounthawk 1-14 St Pat’s Castleisland 0-5

Quarter-final: Mercy Mounthawk 5-23 St Francis College Rochestown 5-6 

Semi-final: Mercy Mounthawk 2-19 Hamilton High School Bandon 0-5 

St Brendan’s College, Killarney 

Group 1: St Brendan’s 3-4 Coláiste Choilm Ballincollig 0-4 

Group 1: St Brendan’s 2-12 St Francis College Rochestown 1-4 

Group 1: St Brendan’s 2-20 St Flannan’s 1-2 

Quarter-final: St Brendan’s 1-18 Tralee CBS 1-9 

Semi-final: St Brendan’s 1-13 Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine 0-10