Task is the same as 2025 but Barrs hurlers have evolved

The venue, opposition, and stage of championship are unchanged from this time last year. There’s even the same uncertainty hanging over the fitness of Brian Hayes.

St Finbarr's manager Paudie Murray. Picture Chani Anderson

So much is the same. And yet so much has changed.

The Barrs return to Midleton’s Clonmult Memorial Park this Sunday. They made the same short journey this very weekend last year for a quarter-final clash with Imokilly.

The venue, opposition, and stage of championship are unchanged. There’s even the same uncertainty hanging over the fitness of Brian Hayes.

There’s your similarities. The opposing ledger is plenty busy too.

Ger Cunningham has been succeeded on the sideline by the Murray brothers, Paudie and Kevin. The collection of Barrs men on the other side of the white paint is much rejigged too.

2022 county winning captain Billy Hennessy has relocated stateside for work. Jack Cahalane has been forced to relocate onto the sideline because of injury.

Travelling in the other direction is All-Ireland U20 medalist Sean Daly who has transferred in from Randal Óg. The West Cork newbie slotted straight in at corner-back. And then there’s the trio of U20s - James Murray, Conor McCarthy, and Rickey Barrett - who’ve been promoted to the starting team en bloc.

“It was our goal at the start of the year that we felt we needed to freshen things up. The previous management was there for four years. If we did the same as what they were doing, my view is that we’d probably get the same results, so we had to change things,” began Barrs boss Paudie Murray.

“The objective was to build a bigger panel. We took a decision that we would try the younger guys in senior, and use premier junior to develop and get form back into a number of players, particularly Eoghan Finn and Sam Cunningham who have made a big difference when they’ve come on. They're going well at the moment.

“It may be Premier 2, but we won the minor P2 last year. We were beaten in a replay the year before in the same competition. At underage, I always look for two players every year. We're getting those two players every year, and it's important that they are integrated as fast as possible.” 

Of those that lined out in the Barrs’ surprise football defeat to Mallow last Sunday, at least six will step back inside the whitewash at Midleton. Conor and Damien Cahalane, who wore Haven colours last weekend, are two more lining out in their seventh championship game since late July.

All of the above have a football quarter-final in their diaries next weekend and will again swap codes the weekend after if Imokilly are successfully negotiated on Sunday.

Murray is adamant that the current calendar does no favours to dual establishments such as their own. He counts just nine hurling sessions Kevin has overseen with their full complement of players in 2026.

“People within the club, they know exactly the challenges that the club has on the organising side because there are massive challenges, even though the two managements have an excellent working relationship.

“As for the general public who go to watch the games, I don't think they have any idea of what is going on and the workloads these dual players shoulder. I've met lots of people saying that they need to make a choice, and they should be playing only one code.

“The GAA was set up not for one code. No doubt but the dual club is getting punished at the moment. With the schedules, it’s my view that there should be more allowances made for the dual club that's trying to promote both codes because that's why the GAA was set up.

“I don't think a player should be forced to make a decision. But the way things have gone, particularly with the split season, it's forcing the player [to make a decision], which I think is wrong.” 

No more than their footballers, the Barrs hurlers have produced little of the outstanding variety in recent weeks. It’s been more spluttering than satisfactory.

“Obviously, you'd like to be hurling well for the full 60 minutes,” the four-time All-Ireland winning camogie manager continued.

“However, you have to deal with the cards you are dealt, keep battling away, and that's been the key with us, we've shown some really good battling qualities.

“You're just hoping that the longer you stay in the championship, the better you're going to get. And if we can get everyone back on the pitch, we'll be competitive.”