For the third time in the space of only five years St Patricks classical school in Navan are All-Ireland colleges senior football champions. It is quite difficult to grasp the full extent of the school's amazing achievement…perhaps if Leitrim or Carlow were to win the Sam Maguire cup on as many occasions in the same time span then we might be talking of acceptable comparisons. 'St Pats' as the school is familiarly known around County Meath has not always been to the fore in the world of Gaelic games. Indeed I know of some parents who sent their young boys to other establishments in the 1950's, '60's and '70's because the Navan school had hard-earned but well deserved reputation for doing little in the way of encouraging it's students to play Gaelic football. The site of the old St Pats school, behind Academy Street, probably had a lot to do with the lack of interest. There was space for a handball alley but there was no convenient access to a playing pitch. The rise and rise of St Pats in the world of schools football can be traced back to the move to Moatlands in 1970. Here there was a pitch, complete with slope, adjacent to the school. Within three years of the move St Pats appeared on the Leinster roll of honour for the first time…it may have been 'only' the under-15 'B' championship but it was significant. It took a long time for a second provincial title to come to Moatlands but by the time it did, in 1989, there had been other significant developments which helped to inspire the footballing students of St Pats. After a 20 year gap Meath won the Sam Maguire cup in 1987 and retained it the following year. In between they won the National League title and their 1988 Leinster title was their third-in-a-row. The Royal County Footballers were the indisputable champions. And among their ranks were several former St Pats students…Colm O'Rourke, David Beggy, Liam Hayes, Brian Stafford, Colm Coyle, Kevin Foley, Finian Murtagh and Donal Smyth. A new tradition had been established. Several Meath players of previous eras had been educated at St Pats but none had been as successful as the men who wore the Green and Gold with such distinction in the late 1980's and early '90's. The big breakthrough came in 1991 when the Leinster senior title was won for the first time. Ronan McGrath of Simonstown Gaels had the honour of being captain but heartbreak followed with defeat by St Fachtnas of Skibbereen in the All-Ireland final at Croke Park. The newly-established tradition was further enhanced with Leinster Senior Championship successes in '93 and '97 but on each occasion disappointment followed at the All-Ireland semi-final stage. And then it all came right in 2000 when Hogan Cup finally made it's way to Navan after a memorable win over St Patricks of Armagh in Breffni Park. There was joy again 12 months later when the Leinster and All-Ireland titles were retained…the latter at the expense of the competition specialists St Jarlaths of Tuam at Croke Park. Only four other schools had managed to retain the Hogan cup in the history of the competition However. St Mels of Longford proved too strong in 2002 and 2003 and it was against this background that the 2004 campaign got under way. Colm O'Rourke and Ger Lennon were in charge and with almost half of the 2003 team again available hopes of provincial success were high. St Benildus of Kilmacud were the first round opponents at Glenalbyn in December and with the full-forward line accounting for 3-11 there was never any question about the outcome. Kevin Mulvaney scored 2-2, Cian Ward got 1-5 and Cathal O'Dwyer grabbed 0-4 as the inside trio made excellent use of an abundant supply of possession from their colleagues. The final score was 4-14 to 0-7. The second round opponents were Colaiste Mhuire of Mullingar and although the victory was not as overwhelming as against St Benildus it was quite comfortable. Kevin Reilly and Ciaran Kenny were dominant in defence and when the Navan students totted up 1-6 in the second quarter, there appeared little chance of Mullingar getting back into contention. But they grabbed two points just before half-time and added three more in the early stages of the second half to generate a degree of unease among the St Pats players, mentors and supporters. However, the Navan students sensed the danger and regained control with minimum fuss and went on to win comfortably, 1-11 to 0-7. Daire Corcoran was the goalscorer…he also grabbed a point while Kevin Mulvaney accounted for 0-6, Cian Ward (0-2), Henry Finnegan (0-1) and Paddy Smyth (0-1). Regular goalie Mark Gaffney was ruled out through injury but Daryl Clare proved to be an able deputy as he was for most of the campaign. St Pats were now through to the Leinster quarter-final where Marist of Athlone provided the opposition at Tubberlair in early February. The occasion produced an abundance of drama both before and during the game with St Pats experiencing serious transport difficulties on the way to the match. The bus carrying the players developed a brake problem which generated an unhealthy amount of smoke and fumes and before alternative transport could be organised in Mullingar a number of players had been physically sick. For a time it looked as if St Pats would have to field without a few of their selected players but much high quality Westmeath air was eventually inhaled and by throw-in time all was well in the Navan camp. Marist provided stubborn opposition in what turned out to be a low-scoring contest and, in the end, St Pats held out for the narrowest of victories, 1-5 to 0-7. With both Cian Ward and Kevin Mulvaney the targets of very tight marking by the Marist defence, it was Paddy Smyth and Stephen O'Toole who found extra space and although neither player managed to score they created most of the opportunities. St Pats were badly off target with most of their scoring efforts and it wasn't until there was only twenty minutes remaining that the game's decisive moment arrived Shane O'Rourke and Henry Finnegan were involved in providing the goal opportunity for Ward and the Wolfe Tones man made no mistake. The goal opened up a badly needed four point lead, 1-3 to 0-2, Kevin Mulvaney added a point and St Pats appeared to be on their way to victory. Marist rallied however and scored three unanswered points at the threequarter stage to leave just two points between the teams. The last quarter was particularly tense with both teams fearful of making a match-losing mistake. Daire Corcoran relieved some of the pressure with a point but the Athlone boys grabbed two points in the closing stages to leave the Navan supporters chewing their fingernails as they waited for the final whistle. The defence was quite heroic under pressure with full-back Kevin Reilly providing much of the inspiration. Niall McMahon, Ciaran Kenny and Wayne Donegan also excelled in the hectic closing stages. There was some recent history in the background to the semi-final clash with St Josephs of Rochfortbridge. The teams had met in the league when the game had an acrimonious ending. St Pats were the winners. This time around however, the concentration was on football and it was St Pats who were again ahead at the end of an absorbing contest at St Lomans Park in Mullingar. At half-time St Pats led by a point, 0-7 to 1-3, and it was anybody's game going into the last few minutes with the teams level, St Pats 0-11 St Josephs 1-8. It was then that Henry Finnegan emerged as the Navan match winner. He gave St Pats the lead with a well-taken point with less than five minutes remaining and then, as the game went into injury time he was on the end of a passing movement involving Cathal O'Dwyer and Paddy Smyth before wrapping it up with the killer goal. Finnegan emerged as the top scorer with 1-3 while Cian Ward chipped in with (0-5). Shane O'Rourke, Brian Meade, Stephen O'Toole and substitute Cathal O'Dwyer each contributed a point. St Pats were now through to the Leinster final for the fifth year in succession and there was a welcome return to the limelight for Knockbeg college of Carlow who had proved their credentials by beating St Mels in the first round and by subsequently ending the hopes of Good Counsel, St Peters and Moyne. St Pats had the substantial motivation of avoiding a third successive defeat in the final and they eventually succeeded but only after a nerve-wracking period of extra-time. Colm O'Rourke and Ger Lennon were left with absolutely no doubts about the character of their team after Knockbeg had tested them all the way. The opposition included a number of Laois minors and yet it was the Navan students who dug deepest when it was most required. Knockbeg enjoyed more possession in the opening half but St Pats made better use of their opportunities and led by 0-6 to 0-4 at half-time. They could manage only one point near the end of a desperately tense second half and were somewhat relieved that the game went into extra-time. But it was in the additional period that the team's character stood out. Stephen O'Toole sent out the first signal when fisting over the bar in the first minute and with the defence at last getting to grips with their opponents St Pats went on to win by three points, 0-11 to 0-8. As the scoreline suggests it was a tense affair with the Navan boys profiting from some wild finishing by their opponents, particularly in the second half. The relief was obvious…a third successive final defeat had been avoided and the possibility of greater glory was gradually coming into view. The scorers against Knockbeg were: Cian Ward 0-4, Henry Finnegan 0-3, Shane O'Rourke 0-2, Stephen O'Toole 0-1 and Kevin Mulvaney 0-1. The recent domination of the Munster championship by Kerry schools had been broken by Cork's Colaiste Chriost Ri and it was they who stood between St Pats and a place in the final. Nenagh was the venue and with Henry Finnegan and Brian Meade forming a new partnership at centre-field, the Navan students dominated the first half. The breeze was also a significant factor and they led at half-time by formidable eight points, 2-5 to 0-3 While St Pats were dominating in the early stages, they were struggling to make an impression on the scoreboard and it wasn't until the 20th minute that they took the first major step towards victory. Henry Finnegan took full advantage of a defensive blunder to fist the ball to the net and two minutes later Cathal O'Dwyer showed great speed and skill to add another goal. As expected Chriost Ri mounted a serious challenge in the second half and with less than ten minutes remaining the defecit had been reduced to just two points. St Pats had managed only a score since before the break but they finished strongly with points from O'Dwyer, Cian Ward and Shane O'Rourke to ensure a five point victory, 2-8 to 1-6. Scorers for the winners were Cathal O'Dwyer 1-1, Cian Ward 0-3, Henry Finnegan 1-0, Brian Meade 0-1, Kevin Mulvaney 0-1, Shane O'Rourke 0-1 and substitute Wayne Donegan 0-1. Because of the Irish under-19 team's trip to Australia for the international rules series there was a gap of five weeks to the final. St Patricks of Dungannon had won the McRory Cup and had beaten St Marys of Galway in the other semi-final. Parnell Park was chosen as the venue for the final and although the Ulster champions had ample early possession they had great difficulty in finding the range and it was the Navan students who made the greater impression on the scoreboard. Cian Ward opened the scoring within a minute of the throw-in … Dungannon then registered five successive wides before St Pats began to open up some daylight on the scoreboard The crucial score came at the end of the first quarter and it must have brought a proud smile to face of Colm O'Rourke. His son Shane collected the ball close to the half-way line before setting off on a brilliant run through the heart of the Dungannon defence. He then unleashed a powerful drive to the back of the net to put his team firmly in the driving seat. By half-time the Navan students had established a commanding seven point lead, 1-7 to 0-3. It looked as if the hard work had been done and that a winning platform had been established Such was not the case however and Dungannon raised their game to such an extent after the break that the teams were level at 1-9 each with only five minutes remaining The momentum was now with the Ulster champions but it was at this point that the Navan boys dug deep into their reserves of resilience. Cian Ward and Shane O'Rourke grabbed the late points that brought enormous relief and joy to the Meath supporters and to team mentors Colm O'Rourke and Ger Lennon. The final score was 1-11 to 1-10. Ward's contribution was immense…six points in any All-Ireland final is a remarkable achievement and he was subsequently named as 'Man of the Match'. Shane O'Rourke's brilliant goal was also a major factor in the victory while Patrick Smyth and Cathal O'Dwyer also shone in attack. Brian Meade and Ciaran Kenny worked like Trojans at centre-field while Brendan O'Donnell and Kevin Reilly excelled in defence. Stephen O'Toole and Henry Finnegan worked tirelessly to provide openings for their Ward and O'Rourke. Scorers for the winners were Cian Ward 0-6, Shane O'Rourke 0-1, Patrick Smyth 0-2, Stephen O'Toole 0-1 and Cathal O'Dwyer 0-1. The team that lined out in the final was; Mark Gaffney, Cormac McGuiness, Kevin Reilly, Brendan O'Donnell, Niall McMahon, Paddy Murray, Daire Corcoran, Brian Meade, Ciaran Kenny, Stephen O'Toole, Henry Finnegan, Shane O'Rourke, Cathal O'Dwyer, Cian Ward and Patrick Smyth. Substitutes; Vinny Reilly and Cian Byrne. Tweet

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