Excitement at fever pitch as Sarsfields gear up for All Ireland clash

Locals in Glanmire will be praying for some divine intervention this weekend, but one man in particular who has a direct line to the Almighty is recommending Sarsfields' supporters to have a little flutter on their side clinching the All Ireland senior club hurling title.

Fr Martin Barry, 88, admits that he has been praying fervently that his beloved club are victorious when they take on Dublin-based Na Fianna in Sunday's clash at Croke Park

He was a sub in the 1957 county championship winning team and the last surviving member of a family of legendary Sarsfields hurlers.

Fr Barry's five brothers won county titles with the club - bagging four medals in 1951 and another three in 1957.

“I’m very hopeful of a win. The bookies are making Na Fianna favourites but that won’t worry us as we are better being underdogs like we were when we won against Ballygunner (in the Munster final). I think at 6/4 against Sarsfields it's well worth a flutter. I am actually allowed to have a bet but I won’t be doing it as it might bring bad luck to the team,” Fr Barry said.

Fr. Martin Barry former Sarsfields player who won a county medals 1957. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

The Glanmire native worked with the St Patrick’s Missionaries (better known as the Kiltegan Fathers) in Kenya for 50 years before retiring from that job six years ago.

He now helps out in the parish and, when saying mass in the local church, delivers a sports report at the end.

His parish priest Fr Pat Fogarty says this is a big hit with the parishioners.

While Fr Barry’s passion is Gaelic games “he’ll also give a little talk about rugby, soccer, cricket, anything about sport,” says Fr Fogarty.

“We will both be leaving for the game on Saturday night directly after I’ve said the 6pm mass in Glounthaune and Fr Barry says the one in Glanmire. I’ll be driving and we’ll be stopping over at my family’s place in Clonakenny, near Roscrea in Co Tipperary for the night. We’ll go to Dublin from there on the Sunday morning and drive back to Cork that night,” he said.

Despite being a Tipp man and only in Glanmire for little more than two years, Fr Fogarty is now an ardent ‘Sars’ supporter.

“I’m a serious hurling fan and I’ve been to most of their matches. Their success has brought a great buzz to the community. I’m praying for (their) strength and accuracy on Sunday,” he added.

Both priests regularly attend the ‘Tuesday Club’ in the Sarsfields pavilion which is frequented by mostly retired players and older club officials.

Formed nearly two years ago, it’s a social outlet where they can partake of some refreshments and a chat about past glories. The possibility of All Ireland success is currently the only topic of conversation. One of those in attendance is 91-year-old club president Denis Hurley. He is the last surviving member of the first Sars side to win a Cork county final in 1951.

His daughter is driving him to Croke Park for Sunday's clash.

“I’m very confident and if we win it there will be a great party afterwards, surpassing the one after we beat Ballygunner. We were underdogs that day and if we repeat that performance we will win,” Mr Hurley said.

Former Sarsfields players who won county medals Fr. Martin Barry (left) 1957 and Denis Hurley, winner in 51 and 57 and his brother Neil Hurley, winner in 57 gather before the All Ireland senior club championship final . Picture: Eddie O'Hare

His younger brother, Neilie, 88, was in the 1957 county winning squad and compared his playing days to what is required now.

“Nutrition? Nobody had heard of the word back then. There were certainly no special diets. We ate what we liked. There were fellas having pints before a match and you would often see a couple of lads having a smoke at half time. There was no special training either. We just ran around a bit and that was it, basically,” he said.

There is a now world of difference in terms of the players' diet and training regimes, as manager Johnny Crowley, 50, is quick to point out.

The sales representative at the local Grandon’s motor dealers admitted that back when he was playing in the 1990s “there were also plenty of pints” although by then they were more likely to be consumed after the game rather than before it.

“Back then we had no gym or all-weather pitches in the club, although we had the use of a gym in the city. Now you are dealing with professional people (in the team). We have a nutritionist providing advice. They are almost constantly training, and we send them an ‘advice’ email every single week on what they should be doing,” Johnny said.

That’s been headed by Paddy McCarthy’s two grandsons, Colm and Cathal McCarthy, who are in the team’s centrefield.

“I am very proud of them, and I definitely think they are going to win it,” the 84-year-old Mr McCarthy said.

Excitement has reached fever pitch at the nearest school to the club, St Joseph’s National School, where the children have been proudly sporting the team’s jerseys and colours.

Principal Padraig Bracken has taught a number of the current team over the years and says wild horses wouldn’t drag him away from Croke Park on Sunday.

“My son, Sean, 18, played minor with the club last year and my daughter, Meabh, 15, plays camogie with them. Johnny Crow-ley’s daughter, Holly, is in our senior infants. Pat Ryan, the Cork manager, has had children educated here and still has Cian, 11 in the school. The club’s coach Diarmuid ‘The Rock’ O’Sullivan’s children are past pupils,” he said.

Pupils of Scoil Naomh Iosaf in Riverstown wearing the Sarsfield's colours in support of their team who will play Na Fianna in the AIB All-Ireland Club SHC final at Croke Park. Picture Dan Linehan

Mr Bracken has promised no homework for the 663 pupils on Monday if the team win and he is hopeful they will visit the school with the trophy as they did after the Ballygunner victory.

“There is a massive buzz around the place. The team have lifted things hugely in the area and it can only be good for the future of hurling and camogie going forward here,” he said.

The club has put on two special trains which will leave Cork at 8.15am and 9.30am on Sunday. These are already fully booked out and will carry nearly 800 supporters.

Club spokeswoman Sarah McCarthy said a number of juvenile teams will travel in a bus convoy to the match and many thousands more supporters will head up the motorway in cars.

Pupils of Scoil Naomh Iosaf in Riverstown wearing the Sarsfield's colours in support of their team who will play Na Fianna in the AIB All-Ireland Club SHC final at Croke Park. Picture Dan Linehan

Hundreds of underage players will also gather at noon on Saturday to see the team bus off, with the team staying in Dublin overnight.

Ms McCarthy has said it is remarkable that the senior team has done so well considering how its training routines had been severely hampered after the flooding wreaked by Storm Babet in October 2023 seriously damaged club facilities.

The deluge destroyed the main pitch and all the astroturf pitches, along with the gymnasium, a ground floor meeting room and the adjoining stock room for the bar.

In total the damage was around estimated to be around €1.6m. After many months of negotiations, the insurance company paid up approximately €1m.

“This left us with a €600,000 shortfall which the government thankfully covered with a grant,” Ms McCarthy said.

Work on repairing all the damage is nearing completion.

She said the official opening of the reinstated facilities is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 5. It will coincide with the unveiling of the sculpture dedicated to the late Sarsfields legend Teddy McCarthy.

He died unexpectedly at the age of 57 on June 6, 2023. He holds a unique place in GAA sporting annals as the only man to win All Ireland medals in both hurling and football in the same year.

In 1990 he played for the Cork hurlers when they defeated Galway by 5-15 to 2-21 in the final, following this victory up two weeks later when the Cork football team beat arch rivals Meath by 0-11 to 0-9.

McCarthy also spent a two-year spell in 2002/3 as Sarsfield’s manager.

Meanwhile, Cork County Council is to hold a civic reception for the victorious Watergrasshill hurling team who dramatically clinched the Intermediate All Ireland title in extra time last weekend.

The reception was proposed by councillor Sheila O’Callaghan and seconded by Frank O’Flynn. A date for it has yet to be announced.

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