Club and community to the fore as Ballinora look to etch their name in Féile folklore

Irish Examiner

20-06-2025

In the summer of '25
We stood proud and tall
With the fire in our bellies
We gave it our all
Against Midleton we battled
No moment was small
And the green and the red
Rose above them all
They'd go raring and tearing
And fighting for love For the land they called Ballinora
And the Lord up above
Bal la, la la-la la la, la la la la, la
For the green and the red I adore
For the parish to last ever more
The fifth-class pupils of Ballinora NS have been busy.
There were no feet up on the countdown to the summer holidays. The crayons were out and an anthem coloured. Their enterprise was strikingly similar to the past pupils they were immortalising in song.
In the small, rural parish of Ballinora this Saturday morning, it is a case of whoever is last out, turn the key and lock the door behind you.
An entire parish is heading in motorcade to the Model County. This small, rural parish, operating at Junior A level in the adult ranks, is Cork hurling's flagbearer at the National Féile na nGael weekend.
If you haven't already spotted the familiarity, the above lyrics are a reworking of the Kingfishr cult hit, Killeagh. The creative juices have been given a good squeeze by Ballinora's young and not-so-young.
Local photographer Damien O'Sullivan has compiled a series of Reeling in the Years videos charting the players' journey from club nursery to national stage.
Supporters cheer on Ballinora.
It's all part of a club and community putting their best foot forward before their young heroes attempt to do likewise against hurling's most synonymous local establishments.
Recent winners of Féile na nGael include Athenry, Thurles, Turloughmore, Dicksboro, and Faythe Harriers. Recent finalists include Midleton, Ballygunner, and Glen Rovers. Féile's top-tier is not often frequented by a club whose flagship adult team operates in the sixth tier of the local county championship.
'If you look at the teams participating this weekend, they are the powerhouses of hurling. You have Na Piarsaigh of Limerick, Ballygunner, Cashel King Cormacs, Sixmilebridge. These clubs are huge, they have massive hurling histories, they have big numbers.
'We are going there to compete with the best, and it is fantastic for the lads to have this opportunity of representing Cork against the best hurling clubs in the country. It is really something to be proud of and to look forward to,' said Martin Fenton, chairman of the Ballinora juvenile wing.
Peter Watson, Chairperson Rebel Og presents Charlie Noonan, Ballinora, with the cup. Pic: Jim Coughlan.
'Everybody in the community is on board. The younger kids were so delighted the day we won the Cork P1 title, it gives them something to shoot for in the years ahead.
'There has been such an effort put in by everybody in the club over the past six weeks since we got through because we see it as such a huge opportunity to put Ballinora on the map. We are a Junior A club, but a Junior A club with a big heart and a big ambition.'
All told, it has been a phenomenal 18 or so months for this club and their big ambition.
In early 2024, they won a first-ever Mid-Cork U21A football championship. In early summer of the same year, their U15s won the Cork P2 Féile hurling and football titles.
From there to the national stage where they won the Féile na nGael and Féile Peile na nÓg Division 2 titles at the expense of Tipp's Gortnahoe/Glengoole and O'Dempseys of Laois.
Fast forward to this April and Mayo where the current crop of U15s, including nine survivors from last year, reached the P1 Féile final in both codes.
The footballers came up four-points shy of neighbours Ballincollig, the hurlers edged Midleton in golden score after the sides could not be separated in regulation or extra-time.
'We conceded a free in golden score and it looked as if it was curtains. It went narrowly wide and in the next attack Donagh Conway got a point to win it.
Donagh Conway, Ballinora, Tiernan Galvin, Midleton. Pic: Jim Coughlan.
'To win the P1 was a monumental achievement for a club like ourselves. We are a small club, but we do pride ourselves on long-term development of players and making sure they are having fun and enjoyment. That's what the club culture is rooted in.
'I remember when this bunch started, back in 2015, '16. It is all about giving them the best possible coaching you can. You are trying to build a team that isn't reliant on any one or more individuals, it is about the whole team.'
One member of the football panel doesn't play hurling. He's traveling with the team to Wexford. Another youngster, who lined out with this team all the way up to last year before moving to Waterford, is being picked up on the way to Wexford.
A nod to bonds built.
'It is about the sum of the parts, not any one individual.'
A lyric and mantra to live.