Beara withdraw from the Cork Premier SFC

BEARA will not field a team in this year’s McCarthy Insurance Group Cork Premier SFC Divisional/Colleges section.

The Beara GAA Board informed the Cork County Board on Wednesday that their premier senior football team did not have enough players to compete. It’s the second season on the trot that the division will not enter into the championship.

The team in red and white were due to play their opening game of the championship against Muskerry next Thursday (June 6th) in Dunmanway at 7.30pm. This leaves Muskerry, Imokilly and Avondhu in the unseeded section with those teams now playing at least two games with the top team progressing to the seeded section where Carbery, Duhallow and UCC await.

Beara had fared quite well in the 2022 championship as they played three games. Goals were the difference as Avondhu defeated the team in red and white, 3-10 to 0-14. The West Cork side recovered to defeat Muskerry 0-16 to 0-10 before going down bravely to a strong Carbery side on a scoreline of 1-12 to 0-8. Carbery would go all the way and make the quarter-finals of the championship proper.

Their absence from the 2023 and 2024 championships will cause alarm bells to ring for a division with a rich history and such passion for the big ball.

Beara have won the top-flight football championship on Leeside on six occasions, with the last one coming back in 1997 when they defeated Castlehaven in a replay. Beara also achieved a Munster championship crown once which was in 1968.