DIVISIONAL SIDES, AMALGAMATION outfits or simply a combination of teams.
For many the notion of a group of clubs banding together to form a starting fifteen that competes in a county senior championship, is an alien concept.
And yet in Cork and Kerry, it is embedded in their local structures.
Tomorrow Duhallow fly the divisional flag in the Cork senior football decider, a week after the East Cork representation Imokilly won the corresponding hurling final.
In Kerry they reach the last four stage tomorrow afternoon in Killarney with Dr Crokes the only club team still standing as South Kerry, East Kerry and St Brendan’s Board all chase final places.
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Cork
Senior football final
- Duhallow v Nemo Rangers, Páirc Uí Rinn, 4pm
Kerry
Senior football semi-finals
- St Brendan’s Board v East Kerry, Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney, 1.30pm
- Dr Crokes v South Kerry, Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney, 3.15pm
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To those on the outside, this is a curious practice.
Anthony Daly explored the topic in the Irish Examiner last Saturday. After attending the 2018 Cork hurling final, when Imokilly claimed the second leg of their eventual three-in-a-row, he felt the concept lacked emotion and identity, while admitting that his Clare background meant it was a struggle for him to grasp the format.
To those on the inside, it has not been universally approve either. Glen Rovers brought forward a motion to Cork county convention last year which sought for the participation of divisions to be kicked to touch. It was ultimately defeated but it highlighted how thorny an issue this is.
The arguments naturally tend to flare up when divisional teams are successful. Imokilly’s dominance has been complete over the past few seasons in Cork hurling circles but before that they were the last division team to win back in 1998. The 90s were a profitable time for combination teams with Carbery and Avondhu also picking up titles but generally Imokilly have been the main one to threaten of late.
The sheer talent available to them has been a major factor. They may lose four starting players – including marquee forwards Declan Dalton and Paudie O’Sullivan – next year due to regrading in Cork declaring them ineligible, but the flipside is the young prospects they have coming through, the depth to their squad this season and the potential return of defenders like Cork duo Colm Spillane (injured) and Niall O’Leary (involved with UCC) to the fold for 2020.
The success has been sporadic on the Cork football stage. Imokilly won a couple in the ‘80s, Duhallow lifted a pair of crowns at the start of the ‘90s while Beara (1997) and Carbery (2004) triumphed with a core of Cork players involved on those occasions.
In Kerry it is more ingrained in the county’s football culture. Dr Crokes dominance has changed the trend this decade, they’ve mopped up seven titles and with Austin Stacks triumphing in 2014, South Kerry’s replay win in 2015 over Killarney Legion stands out as the only title that had the destination of a division.
But there were 10 club wins spanning across the previous three decades – one in the 80s, five in the 90s and four in the 00s – with divisional outfits conquering frequently.
Given Kerry’s system of bestowing the honour of county captaincy upon the victors of the Bishop Moynihan Cup, it has acted as a major reward for several players. There have been modern Sam Maguire winning captains such as Declan and Darran O’Sullivan, and Seamus Moynihan.
Mick O’Dwyer’s Golden Years crews had triumphant leaders like Mickey Ned O’Sullivan, Ogie Moran, Tim Kennelly, Jimmy Deenihan, Ambrose O’Donovan, Páidí Ó Sé and Tommy Doyle as a consequence of their divisional victories.
The arguments are clear about the advantages accrued from several clubs feeding into one collective system. 11 different clubs supplied players to Imokilly’s starting side last Sunday, eight are set to contribute to Duhallow’s fifteen of choice tomorrow. In Kerry six clubs band together for East Kerry, five for St Brendan’s and South Kerry can pick from nine. Having that level of strength available is a huge boost.
The counter argument put forward is the logistical difficulties and football challenges in trying to fuse those different components into an effective unit. Club commitments can interfere. Five Duhallow clubs had their own county championship assignments in Cork last weekend, not ideal preparation a week out from a senior final in trying to focus minds and rest bodies.
There is also the school of thought that given the geographical size of both counties and the small pick for rural clubs, it offers a precious senior outlet that would otherwise be out of bounds for some players.
Certain leading stars have benefitted. Imokilly’s winning captain Seamus Harnedy (St Ita’s) has thrived while his exploits for South Kerry have made Bryan Sheehan (St Mary’s) arguably the greatest player in the Kingdom club arena over the last decade and a half.
Paudie O’Sullivan lost three county finals on the bounce as a teenager with Cloyne. His reflections last Sunday as he picked up his third hurling medal, shone a light into the personal store he placed in all this.
Tomorrow Donncha O’Connor, a 38-year-old still serving as a focal point for the Duhallow attack, will aim to round off in style a decade that began for him by achieving the game’s ultimate honour in Croke Park. After the pain of final losses in 2012 and 2018, this is another shot at redemption. Nemo Rangers will be forewarned. In 2011 they were the reigning title holders and possessed a highly rated team but were dumped out in a quarter-final by North Cork side Avondhu.
In Fitzgerald Stadium there are set to be seven members involved from Kerry’s 26-man squad that faced Dublin in last month’s replay. For players like Fossa’s David Clifford and Na Gaeil’s Jack Barry there is a major opportunity to book a spot in a county senior final for the first time.
The upshot though is that divisional winners cannot progress into the Munster scene. It’s why Glen Rovers are heading to Tipperary for a semi-final next month despite losing last Sunday and Nemo Rangers, irrespective of tomorrow’s result, have a provincial quarter-final against the Limerick champions on their horizon. In Kerry it’ll either be Dr Crokes who advance, if they win the championship out, or Austin Stacks, club victors in April, if a division succeeds.
Add all those viewpoints up and it’s an argument that will continue to rage and polarise opinions.
Yet the impact of the divisions does not look likely to diminish.
And on Bank Holiday Sunday, they will be key players as Cork and Kerry reach the business end of their local football matters for 2019.
On the latest episode of The42 Rugby Weekly, Andy Dunne tells Murray Kinsella and Gavan Casey about where it all went wrong for Joe Schmidt’s Ireland
