 He made his debut on 8 May 1932 when he lined out at left wing-back in Cork's 8-06 to 1-02 defeat of Waterford and later claimed a Munster Championship medal after being switched to right wing-forward for the 1-04 to 1-02 victory over Clare in the final.Barrett's performances at junior level brought him to the attention of the senior selectors and he was drafted onto the team during the 1934 Munster Championship.He made his championship debut on 10 June 1934 in a 7-05 to 5-06 defeat of Tipperary.