Patrician High School top of the class in 2011
November 27, 2011In 2011, the Oriel was excellently represented on the playing fields of Ulster at secondary school level.
There were mixed results, of course, but the production line of talent was conspicuous enough for all to see.
Winning one provincial schools title at any time takes some doing. But winning two in the same year?
Top marks go to Patrician High School for their outstanding achievements in the past season.
In March, the latest chapter in the ongoing success story that is Patrician High School was written when the school's upwardly mobile under 14s took their place in the Ulster Schools 'B' final at the well-appointed Culloville venue.
Tuesday March 8th will go down in the High School's football annals as the day when the Class of 2011 notched the second provincial title for the school in the same year.
Carrick's cutting crew (jointly managed by Lorcan Keenan and Paddy Martin) crossed swords in the provincial decider with St. Pauls, Bessbrook, one of the pre-competition favourites.
Most pundits had Bessbrook down as favourites. Their school has over 1,000 pupils whereas the High School have less than four hundred.
Add in the fact also that Bessbrook beat the Monaghan lads well last year underpinned the selection of favourites' tag.
The High School squad trained twice a week since the previous October.
"They showed a seriously good attitude all year, training at lunch times, after school and other times too," says technical graphics teacher Sean Rafferty, sports co-ordinator at Patrician High School.
"Their enthusiasm and appetite for the training and the matches was top class. Nobody can say they didn't show enough ambition or enough of a work rate to go all the way in Ulster and that's where they went."
For Patrician's vaunted under 14s, the past season was a real testing, rollercoaster affair.
In the first round, Rathmore, Belfast provided the opposition in the first of Patrician's three games in the four team group.
The Antrim lads were duly disposed of with quiet efficiency which paved the way for a second round tilt against Down's Kilkeel.
Victory over the Mourne county's standard bearers kept Patrician on the title path before fellow county crew Castleblayney were dispatched with.
The creme de la creme of underage talent from such clubs as Carrick Emmetts, Corduff, Inniskeen, Donaghmoyne, Shercock and Killanny combined to provide the steely spine, craft and skill for the winners-elect.
The Keenan/Martin axis had honed the High School's finest with keen anticipation and an experienced eye with the football nous to match.
The Patrician think-tank led their charges into the provincial final in confident mood despite Bessbrook's fancied tag.
In what turned out to be a real ding-dong battle, both teams emptied their respective tanks in an attempt to lift the Loch An Iúir title.
From the start St. Pauls showed why they were fancied for the title as they kicked into gear from the start with attack after attack.
The Orchard County standard bearers hit the ground running and a shock goal from the impressive Kyle Mallon had Patrician on the backfoot early on.
It was impressive stuff from Bessbrook just a few minutes later but a super save from goalkeeper Ronan Curran denied St. Paul's a second goal.
At this stage the High School looked in trouble but a point scored by Thomas Finnegan got Patrician up and running and also seemed to settle the team's nerves.
After this initial phase both teams went score for score and swopped two further points, with Daniel McDonald and Shane Garland on target for the Carrickmacross boys and David Grant and Michael McNamee doing the necessary for Bessbrook.
The balance of power began to shift though when Patrician attacker Dáire Rowe raced away to score his first goal to put his side in the box seat.
The in-form Rowe proceeded to add to his tally with a well taken point just 30 seconds later.
St. Pauls then responded with three unanswered scores through Grant (one) and McNamee (two).
In the 27th minute the impressive Dáire Rowe netted his second of the day after a brilliant solo effort and on the stroke of half time he added another point from a free to leave Patrician 2-5 to 1-5 in front at the interval.
The second half continued in this see-saw fashion although it was becoming apparent that the High School were beginning to' turn the screw.'
In that respect, it was notable that Stephen Cunningham had begun to dominate the midfield sector and the Patrician attackers began to get more and more of a supply of the ball.
The aforementioned Rowe continued to be on fire and he opened the scoring in the second half with two brilliant points.
St. Pauls dug deep though and pulled back a score from Kyle Mallon to give Patrician a reminder of their obligations.
The High School boys remained on top though and with Aaron Jones dominating in defence and they duly went ahead by two further points through the trustworthy boot of Dáire Rowe.
In the 50th minute Stephen O'Hanlon put the game out of reach when he took on the Bessbrook defence and rattled the back of the net.
The last ten minutes saw St.Pauls lay siege on the High School goal and Mallon and Grant scored a point each to push the issue to the wire.
However, the High School stood firm and when match referee Eugene McConnell blew the final whistle, the High School boys were able to celebrate a magnificent Loch An Iúir title triumph.
Patrician High School (2011 Loch an Iuir final v Bessbrook); Ronan Curran; Stephen Finnegan, Conor Russell, Alan Kiernan; Adam Duffy, Sean Marron, Pauric Marron; Stephen Cunningham, Daniel McDonald (0-1); David Wilson, Shane Garland (0-1), Ronan McDonald; Dáire Rowe (2-5), Thomas Finnegan (0-1), Aaron Jones. Subs used: David Garland; Stephen O'Hanlon (1-0), Ryan Carolan.
"Coupled with the Herald Cup success, the under 14s' success made it a terrific year for the school," Kilmainhamwood native and under 15 boss Rafferty stated.
"We got to the under 15 Treanor Cup final but it wasn't to be a hat-trick of wins unfortunately despite our best efforts in the school and the excellent help given us and the under 14s during the year by Paul O'Connor who put in some great work.
"What was achieved in 2011 is a credit to everyone involved in the school. We have ten teachers helping out with Gaelic games and despite a change in budgets as a result of the Croke Park Agreement which has presented a whole new scenario, everyone continued to put their shoulder to the wheel.
"We're lucky in that we have a very good pool of players at the school at present."
Long may that continue.
St. Macartan's uphold
battling tradition
St. Macartan's were their usual uber-competitive selves in 2011 but failed to garner the garlands that bedecked their seasons in times past.
The college's Brock Cup crew outgunned in the final by Derry dynamos St. Pat's Maghera on a 1-8 to 0-5 scoreline.
In truth, even the most blinkered Sem supporter couldn't have argued against Pat's success in adding to their haul of Ulster colleges' titles as they controlled most of the match.
Managed by Seamus Meehan (Monaghan Harps) and Mark O'Connor (Castleblayney), the Sem were unable to stymie their more experienced opponents who had reached three finals in the past three years - including D'Alton Cup and Corn na nOg finals.
The Monaghan boys demonstrated a fantastic workrate but St. Pat's were better at passing the ball and better in their decision-making and in the way they moved the ball around the field.
The team laboured to repeat their excellent display in downing St. Colman's Newry in the quarter-final; a victory which was sweet revenge for 'Colman's win over the Sem in the 2010 semi-final.
The team may have been profligate in the semi-final against Dungannon but they still managed to clock up a highly impressive 5-12 tally and displayed no signs of complacency which might have been expected given their last eight win over St. Colman's.
Sadly, the final against Maghera proved to be an altogether different ball game.
Maghera put seven men back, putting one of their corner-backs right in front of their full-back line just right after the throw-in and it was a tactic that worked the oracle.
For the record, the St. Macartan's team, and subs, who featured in the Brock Cup final defeat to St. Pat's Maghera was as follows: Colin Murray (Scotstown); Shane Treanor (Truagh), Tom Lynch (Latton), Caolan McElwaine (Scotstown); Daithi Colton (Emyvale 0-1), Aodh Curran (Clontibret, 0-1), Jack Turley (Scotstown); Conor McCarthy (Scotstown, 0-2), Kevin Loughran (Monaghan Harps); John Mulligan (Monaghan Harps), Tom Hayes (Cootehill Celtic), Francis Maguire (Scotstown); Chris McAnenely (Truagh), David McAllister (Emyvale), Mike O'Dowd (Clontibret, 0-1).
Subs; Conor McKenna (Scotstown) for Mulligan; John Caulfield (Scotstown) for McAllister; Niall Kieran (Sean McDermotts) for McAnenely; Brendan Boylan (Scotstown) for Maguire.
The Sem's flagship team reached the McRory quarter-finals but lost out by 1-7 to 1-9 to St. Michael's, Enniskillen.
St. Macartan's looked dead and buried when they went in at the break losing by eight points at the interval.
However a brillant second half comeback saw them come oh so close to effecting a Larazus-like recovery.
Indeed they almost grabbed a replay in the closing minutes but goalscorer Mel Boyce saw his exocet fly over, instead of under, the bar.
The defeat to the Fermanagh lads copper-fastened a losing run for the Sem which has seen them lose four quarter-finals in a row since they reached the final in 2007.
Such is the font of talent in the college though, that a ressurrection of fortunes is surely only a few kicks of the ball away. Tweet
