Denis Ring: People look at advantages a division has, but don’t understand the sacrifices 

Just look what happened the last time Imokilly were motoring clear of the pack. 

At the end of the 2018 season where the East Cork division successfully retained the Cork hurling crown, Glen Rovers brought a motion to county convention proposing that each and every division be removed from the Cork hurling and football championship.

Introducing the motion at convention, Glen Rovers secretary Jude O’Callaghan said they wanted to level the playing field for club players.

“The club player has the option of playing in one championship. Those representing divisions have the luxury of playing in two championships. Is this fair? Surely this must be addressed,” he said.

Leading the opposition was Imokilly president Willie Ring. He took aim at those attempting to thwart Imokilly in the boardroom.

“If you want to get rid of divisional teams, this is not the way to do it. It should be done in manly combat, beating them on the field of play and no other way,” said Ring, to much applause, before delegates overwhelmingly rejected the motion.

Imokilly would reach - and win - the following year’s county final to complete the three in a row. Prior to that 2019 final, against the Glen coincidentally, then Imokilly manager Fergal Condon was in no doubt that the motion was tabled off the back of their success.

“The answer, as to the appetite for divisional teams in the championship, was in the vote. Hearsay is what you get in the pub over the winter months, but the fact is that motion was blown out of the water when it came to convention, beaten around four to one. That shows me the real hurling people and the people who love the GAA love to go see a good team playing hurling.” 

Denis Ring is the current Imokilly boss. He has a good team, and then some, on his hands.

He has a Cork U20 in the full-back line. He has the Cork No.6 at centre-back. To his right is a fella who played National League last year and to his left is a former Cork senior. At midfield is another former Cork senior. 

The half-forward line has a Cork U20, a two-time All-Star, and a former Cork starter. And the inside line has the second highest scorer in this year's All-Ireland U20 championship.

So, what does Denis Ring say to anyone who maintains that such amalgamated outfits, comprising 11 clubs in this instance, shouldn’t be competing against single villages, towns, and parishes.

“The divisions are around 100 years old or so, and in that time I don't think that was ever raised as a question until Imokilly started to win,” Ring began.

“Imokilly have won five counties, Avondhu have won three, Carbery have won one, and UCC have two. It's not as though they have dominated the competition over the years.

“Equally so, people misrepresent slightly what the division is. There are eight senior clubs in Imokilly that are not available. It's not as though you have every hurler in Imokilly. If you go back on the three-in-a-row, only seven of the team that played in the last final would be currently eligible. So I think it might be a little bit harsh on the division, a little bit unfair.

“Is it that three players from St Ita’s don't deserve to share a pitch with Blackrock or Sars? I would have difficulty with that. Or players from Cobh? We have two from Carraig na bhFear involved. I can’t see what the fear of us is.

“It might be a short-term thing with Imokilly going well. When the senior players here start going, maybe Imokilly won't be so good for a few years and maybe the conversation will drop again. Sometimes I think it is a little bit unfair and it might be a little bit of a cheap shot which is undeserved.” 

Undeserved and disrespectful because of the effort his charges are putting in. So many of his players hail from clubs that are currently upwardly mobile.

Watergrasshill are in a Premier Intermediate semi-final, Lisgoold are in the Intermediate A decider. 

Castlemartyr were Premier Intermediate semi-finalists and finalists the two years before this one. And then there are the lads with significant mileage on the clock.

All the players that fall into either category could easily have said ‘no thanks’ to Imokilly involvement. No thanks to being out an extra evening midweek. No thanks to weekend schedules of club games on Saturday and divisional duty on Sunday.

“I think that people possibly disrespect their level of commitment, what it takes to be a divisional player and what it means to them. Sometimes, people look at the potential advantages a division has, but don’t understand fully the sacrifices players have to undergo to be available five, six, seven nights a week.

“It would be easy not to be, and other divisions struggle to do that and colleges struggle to do that. The lads deserve an enormous amount of credit for the commitment that that entails.” 

Ring managed St Colman’s Fermoy to six Harty Cups and three All-Ireland colleges. 

He brought Cork teams to All-Ireland minor, U20, and U21 finals. He stood on the sideline on county final afternoons. But never has he encountered such a group as this.

“I've never met a bunch of individuals as impressive as these guys. They are really a club side. They don't certainly think like a division.”