For first time in seven years, Cork football's big three look vulnerable in group stage
Carrigaline are in pole position for the top seeding in the Cork Premier SFC. PIc: Jim Coughlan.
The current Cork championship structure is in its seventh year. Group stage casualties in the top football grade have been close to non-existent since its 2020 inception. The big three of the local scene will occasionally stumble. But fatal falls, they tend to steer clear of.
In the relatively short lifetime of the current structure, only once has a member of the big three - Castlehaven, Nemo Rangers, and St Finbarr’s - failed to successfully navigate the group phase. That outlier was the 2021 autumn when Nemo, in the seven weeks after winning the delayed 2020 final, suffered one-point defeats to Valley Rovers and Douglas for an incredibly short-lived reign.
From 2020-25, the big three played a total of 54 group games. Only five ended in defeat. One of those defeats was one member of the big three, Nemo, beating fellow big three member Castlehaven in 2022, so really it’s just four losses from 54 outings across six seasons.
They ain’t called the big three for nothing.
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Their combined total of group victories has never dropped below seven-from-nine in a single summer. But ahead of this weekend’s final round of group fare, that statistic has already been rewritten. With each having dropped points in one of their two group outings to date, six victories is the most they can climb to for this latest pool phase.
Of course, six victories might not even be reached.
None of the three sit top of their respective group going into the final round - another first of the group phase. None of the three might finish the weekend still in the championship - what would be an absolute stunning first of the seven-year-old group phase.
The reality is that county champions St Finbarr’s should advance. Their score difference of +9 is the strongest in Group 1 and their Mallow opponents are without a win and without their Cork figurehead Mattie Taylor.
The picture is more precarious for both Nemo and Castlehaven. The latter face a Knocknagree side against whom they required a last-second goal to edge past in July’s Division 1 League final.
As for Nemo, their opponents and 2025 relegation play-off survivors Valley Rovers currently occupy top-of-the-table status in Group 2 thanks to a one-point win over a Newcestown side that had six to spare on Nemo in Round 1.
Come 5.30pm on Sunday, it may be that all three have again successfully advanced. But for the first time in the seven years of the current format, there’s uncertainty surrounding the progression of at least two of the standard-bearers.
Because of all the above, what you are going to have this weekend - and for the first time since 2021 - is a team from outside the big three claiming the top seeding and direct progress to the semi-finals.
From 2020-25, Douglas were the sole outfit to have succeeded in nabbing the top seeding ahead of Nemo, the Barrs, and the Haven.
Michael Meaney’s Carrigaline are in pole position for that top seeding. Beat Douglas, and beat them by more than any Valley Rovers upsetting of Nemo, and they’ll stand one hour from a first-ever county final appearance.
“Beating St Finbarr’s was great, but it was a marker on our back then. People had talked us up, and there was an expectation on us coming in here today,” said Meaney following their second-round win over Mallow.
“The most important thing was getting the win and backing up the Barrs win. We did that.”
They now must go and further cement their credentials. Failure to do so opens the door to Clonakilty, who can get to five points with victory over already eliminated Ballincollig.
Aghabullogue and Kanturk line up opposite each other in the Senior A grade at Macroom (2pm) on Sunday. The fixture brings together two of the more impressive dual clubs in the county.
Kanturk dumping out the Blackrock hurlers in the manner they did last weekend should be a feat near impossible to better. Hold my beer, is the reply of an Aghabullogue group for whom there is more than hurling and football dominating local minds at present.
The same afternoon as Kanturk battered the Rockies, Coachford AFC were above in Navan securing historic passage to a first-ever FAI Junior Cup final. In doing so, they became the first Cork club since 1987 to reach the concluding afternoon.
Central to Coachford’s decider run has been Aghabullogue trio Adam Murphy, Matthew Bradley, and Luke Casey. Indeed, it was Bradley and Murphy who combined for Coachford's opener in Sunday’s shootout win.
The final is fixed for early October. The hope is that they’ll still have three codes on their plate by then. Nothing less than victory over Kanturk this weekend can keep the odyssey going.
A most merited Macroom mention. The past three years they found themselves mired in the third-tier relegation play-off.
In 2023, they saw off Na Piarsaigh by 1-9 to 1-6. In 2024, they outlasted Ilen Rovers by 1-13 to 1-11. And in keeping with the year-on-year shrinking of their survival victory, they’d only a point to spare over Bandon 12 months ago.
Under new management this year, Ciarán Murphy having replaced Kerry All-Ireland winner Aidan O’Mahony as manager and local legend Fintan Goold taking up the role of coach, Macroom have accumulated three points from a possible four and will progress direct to the Premier Intermediate semi-finals with victory over Kiskeam today.
They could still advance to the quarters even in defeat. Relegation won’t be their concern this year. Quite the turnaround.
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