St Finbarr’s finally break the Nemo spell in a county final for the ages

And breathe.

What a game, what a contest. A ferocious southside derby that went right down to the wire – and, for the first time ever in a county final, it was St Finbarr’s who had the final say, edging out their old rivals Nemo Rangers by a single point in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh to claim Premier Senior honours.

CLASSIC

This was a classic.

Not the highest scoring affair, but no one in the ground will remember that. It had everything else – the pace, the ferocity, the counterpunches, the closing ten minutes that made the Páirc sound far fuller than the attendance figure suggested.

Nemo led at the break and looked well placed, but after the restart the misses began to creep in. Five wides and one short in the opening quarter of the half gave the Barrs oxygen. When Nemo finally opened their second-half account, the scoreboard read 1-13 to 1-10 after 46 minutes.

Still, Nemo kept coming. Mark Cronin’s free in the 54th minute left just two between them. The trademark Trabeg surge was in full swing, even if the accuracy wavered. Ronan Dalton rattled the post. Paul Kerrigan, from a free, went wide.

Then, with the clock gone past the hour, Conor Horgan stepped up – a superb two-pointer to level it at 1-13 apiece after 61 minutes. The Barrs bent but never broke.

And when Cillian Myers Murray, so often sidelined this season by hamstring trouble, came off the bench to curl over the winner in injury time, the blue and gold finally exhaled. Only briefly.

Nemo had two late chances – Colin Molloy shot wide, and in the dying seconds a Cronin-Horgan combination saw the latter’s attempt crash off the post. Then came Conor Lane’s whistle, and pandemonium pour les bleus.

Even before all that, the first half had been a belter.

Level four times in the first 22 minutes, the tone was set early when Colm Kiely and Mark Cronin combined for Kevin O’Donovan to lash home the game’s opening goal. From there, William Buckley responded and it sparked into life. Turning into a shootout, Bryan Hayes teed up Mark Cronin for one that he fired over the bar from close range, but the hands on the back of his head told you which flag he was aiming for.

Moments later, Hayes landed a sublime two-pointer to push Nemo three clear, only for Sherlock to answer with a majestic two-point free from over 50 metres that trimmed it to two at the break, 1-9 to 0-10.

The changes came quickly for the Barrs, Luke Hannigan and Enda Dennehy introduced for John Wigginton Barrett and Jamie Burns at half-time. Their impact in the second half was phenomenal. Within four minutes, the Togher side had found the back of the net. A move started by Sherlock, worked through Rickey Barrett, and finished cutely by Brian Hayes as he palmed to the net, St Finbarr’s up by three.

Nemo still had their looks. Alan O’Donovan did brilliantly to win a high ball in from Conor Horgan and get his shot away, only for a dual effort from ‘keeper Darragh Newman and defender Sam Ryan to keep it out and push it around for a 45.

And moments later the Barrs were in at the other end, Ian Maguire to Steven Sherlock, but a sensational save from Micheál Aodh Martin in the 39th minute kept it out.

The third and fourth quarters may have brought a lull in scoring, but the intensity never faded. This was a classic, a final that refused to sag, a throwback and reboot all in one.

We can thank the new rules for that.

CONTRAST

At half-time here, Nemo Rangers were two points up, 1-9 to 0-10. By recent standards, it was a shootout. In 2024, Rangers led Castlehaven 0-8 to 0-7. The year prior, it was 0-4 apiece between the two. And when Nemo and St Finbarr’s last met in a county decider in 2022, it was 0-9 to 0-4 in Nemo’s favour.

Even compared to this year’s hurling decider – Sarsfields 1-9, Midleton 1-3 at half-time – this was played at a different tempo.

This was football at its purest. Tackles, spills, counter-attacks, courage.

Forty-nine shots between the two teams. Just seven scores from frees. Six wides for the Barrs, nine for Nemo.

Numbers to prove what everyone already knew: this was a county final to remember.

TOUGH

A third straight county final heartbreak for Nemo Rangers – and this one cuts deepest of all. They were right there, within touching distance, but couldn’t find the finish to match their fight. Eight of their nine wides came after the restart, each one a fresh bruise.

But if this team have shown anything in recent years, it’s that they don’t stay down for long. They’ll be back – they always are.

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