And they're good at football too...hard work paying dividends for Midleton youngsters
Midleton players celebrate after defeating Ballincollig by one point in the Rebel Óg under-16 Premier 1 FC final at Sallybrook. Pic: Eddie O'Hare
Last Saturday, Midleton clinched the Rebel Óg under-16 Premier 1 hurling title after beating Ballincollig in a replay at Church Road.
Their senior hurlers will continue their quest for Cork Premier SHC honours against Blackrock on Sunday.
What happened on Wednesday in between? A Cork U16 Premier 1 football title, also against Ballincollig, sealing Midleton's title as the top footballers and hurlers team in the county in that important age bracket.
While the young hurlers had to battle over two hours to edge their way clear of their counterparts to secure the small ball honours, the real drama came late in the big ball decider.
An unanswered 3-2 from the Magpies late on ensured they stole the crown from the grasp of Ballincollig.
Football lives in the shadow of hurling in Midleton, but the under-16 setup's ability to add a P1 football win to the hurling equivalent shows it may not be long until the big ball begins to thrive too.
For the management team of Andy McCormack, Bernard Butler, Cormac Quirke, Diarmuid O’Dalaigh, Johnny Hennessy, Pat Walsh and Sean Crowley, who run both the hurling and football, the last week has been a special one.
"We're in awe of the lads," said Butler on their recent triumphs.
The benefits of having the same management voices in both codes are clear, especially with a heavy crossover of players.
"The same seven coaches are involved with both codes, so thankfully, there's good communication between us as a group," Butler said. "We've been together the last three or four years, people have come and gone, so I suppose we're building on all that and there's experience there from our own playing days and the involvement with the GAA.
"Then it's fine-tuning, working on a few small things that you might think need work, and then trying to make sure the lads can express themselves on the pitch."
And to the players, their ability to stick in the fight has been on show of late. However, it's been something Butler has witnessed all year - their togetherness, their will to win, and their never-say-die attitude.
"We've seen it as a panel, there are four teams, we've got two teams in both codes and the whole panel have shown the same resilience. They've worked for each other, they've supported each other and fought for each other throughout the season and they don't know when they're beaten either. You can't coach that, that's within the players."
So what of football in Midleton, where Junior A is the grade at adult level? For Butler, it's certainly growing. This recent success may just provide a springboard for more down the line.
"Midleton historically would be a hurling club and that's what it's known as but there's a lot of work going on (on the football side)," Butler said. "Thankfully our guys have popped their heads over the parapet first, but I think there's more coming and hopefully that will show itself as well going forward."
Although the P1 championship campaigns have concluded, and all exams have been passed with flying colours, the Midleton under-16 squad's work has not yet been completed, as Butler described.
"I'm getting messages from guys that played last night (Wednesday) and their parents asking: ‘When is the next training session?’
"Our second teams have two county finals coming up in the next few weeks and the lads that are tied to the P1s are looking to support them via training and trying to work together at that as well. So that's great.
"They all want to support each other, want to know when the games are on so they can be there for each other again.
"They're a group that is definitely, you hear the saying, more than the sum of their individual parts."
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