By this stage Barron had already made an impression on the inter-county scene with Cork and was the holder of two All-Ireland minor championship medals and two All-Ireland under-21 championship medals. He was added to the Cork senior team in 1971 and won the first of three Munster Championship medals that year. Barron was at centre-forward when Cork claimed the All-Ireland title after a defeat of Galway in the final. He continued to line out with Cork for much of the following decade and ended his career by winning a National League medal. Having won two All-Star awards during his playing days, Barron was later named on the Cork Football Teams of the Century and Millennium.[citation needed]