By Cian O’Connell

The Blackrock message at the end of the promotional clip was clear and simple: a glorious past means nothing unless it inspires the future.

In a video highlighting the off field developments taking place in the club Blackrock remain aware of the deep tradition that exists, but delivering further titles is now the mission. Past glories certainly count, but the feeling that bright days await supplies a dash of hope too.

These are encouraging times for the fabled Cork outfit, who are beginning to compete seriously at the highest level in the county once more.

Sunday’s semi-final against Midleton at Pairc Ui Chaoimh carries intrigue, but the Rockies’ recent journey on and off the playing fields of Cork is worthy of the utmost respect.

While Blackrock’s name is firmly etched in the history books as the most prolific winners in Cork, the fact that the Sean Og Murphy Cup hasn’t been hoisted since 2002 is still a source of disappointment.

“We haven't won a county in over 15 years now, so there has been a bit of a rejuvenation, we have won a lot of minors and Under 21s recently,” Blackrock Facilities manager and PRO, Conor Hurley, states. “So there is a big crop of players coming up and we are hoping to get to our second county final in a row by beating Midleton next weekend.”

Blackrock went back to basics by grafting hard with underage teams. “We were very successful in the early 2000s and we took our eye off the ball with our underage set-up,” Hurley admits.

“Suddenly it all fell apart and there was nothing coming up so there was a big effort put in with the underage by the likes of Kevin Cummins and Ger O'Mahony.

“It was a long term thing, it took seven or eight years to really get going, but I think we won five minors and three Under 21 county titles. Obviously that is after forming the base for our current senior team.”

Different projects were being undertaken by club activists, who wanted to restore Blackrock to a respectable place in the Cork game according to Hurley.

“You had the playing side of it where we launched a new Rockies Academy because we just wanted to avoid what happened the last time when our eye was taken off the ball with the underage,” Hurley acknowledges.

“We have a brand new Academy, we have something like 300 kids playing in that every week. It has been revamped with new coaching.”

That meant Blackrock also had to invest time and money in other activities too. “Our facilities slightly fell behind,” Hurley remarks. “We had a big Celtic Tiger era project and we basically went into too much debt.

“As a result our outdoor facilities got left behind for a club of our stature. It is only now that we have lost our burden of debt and we have done Phase 1 which was new hurling alleys named after Jimmy Brohan, who is a club legend and he is still alive.

“Then we have just finished our Phase 2 this week, which was our astroturf pitch, a training astroturf pitch. Phase 3 will be a brand new sand based pitch on our Church Road complex.

“The official launch of Phase 2 is in a few weeks, but it is actually open and the kids are playing on it and the training pitch is good because we've never had a winter training facility with lighting. So it will make a huge difference to us.”

Presently Blackrock is a hive of activity and the optimism being generated by an improving senior outfit, who lost the 2017 Cork SHC Final, is being transmitted into the juvenile ranks.

“Absolutely, I suppose on the business side of things our bar and stuff had gone really bad, the playing had gone bad and suddenly in the last four or five years everything has taken off again,” Hurley adds.

“There is a real buzz, and there is a real connection. For example our minor team this year was coached by four or five of our seniors. So there was a connection between the younger guys and the older fellas. There is a real club atmosphere again which can be hard to do in a big suburban club.

“You are trying to keep a club ethos, but that can get lost with all of the different sports. We are just lucky that we have been able to bring that back to it.”

Blackrock’s plan is purposeful, but Hurley stresses that passion for the club is a key ingredient. “There is competition,” Hurley accepts about the attraction of other sports in the locality.

“You'd have Cork Con in our area, Ringmahon Rangers, Avondale United are all big clubs in their own sports. A lot of guys play a lot of sports as hobbies rather than one as a passion. We are trying to make guys passionate about the club and it seems to be working at the moment.”

Hurley has been struck by how the established clubs in Cork city are starting to craft talented hurlers once more. “Definitely the big three are coming again - the Rockies, the Glen and the Barrs,” Hurley states. “The Glen senior team is getting a little bit older, but they have great work going on at underage so they will still be there or thereabouts next year again.

“In the next few years they will have players coming through. I know there is a lot of work going on in the Barrs too, they haven't won one for ages, but they are very competitive again.

“I'd imagine the three of us will be fighting it out over the next few years and East Cork hurling is flying with Imokilly. There is huge competition in Cork at the moment.”

Ultimately it all augurs well for the future of Cork hurling. “You'd see them all, we have our Academy going, two or three other clubs also have initiatives going on,” Hurley comments.

“We are all trying to get one up on each other, not just at senior level, but at underage. We are all interested in what each other is doing, that creates good competition. I'd say it is good for Cork hurling that everyone is watching what they are doing. I'd say things are improving, definitely.”

That is undoubtedly the case for Blackrock on the Church Road in Cork.