CREAM OF THE CROP

Club All-reland winter bite to separate best from rest

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SAINTS MARCH ON Enda Dennehy and Ian Maguire of St Finbarr's celebrate their semi-final victory

THE All-Ireland Club Championship winter always brings a certain fever — a cold clarity in the eyes of players and supporters alike.

This is where club football matters more than the county, and this year the contenders are a mix of old kings and rising juggernauts, of clubs chasing restoration and clubs asserting dominance.

From Dingle’s poetic resurrection in Kerry to Kilcoo’ Ulster machinery, from the artistry of St Finbarr's to Ballyboden's Leinster precision, each carries a story — and the promise of glory.

Dingle (Kerry)

DINGLE arrive into the Munster final not as romantics, but as restorers — a proud parish returning to the top in Kerry after an absence of 77 years.

They can play poorly for 50 minutes and still summon Paul Geaney from the mist to decide a county final.

This is what champions look like — not flawless, but unkillable. Tom O'Sullivan launching moonshots, the Geaney clan finishing them with the clarity of men whove seen the biggest days and found them manageable.

Can they win an All-Ireland? Of course. Because Kerry teams don't just chase AllIrelands — they stalk them.

St Finbarr's (CORK)

TWICE this season Brian Hayes has reduced opposition to rubble with hattricks, once in hurling, last Sunday in football as Eire Og Ennis learned just how unrelenting the Barrs can be.