A full 322 days after it was initially scheduled, Paul Kerrigan and Nemo Rangers will finally get the opportunity to contest the 2020 Cork football final this Sunday.
Six days later, Ireland’s most successful football club along with their great rivals Castlehaven will then begin their 2021 championship campaigns. A headscratcher for sure.
Not that Kerrigan is complaining. Truth be told, the break has probably boosted Nemo’s chances of stretching their lead at the head of the Cork roll of honour to 22 titles.
“We got to the final last year but our form wasn’t great,” said Kerrigan. “We’d guys injured all the time so the team was changing every week.
“A guy could be injured, he could be out for two weeks, another guy would come back. So we were chopping and changing. I think we’d have been under a little bit of pressure to be honest with you because Castlehaven were flying.
“Since we’ve been back this year, we’ve literally had nearly the whole summer to ease into it. Our first three weeks were baby steps, injury prevention. Now, it cost us a couple of league games, we were well beaten in a couple of league games but that’s no harm either.
“Since then we’ve got the Cork boys back so I think we’ll have a full deck. There’ll be fairly experienced club players on the bench so we’re in a good place. I think it’s definitely done us a favour to be honest with you.”
Frustrated
Yet while the 10-month postponement may have played into Nemo’s hands, Kerrigan is frustrated that just 500 will be allowed in to watch the showpiece at the spacious Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
The 2010 All-Ireland senior medal winner is an ambassador for the Electric Ireland All-Ireland minor final which will be played on Saturday in front of 24,000 spectators at Croke Park, before the Kerry/Tyrone senior game.
Pairc Ui Chaoimh can hold about half of what Croke Park can hold yet just hundreds are being let into the southern venue.
Another angle to the crowd conundrum is that Croke Park safely accommodated 40,000 just last weekend for the All-Ireland hurling final yet will now drop back by 16,000.
Kerrigan reported a ticket frenzy locally for what is a repeat of the 2013 and 2015 Cork club finals.
“I was in Croke Park last weekend for the hurling,” said the former Irish International Rules player. “When you see the madness up there, which was great to see, with the crowd, like, it was a busy crowd, I don’t know . . . even if they doubled the 500, to be honest that would do both clubs.
“There’s undue stress on the clubs giving out tickets. I know as a player we’re only going to get one ticket for the game which is, look, I have a wife, a kid, a sister, parents, they’d all love to go. It’s a bit mad. We wouldn’t be two huge clubs either so even if it went from 500 to 1,000, I think that would definitely do everyone.
“It’s fairly disappointing. It’s disappointing from the club’s point of view as well because there’s only a limited number of people who can go back to the clubhouse after the game. Whether you’re drowning your sorrows or celebrating, it will be a very different feel to a county final.”
Rebels
On Cork manager Ronan McCarthy's future, Kerrigan said it could potentially go either way. McCarthy received a two-year extension last December but stated after their heavy Munster final defeat to Kerry that he would discuss the situation with the county board and his players.
“I think he would probably want to finish it out,” said Kerrigan. “He signed up for two years. Knowing him, he’d probably want to do the two years. I listened to him after the Munster final and he said he’d speak to all the parties, the players and the county board.
“I’d say if there was any inkling (of negativity) from either side, from the board or from the players, I’d say he’d call it a day. That would be my opinion. It mightn’t be true, but that’s what I think.”
