'We're ticking all the right boxes at the right time': Ian Maguire on St Finbarr's building process

Since that eye-opening Mallow defeat, Ian Maguire and St Finbarr's have righted the wrongs of the group stage. Can they go one further and retain their Cork Premier SFC crown, with Nemo eager to dethrone their rivals? 

St Finbarr's midfielder Ian Maguire. Pic: Jim Coughlan.

"We were in the dressing room after the Mallow defeat, and it was a real humbling moment; it was like, we need to act now; the waiting needs to stop."

That was St Finbarr's Ian Maguire's immediate reference point when asked if there was a sense of worry creeping into the camp during the Premier SFC campaign of 2026. 

Perhaps they were right to be worried in that moment. With one win and two losses to show for their group stage efforts, the latest being a shock defeat at the hands of Mallow in Kilworth. 

What have they done since? They've made good on the promises in that post-Mallow dressing room. They acted promptly and stopped waiting for it to happen.

Before we look on from that September Sunday of the Mallow loss, why were the Barrs slower out of the blocks than they have been before? 

Injuries played their part, for sure. Barrs manager Brian Roche was robbed of some elite talent for each of those three group games. 

Both Maguire and Brian Hayes were absent for part of it, Dylan Quinn missed a chunk and Conor Dennehy did not feature at all. Big losses, no doubt. 

"We had a few injuries in the group stages," Cork midfielder Maguire explained. "I suppose sporadic (performance) is maybe too strong of a word, but it just seems like we kind of didn't play hectic against Carrigaline, played well against Douglas, not good against Mallow."

Ian Maguire with possession for the Barrs against Clonakilty. Pic: Larry Cummins

It didn't take them long to change that narrative. Heading back down to West Cork and Clonakilty, as they did 12 months prior in a quarter-final, they were far too strong for Carbery, as they were for Castlehaven a year previously. 

That 4-23 to 1-11 dismissal of the divisional outfit signalled their intent in this championship. There was to be no more waiting. 

"We felt like we played well against Carbery, and then we followed that up with Clonakilty, so we feel like there was a bit of consistency there in performance, and then ultimately we've got players back," Maguire said. "We feel like we're ticking all the right boxes at the right time of the year.

"We would have been just disappointed with our group stages, but again, we took the motto of, let's act now and play what's in front of us and don't look back."

That Clon semi-final outing a fortnight ago wasn't straightforward, however. 

Clon's waywardness in front of goal, coupled with the Barrs' experience late on - something garnered from earning multiple county medals as a group - were pivotal to the Togher outfit finding their way back to another county final, where they will face, you guessed it, Nemo Rangers. 

With the Barrs going for back-to-back titles, and Nemo smarting, not only from last year's defeat to their city rivals, but from three showpiece defeats in-a-row, Sunday's fare at Supervalu Páirc Uí Chaoimh is sure not to disappoint.

"Playing Nemo again, they're the team we've probably faced the most in championship over the last couple of years," the 32-year-old said. "They've had the upper hand in terms of beating us; we were lucky enough to get over the line last year.

"I think they're always standalone games. We know going into it, there's an element of 'who's in better form?' and all these factors, but they're probably no different to us in the sense of having had a couple of injuries, had a group stage loss, but found form at the right time. 

"And again, we know going into the game, it'll be a huge battle."

Maguire continued: "We know each other very well. We know there'll be plenty of fireworks on the sideline, plenty of fireworks on the pitch, so we're really looking forward to it. 

"We're delighted to be at this stage of the competition, at the business end, and playing Nemo is just a great honour and we'll just take the challenge on. Don't shy away from it."

This isn't Maguire's first county final rodeo. Any change in his emotions before the decider over the years? 

"It probably feels a bit different now in the sense of, you know what's coming on the line in terms of the media and training and all that, where before, say in 2017, there was just a complete unknown," he said. "There was a lot of excitement, obviously, but it was unknown. 

"But ultimately, when I wake up Sunday morning, the feeling's the exact same as it was in 2017, just a mixture of excitement and nerves. 

"I've probably always been a player where, just look, nerves are just a part of it anyway, like, and that's just the way it is."