CREAM OF THE CROP

Club All-Ireland winter bite to separate best from rest

- Garry DOYLE

SAINTS MARCH ON Enda Dennehy and lan 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’s 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 who've seen the biggest days and found them manageable.

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

St Finbarr's (CORK)

TWICE this season Brian Hayes has reduced opposition to rubble with hat-tricks, once in hurling, last Sunday in football as Éire Óg Ennis learned just how unrelenting the Barrs can be.