Corn Uí Mhuirí: Milltown chase maiden decider as Munster's best do battle

Michael Horan of Presentation Milltown (Blue) is closed down by Rory O'Connor of St Pats Castleisland (Green). Pic: Domnick Walsh/Eye Focus

There’s the high-profile Corn Uí Mhuirí semi-final. And then there’s the Corn Uí Mhuirí semi-final of higher intrigue.

At Mallow this afternoon (12.30pm throw-in), High School Clonmel and Presentation Milltown will chase involvement in the decider of Munster’s blue riband post-primary football competition.

The Tipp school is chasing a third final involvement. The most recent was 10 years ago, that a 29-point mauling by David Clifford’s St Brendan’s. The other occasion was their final success of 1928. It remains the sole final win of a Tipp school.

Presentation Milltown have no such history. They have no such previous final involvement. This is only their fourth year competing at the top grade. It was only three years ago that they secured a first win in the competition. It was only this season that they emerged from the group phase for the first time.

So, how have they got here and can they go further?

Firies and Listry - one an intermediate club, the other junior - comprise nine of their starting team. One-third of the starting team were involved with the Kerry minors in recent years. They are the Firies pair of Marcus Clifford and Liam Harmon, as well as Michael Lynch (Milltown/Castlemaine), Brian Mangan (Keel), and Danny Murphy (Listry). The latter was selected at half-back on the 2025 minor team of the year.

Killian Fitzgerald is expected to be a 2026 Kerry minor. The Presentation Milltown full-forward kicked 0-5 in their quarter-final win over St Pat’s Castleisland. He kicked 1-5 on the opening day when they shaded another Kerry school, Intermediate Killorglin, also by two points.

Not to take from their run, but the draw has been favourable. They’ve avoided all the main Kerry nurseries. To reach a first final they must end the run of a High School Clonmel side coached by Tipp’s 2020 Munster winning manager David Power.

The Tipp students are nothing if not adaptable. They ran up 5-13 on Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine to reach the knockout phase and then held Clonakilty Community College to 0-5 to reach the semis. They’ll have another plan drawn up for Milltown.

To go from Munster U17B champions to Munster U19A finalists in the space of a year would be a phenomenal leap.

The argument is there to be made that the more likely outright winner will come from the other semi. Tralee CBS and St Francis College Rochestown clash at Cill na Martra (12.30pm). 

The last remaining Cork school require Pádraig McGrath, Dara O’Sullivan, and Mark O’Brien to conjure a total superior to that of the Kerry minor and U20 pair of Gearóid White and Ronan Carroll.