'Underachieving' Kanturk ready to crossover into trailblazing territory

Colin Walsh of Kanturk pictured at the Cork football championship semi-final launch in Pairc Ui Chaoimh. Pic: Chani Anderson

Underachieving.

When the Kanturk players congregated for a start-of-season meeting earlier this year, the consensus and the conclusion was that they were underachieving.

It was a scarcely credible conclusion. Results in no way supported the absurd self-criticism of the green and white playing collective.

The footballers had fallen to the eventual Senior A champions three years running. And they’d only fallen after extra-time or penalties.

Ask Newcestown, Carrigaline, and Knocknagree what was the defining fixture of their respective promotion campaigns and they’ll all point to the marathon win over the side from Duhallow. And look where Newcestown and Carrigaline have risen to since.

Following elevation to Cork hurling’s highest ladder rung in 2022, Kanturk bested reigning champions Midleton in their debut Premier Senior campaign. In 2023, they drew with eventual champions Sars and removed Glen Rovers’ 97-year top-flight status. In 2024, they secured progression to a first-ever Premier Senior quarter-final.

Underachieving? Good luck and get out of here. Such language has no business up around Kanturk. And yet this was how the group viewed themselves. An underachieving, coasting-along bunch. A frighteningly cut-throat level of introspection.

“We had a players meeting and we thought we were underachieving in a lot of ways, in hurling and football. We thought there was more in us because we were kind of content the last few years with a draw here and there, or just to get over the relegation zone,” explained dual forward Colin Walsh.

“When we look around the dressing room, we believe we have the players and the ability to push on in all competitions. And we weren’t doing that.”

They’re pushing now. The ceiling is getting a raising dunt every other weekend. Their October hasn’t been this busy since the 2021 campaign where Senior A hurling silverware was so very nearly accompanied by Premier Intermediate football honours.

The self-proclaimed underachievers stand one hour from a first-ever Senior A football final. History has already been achieved on the hurling side. A first-ever Premier Senior quarter-final victory two weeks ago. A first-ever Premier Senior semi-final appearance this Sunday.

A dozen dual diamonds start for both teams. When Ryan Walsh was unable to take his place at wing-back for the Kilshannig quarter-final last Sunday, because of injury sustained during the previous weekend’s hurling endeavours, Lorcán McLoughlin stepped up from the bench to maintain the dual dozen.

“It's been like that ever since we started at four or five. You don't play hurling or football, you play for Kanturk,” continued Walsh, the youngest of five brothers operating across both panels, every sibling registering at least 6’2 in height.

“Sometimes, I don't want to say you get sick of it, but it could get a bit stale if you’re just constantly hurling or constantly doing football, so the fact that it's both keeps a freshness within the group and yeah, so far so good.”

So far so giant slaying.

Blackrock lead the local roll of honour with 33 final wins. It was Kanturk who sensationally showed them the door at the beginning of last month.

Sars own two of the last three additions into the same roll of honour. No Cork outfit since UCC in 2013 had taken Sars for four goals in a knockout championship fixture until Colin, older brother Alan, Liam O’Keeffe, and Lorcán O’Neill blew apart their latest back-to-back bid.

Kanturk are now coming for another blue establishment.

It doesn’t matter who they’ve already accounted for. Failure to best the Barrs on Sunday and underachieving will again be their winter conclusion.

“As of right now, there’s nothing won,” remarked Colin. “In two or three years' time, you're going to look back and if there's nothing won at the end of this year, you’ll say, what was the point in doing it, do you know what I mean? We're only at the semi-final stage. We want to keep going and drive on now against the Barrs, and hopefully take that scalp.” The 23-year-old’s words are not to be misinterpreted as ungrateful of what has been stockpiled to date. Rather, the 23-year-old’s words weep ambition.

Ambition took a very different form when Lorcán McLoughlin started out in green and white 20 years ago. Ambition was putting a run together in the Duhallow Junior football championship. Ambition was involvement in the later stages of the third-tier Cork intermediate hurling championship.

Your Blacrocks, your Barrs, and your Sars might as well have been mythical forces operating in some far-off field such was the sheer unlikelihood of a Kanturk team ever sharing the same stage as them.

“It’s mad when you think about it. A great, great journey,” says 36-year-old McLoughlin.

“We're lucky to have the group of players we have at the moment, with the new fellas that have come through and a mixture of the older lads, as well, that are hanging in there.” 

Hanging in there my eye. His two points from half-back against Blackrock saw McLoughlin become just the third Kanturk player, after cousins Aidan and Ian Walsh, to reach 100 championship white flags from play.

Colin Walsh spent his childhood looking up at the nine-season Cork senior. It is Lorcán now looking up and launching deliveries down on top of Kanturk’s skyscraper inside pairing of Colin and Alan.

“Getting the chance to play next to him, like he's still at the top of his game. Himself and John, unbelievable service from the brothers. They never miss a training, never miss a recovery session, never miss a meeting.” For so long, Lorcán’s role in local colours was more carrying than contributing. You don’t even need to go back that long for evidence of the long-held former existence. That famous 2023 evening in Fermoy where they relegated the Glen, Lorcán swept masterfully.

The continued growth and hurling development of Tommy Walsh, Brian O’Sullivan (2-44 for this championship), Colin (2-13), and Alan Walsh (2-6) has allowed the 21-season veteran to move slightly left of centre stage.

“There were years where I didn’t enjoy playing,” Lorcán admits. “It just got to the stage where you've kind of enough of it played. I'm out the other side of that and I realise time is against me now, so you enjoy it a bit more again towards the twilight years.

“There's great excitement around town about what we're doing. That feeds into players. You get a better sense of the whole thing and what it’s about.” A Kanturk victory over the Barrs would deliver a first-time Cork hurling finalist since Bishopstown in 2012. A year earlier, McLoughlin was CIT captain when the first-time finalists came up a point short of Carrigtwohill. Novelty hasn’t got a nose in since.

“When I was there with CIT and Carrigtwohill beat us, I looked at my own club and said, it is possible. What we had with CIT and what Carrigtwohill had, we have that in Kanturk. There's no reason why we can't.

“Every now and again the championship opens up for a team that's ready for it. Hopefully it's us this year.” 

The underachievers are ready to crossover into trailblazing territory.