'Flourishing' Ballinhassig only have eyes for continuing the climb 

Pat Horgan, Chairperson Cork GAA, Darragh O'Sullivan, Ballinhassig and Jerry Riordan, Co-Op Superstores Retail Operations Manager. Pic: Jim Coughlan.

Blooming. Flourishing. Climbing.

Darragh O’Sullivan paints a most pretty picture of Ballinhassig’s hurling pulse. After 13 years away, the club marks its return to senior fare at Kilbrittain on Saturday evening.

The men and young men who lifted them back up intend on hanging around. And if they don’t hang around in the Senior A pen, it’s because they’ve moved on again.

There is no going back to the past 13 years. Intermediate status, no thank you. They wore that t-shirt for long enough.

Last October’s county final victory over Ballincollig was followed last month by promotion into Division 2 of the League. Upwardly mobile on every front. Tangible impact on every front.

“It is flourishing now in Ballinhassig,” says centre-back O’Sullivan.

“You’re seeing kids down the pitch the whole time. Only just being down there this morning, I'd say there must have been 20 kids pucking around.

“This Senior A team are now role models for the underage players coming up. They all want to be playing at this grade, so you're seeing more kids getting involved, more kids at matches, more kids coming in to even watch our trainings is something special.

“There's something blooming down there, to be fair.” 

Castlelyons joined the Senior A ranks in 2024. A year later, they found themselves six clear in the decider replay with seven minutes remaining. Watergrasshill joined the Senior A ranks at the beginning of that same 2025 season. They were the only side to down eventual champions Bride Rovers.

Blarney joined in 2021 and while they’re still here, they’ve been to two finals, and were expected to make that three last autumn.

In essence, there’s form and priors for the Premier Intermediate champions to come along and quickly make their mark. More thriving than surviving.

That’s the form and priors Ballinhassig will lean on, not their own unpleasant experience. After Premier Intermediate glory in 2012, the club came straight back down the following season.

“After the county final last year and getting exposure to the Munster side of it, you were taken outside of your county to see what other teams in other counties were doing. It was something I personally didn’t expect to be doing in Ballinhassig, but seeing that, it makes you hungry to do it again and just keep winning and keep wanting the next thing,” Cork panelist O’Sullivan continued.

“There's just a hunger there in Ballinhassig these days to try and push on and keep going. Even at training, you can see fellas are driving the standards, trying to push on, confidence in everyone, everyone's communicating together, and everyone is trying to drive each other on, so it is going well down there.

“We're not here to just make up a number. Everyone's goal when you come up is just to maintain your status, but we do want to try and push on, get out of the group and let's see where the road takes us again.

“Playing Blarney, an established Senior A team, in the Division 3 League final, we did get to test ourselves. Losing by a point, we did say, ‘We’re well at this grade, we’re well at the level’. It did give us the confidence that we are here and we can do this now.” 

Relegated in 2013, their senior return throws in against Courcey Rovers. Thereafter, Inniscarra and Carrigtwohill must be navigated.

22-year-old O’Sullivan, while absent of minutes in red this year, is hopeful of bringing inter-county learnings to their group push.

“I have gained a lot of self-confidence in myself that you can express yourself in any way. You're on this stage with these exceptional players, you're in here as well for a reason that, when I come back to Ballinhassig, you're driving them on to try and give them the best opportunity to succeed as well because I've got a self-achievement of being in with Cork.

“You are getting some exposure, and it's something I'll never take for granted. I am really enjoying every bit of it. My level of hurling is after coming up, my confidence is after coming up, and then you are just enjoying where you are and what's happening around you.”