How do you explain the magnitude of Knocknagree’s rise to Cork football's top tier?

“You need a bit of luck, but you need a big buy-in. We have a great culture, we have a great respect between one another. Players will go to hell and back for us."

ASCENSION: The Knocknagree team celebrate their win in the McCarthy Insurance Group Senior A fotball championship final at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Picture: Dan Linehan

How does one fully explain the magnitude of Knocknagree’s ascension into the top tier of football in Cork? Of course, they’re not the first team to make the quantum leap from junior to senior football in Cork. There was Rockchapel, for example, from their own corner of the world who won the Junior County in 1987 before winning the Intermediate County two years later.

Two steps to heaven for the Rock, but Knocknagree’s county titles in 2017 and 2019 only brought them to Premier Intermediate level, two steps shy of the Holy Land. The Premier Intermediate triumph of 2020 left them with one rung of the ladder to climb, and if we’re honest, most clubs would be happy enough with that.