Sem again please!
December 10, 2003
After a thoroughly magnificent pre-Christmas campaign, culminating in outright league honours, St Macartan's College are hoping to make a major impression when the McRory Cup resumes with the quarter-finals in early March. Past pupil Gerry Robinson reports.
There is much cause for optimism in St Macartan's as the college prepares for the business end of this season's McRory Cup. The Sem's form in the pre-Christmas league section of the famous Ulster colleges competition was exemplary this term and there's no reason why the Monaghan side can't enjoy an extended run in the 2004 competition proper.
To date, it has been an historic year for St Macartan's McRory Cup side. This season, for the first time, the competition was played off on an initial nine-team league basis, with the all-new McCormack Cup up for grabs. And, as final positions on the league table would determine who meets whom in the forthcoming McRory quarter-finals, there was plenty to play for.
The Sem had a superb innings, picking up 13 points out of a possible 16, thereby finishing top of the table. Theoretically, this offers them the easiest possible route to the last four - as they now face the eighth-placed team in their quarter-final - but of course no game in this competition is ever easily won.
However, with a series of excellent displays in the initial "feeling out" stage of the season, the Sem have shown what they're capable of -and all the indications are that they could be pushing for major honours come springtime.
By topping the table, Macartan's go into the history books as the inaugural winners of the McCormack Cup - a poignant accomplishment as the trophy commemorates the late Fr Enda McCormack, a former President of the Monaghan town college. Indeed, to complete the circle, Fr Enda was actually manager of the last St Macartan's team to win the McRory Cup ... way back in 1956.
Seamus Meehan is manager of this year's promising side. The Donegal man - who doubles up as Monaghan minor boss - has been guiding the fortunes of St Macs' senior side for the past decade. While nobody's getting carried away just yet, the boss admits that he's greatly encouraged by the spirit and passion displayed by the current side to date.
When did the manager realise that he might have a particularly strong crop of players on his hands? "The important thing to stress first of all is that even though we're delighted to have won the McCormack Cup, a competition that's obviously close to our hearts, we realise that the real challenge is coming up from March onwards and it could count for little if we don't make an impression in the knock-out stages of the McRory Cup. That remains our target.
"To be honest, I wasn't any more optimistic than usual this year. We set out like we do every campaign with the aim of qualifying for the quarter-finals and safeguarding our senior status. But as the winter went on, we realised that we had a chance of finishing top of the table, which was an added bonus and certainly won't do our morale any harm ... provided we guard against complacency.
"Our aim has always been to compete in the McRory Cup and to stay in 'A' football. We've had plenty of decent teams and quality footballers in recent years, but in the past our teams haven't matched the quality and passion of the northern sides. This is the first time we've done that and, so far, the results are there for all to see.
"We've shown we're capable of beating the big boys and the lads have so far played with a battling quality that I'm very happy with."
Ironically, the campaign began on a real downer when highly influential Emyvale clubman Brendan McKenna - arguable the team's most inspirational player - was ruled out for the year with a cruciate ligament injury. This was a massive blow, but the lads put their heads down, pulled together and got on with it.
St Macartan's played Magherafelt first and battled to a super victory. As the campaign progressed, the players developed a happy winning knack and confidence increased with each outing. Despite losing a close game to Maghera second time out, the manager was none too concerned: "In fairness, they are the defending Hogan Cup champions and the lads actually played really well in that game. So there was no need to start panicking..."
Indeed, the exceptional form continued with impressive wins over Armagh, Enniskillen ("a real milestone because we've struggled against them over the years ... another great team performance"), Abbey CBS and Omagh.
Macartan's beat St Colman's of Newry in their penultimate game and secured the point they required from a draw with St Pat's, Dungannon in their final league outing on Monday December 8th to clinch top place, with the Dungannon lads finishing second.
"That last game was a big one," Seamus notes. "It was played in Monaghan and they got a late goal to lead by two points with about seven minutes left. Once again we showed our battling qualities to respond with two late points and the lads were pushing for a winner when the final whistle sounded."
Thus the Sem had captured their first senior title in over 20 years. However, with plenty of work still to be done, they're not losing the run of themselves. "We're not getting ahead of ourselves by any means," the manager confirms. "We realise that a lot of schools don't take the league section of the competition seriously because they have their sights set on the knock-out stage. So we're wary of that and we know there'll be a big step-up in the standard after Christmas.
"We were only gearing up for a quarter-final place ourselves and that remained our main focus, even though it soon became apparent that we could win the league. We took it in our stride. We continued to experiment and try out new things. Even though we wanted to win it, at no stage did the league become our main priority.
"It's not the be all and end all. Of course, winning the title is brilliant and there's a great buzz in the school, but we're keeping our feet on the ground and are as determined as ever to hopefully reach a McRory Cup final."
To this end, the first major test is on March 7th - a quarter-final clash with Abbey CBS. "We're taking nothing for granted. This is apparently an 'easy' draw because The Abbey came eighth but I'm not prepared to subscribe to that view. That's only on paper and they're a good side. They'll improve before then and we'll have to be at our best to get a result.
"We served notice by only dropping three points in the league but I've been in charge of McRory teams for ten years and we always make the quarter-finals - sometimes with very good teams - but the big test is to get beyond the next stage."
The best Seamus has achieved to date was a semi-final berth with a side captained by current county senior John Paul Mone. However, that team was narrowly beaten by a St Pats, Armagh selection boasting Tyrone's Cormac McAnallen as well as Orchard County pair Paddy McKeever and John Toal.
This year's St Macartan's team has a nice blend of footballers and is especially strong up the middle. County minor Ronan Garvey (Monaghan Harps) is an exciting prospect, as is Mark McCaffrey (Eire Og). Midfielder Stephen McAleer, also of Monaghan Harps, is another Monaghan minor with a big future.
Up front, captain Paul McGuigan (Clontibret) is in his third year playing McRory Cup and is a true leader on the field. Paul was Man of the Match in last year's Ulster minor club championship final. Dwayne Rooney from Rockcorry is another county minor who's had a tremendous year, while Noel Morgan (Clontibret) is a handful for any defender.
With Monaghan beginning to compete at U21 and minor levels, are St Macartan's benefiting from the general buoyancy of underage football in the county? As Seamus points out, it could actually be the other way around: "A lot of the players from those teams originated here and I think playing McRory Cup has helped them. When you consider that something like 26 of the starting 30 in this year's All-Ireland final played McRory Cup, it tells its own story.
"There's a very high standard of football at this level and it's of enormous benefit to the county. A serious amount of time and effort is invested. For example, we train four days a week - two gym sessions and two outdoor sessions. We have a new sports hall here and a new all-weather pitch, and they certainly make it a happier environment to train in!"
Seamus believes that, as is the norm, approximately ten of the Sem's '04 McRory Cup team will feature on the 24-strong county minor panel. "We have some good players to bring in from Carrickmacross, who are the county minor champions this year and some of the Magheracloone lads look good too. But there are many others and the standard is very high.
"There are still three Monaghan lads in the running for the Irish schools team that'll be going to Australian next year. The panel has 30 players at the moment and will be trimmed to 25 before they fly out, but at the moment James Ward (Magheracloone), Bernard O'Brien (Latton), who is an exceptional talent, and Nudie's young lad Ciaran Hughes are still in contention."
Without wishing to tempt fate, the question has to be asked: is the St Macartan's Class of 2003/04 good enough to win the McRory Cup? "In the past we've had an inferiority complex when facing the likes of Maghera and Enniskillen but so far this year that fear hasn't been evident.
"The attitude is different and it has shown in the results. Every time we've fallen behind or been asked questions, the lads have responded positively and that's very encouraging.
"For ten years I've had a dream that St Macartan's will have a team in Casement Park on St Patrick's Day for the McRory Cup final. If these lads have the same dream and believe they can get there, then they're good enough to make it happen. You need belief, quality and the rub of the green.
"We've had the breaks so far and if we continue to get them, then we could well reach the final. And once you're in a final, anything can happen..."
The St Macartan's team that drew with St Pat's, Dungannon on December 8th to clinch the McCormack Cup: Declan Callery (Emyvale); Gary Trappe (Monaghan Harps), Ronan Garvey (Monaghan Harps), Niall McRory (Truagh); Mark Morgan (Monaghan Harps), Martin McCaffrey (Eire Og), John Thomas Treanor (Emyvale); Stephen McAleer (Monaghan Harps), Shane Coyle (Monaghan Harps); Nicholas Treanor (Monaghan Harps), Dwayne Rooney (Rockcorry), James McQuaid (Tyholland); Noel Morgan (Clontibret), Shane Smith (Monaghan Harps), Paul McGuigan (Clontibret). Subs: Daithi McKeown (Clontibret), Emmet McCrudden (Scotstown)
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