The buzz around Dunloy continued to grow on Friday afternoon as St Joseph’s Primary School had their Green Day to show support for their senior hurlers in Sunday’s final.
Welcoming musicians Martin and Moira Crawley and Sean Dougan to give a live rendition of the song wrote ahead of Sunday’s final: Our Cuchullain Song.
The kids were in great voice as a sea of green and gold blanketed the schools assembly hall…
Past pupils Fergus, Fred, Scott, Stephen, Ryan (& Conn) came to visit St Mary’s PS & Nursery Unit, Cushendall on Friday. The boys had a Q&A session with the children then got presented with a Good Luck card signed by all the staff & pupils. They then visited the Nursery Unit. Everyone at St Mary’s cheered the boys and wished them and all the Ruairi Og Senior Hurlers the very best of luck in the County Final on Sunday. A few proud mammy’s in the audience too
Meanwhile out at Glenann PS, where the principal is former Dunloy hurler Paudie Shivers, the pupils were brilliantly kitted out in their maroon and white as they welcomed Ruairí Óg stars Aidan McNaugthon, Christy McNaughton and Paddy Burke to the school ahead of the big game in Corrigan Park Sunday vs. Dunloy.
Glenann PS wish to thank the boys for coming along and answering questions, getting photographs and doing their Half the Pot draw this week!
Good luck to Ruairí Óg Senior Hurlers on Sunday!
ACFL Division 1-2 Promotion-Relegation playoff
St.Mary’s Aghagallon 3-13 All Saints Ballymena 0-3
Photographs: Bert Trowlen
St. Mary’s Aghagallon secured their division 1 status for another season following, what in the end was a comprehensive victory over division 2 runners up, All Saints Ballymena at Dunsilly on Friday night.
The margin of victory doesn’t quite tell all the story however as the blanket defence employed by the Ballymena men frustrated St. Mary’s until 10 minutes into the second half when All Saints lost full-back, Sean McVeigh to a second yellow and after that the flood gates opened.
All Saints plan from early in the game was obvious as they set up to frustrate their division 1 opponents with a blanket defence that saw all 15 players behind the ball at times and relied on hitting on the break.
Aghagallon started brightly however and two pointed Gareth Magee frees and a point from play from Eunan Walsh saw them 0-3 to 0-0 ahead after five minutes and everything appeared to be going to plan.
Slowly though the All Saints defence began to get to grips with the opposition attack and finally broke forward for a point of their own when Shea O’Brien pointed a free in the 7th minute but they were unable to add to that early score.
Play slowed to a walking pace as the Ballymena side conceded possession and dropped deep to frustrate the opposition who were content to keep possession for long periods as they probed for an opening that was not forthcoming.
They were nearly made to pay when All Saints broke forward in the 15th minute as Conor Stewart raced through the heart of their defence but the county man blazed wide of the target with the goal at his mercy.
Naomh Muire replied with a long range point from Eunan Walsh which was hotly disputed by the opposition and manager Liam Bradley got his marching orders for protesting too strongly.
Walsh’s point was to prove the final score of the opening half but the Ballymena men might have added to their meagre total in the closing stages but were unable to convert a number of opportunities but still looked in with a shout as the sides headed to the dressing room.
It was Sunday’s beaten senior championship finalists who were first on target as play got under way again as Enda McCartan extended their lead to four with a fine point in the 4th minute but Conor Stewart replied with a good score for All Saints to keep his side in touch.
Gareth Magee restored his side’s four point advantage before disaster struck for the Slemish Park side when they lost full-back Sean McVeigh to a second yellow card in the 9th minute and suddenly the space that Aghagallon had been denied up to this point started to open up.
Two quick points from Eunan Walsh and Ciaran McGuinness and a pointed free from Gareth Magee moved the Lough Shore side seven ahead and then Jamie Lamont set Ruairi McCann up for a well worked goal after a slick move opened up the All Saints defence.
Aghagallon began to play with the swagger and confidence that saw them reach last Sunday championship decider against Cargin and suddenly an All Saints defence that had coped so well in the opening half were being stretched in all directions.
Oisin Lenehan got in for a second goal and when Adam Loughran placed Ciaran McGuinness for a third in the 23d minute it was well and truly over.
To their credit All Saints kept going to the end but it was Aghagallon’s Jamie Lamont and Adam Loughran who added to their total with late points before substitute Brendan McDonnell replied with a consolation point for the Ballymena side deep in injury time to conclude the scoring.
So it will be St. Mary’s who will play their football in division 1 again next season and it is where they belong and just how they got themselves into this situation in the first place was very much of their own making.
Relegation would have been unthinkable for a side who have contested the last two senior championship finals and with all their players back on board they are a match for anyone on their day and I would expect them to be back challenging for honours in the 2023.
Aghagallon: 1 Damien O’Hagan, 2 Stephen Devlin, 3 Daniel Donnelly, 4 Paddy Brannigan, 5 Ciaran Maginnis, 6 Padraig Gowdy, 7 Jamie Lamont, 8 David McAlernon, 9 Oisin Lenehan, 10 Eunan Walsh, 11 Adam Loughran, 12 Ruairi McCann, 13 Gareth Magee, 14 Enda McCartan, 15 Jack Lenehan.
Subs used: Pauric McGuinness, Daryl McAlernon, Aidan Mulholland
All Saints: 1 Connor Brennan, 2 James Gillan, 3 Sean McVeigh, 4 James McDonnell, 25 Kavan Keenan, 6 Sean O’Callaghan, 7 Connell Lemon, 8 Paddy McAleer, 9 Emmet Killough, 10 Peter McReynolds, 11 Ciaran McGarry, 12 Shea O’Brien, 13 Eoin Campbell, 14 Conor Stewart, 15 Ronan McKillop
Subs used: Cal O’Brien, Peter McNicholl, Benny McDonnell
Referee: Brendan Toland (Lamh Dhearg)
Cushendall manager Brian Delargy speaks with Brendan McTaggart ahead of Sunday’s final….
Now in his second year in charge, Brian Delargy has taken his Cushendall side to the decider for the first time in three years. You may think that isn’t much of a drought, but the Ruairi’s have been the one constant in Antrim hurling for a generation or more. A three year gap is the most they haven’t been at this stage of the championship since 2005 where they bridged a six year gap from their previous win – ironically enough that came in 1999 against Dunloy!
The Ruairi Og manager said there aim was simple from the start of the year. Reach the decider: “We set that as our target at the start of the year. Make sure we were there and have that four week break.”
In previous years, Cushendall have had a love-hate relationship with the new championship structure. More often than not, they have ended up in the quarter-finals but Delargy said they targeted the four week break: “It can work to your advantage (being in a quarter final) but we were able to get a challenge game in between times and it allowed us to work on a few things and have any injuries or niggles cleared up.
“Naomh Eanna up first and the lads got off to a great start. We played ok in patches against Loughgiel but nowhere near our potential. St John’s at home was a good challenge for us and I suppose Christy (McNaughton) was the difference.”
Having played for barely 10 minutes against Loughgiel, Christy finished with 1-2 but had to come off injured. Delargy said they are sweating over the fitness of a few players: “He (Christy McNaughton) hasn’t trained since. Dom (Delargy) and Paddy McGill haven’t lifted a hurl either. We’re hopeful though. We’ll give those lads every chance to prove their fitness.
Christy is a huge asset for us. He one of those lads that works off instinct, he knows exactly where the posts are. He’s struggled a bit all year with injuries and looked like he was coming good. He just seemed to twist his knee but he’s been working with Oisin Quinn, our Strength and Conditioning man to get back out again.”
It’s not all doom and gloom on the injury front for Cushendall however, Delargy confirming that Arron Graffin is likely to have game time on Sunday having recovered from yet another knee injury.
In their semi final, Cushendall looked to be coasting towards the final. They were left clinging on however with Loughgiel scenting blood after the dismissal of Liam Gillan. Delargy said: “We had to win that game twice. We knew it was going to be tough and that was the case. You’re never going to get an easy game against Loughgiel but we fought well. It was a game we could have lost and got turned over given the pressure we put on ourselves but we didn’t lay down.
“We seemed to get our goals at the right time in the game and when you score three goals in a game, they’re going to make a difference. Scoring goals at vital times like that makes it tough for the opposition, no matter how well they’re clipping over scores.
You’re never going to dominate a team like Loughgiel, they had a pile of confidence from the Rossa game and looked to be building momentum but we got over the line and that’s all that mattered.”
So onto Sunday’s final. Cushendall and Loughgiel in another decider, the sixth time the Volunteer Cup will either be draped in maroon and white or green and gold. Delargy said he was delighted to have reached this stage but now they’re here, they’ll be doing all in their power to add to their 14 senior championships: “We wanted to reach the final. Three years is a long time for a club like Cushendall to not reach the final and it was important for us to get here. But we’re here now and we’ll give it our best against Dunloy.
“We’ll have our plans in place but we’re not going to navigate too far from what we’ve been trying to do for the last two years since I’ve come in.
“We’re trying to make better use of the ball. Retain possession and running off the shoulder but it’s important to play to our strengths too.”
Having tasted defeat to Rossa at the semi final in 2021, Delargy said that while the job comes with added pressure and expectation, it’s days like these that he’s still involved with his beloved Cushendall: “I’ve really enjoyed it. This is a serious group of individuals who come in and give nothing less than 100% every time they show up, no matter if it’s training, league games or championship.
“The atmosphere is special, there’s no getting away from that. Being in a championship final brings about a buzz around the community, you have to enjoy days like these.
“The schools have maroon and white day on Friday and it definitely adds to the occasion. It’s for days like these that we train for and hopefully we can do the business of Sunday.”
Dunloy manager Gregory O’Kane speaks with Brendan McTaggart ahead on Sunday’s final with Cushendall…
Dunloy manager Gregory O’Kane leads the Cuchullains to their fifth final in six years. To say they have been there and done that is an understatement. The run up to Sunday’s final is something they have come accustomed to around the Village. The Cuchullains have shown no signs of easing the grip on the Volunteer Cup with their performances in this years championship and the Dunloy manager said the group of players set the challenge themselves: “It’s pretty simple, that’s the next challenge. Whatever happens in the past, it’s gone. We can only play one game and that’s the one in front of us on Sunday. All we want to be is the best version of ourselves we can be and we just challenge each other to get there.
“The challenge is Sunday. The only challenge we can face is the one that’s put in front of us. That’s our focus and that’s all we can concentrate on. Whatever has happened in the past won’t be good enough come Sunday. We’re always looking to improve and challenge each other.”
With the club also winning the Intermediate football championship last Saturday, it’s fair to say their schedule has been busy. On Sunday they will have played three knockout football and two knock out hurling championship games in six weeks. O’Kane made light of the busy period, stating it was meant the club and the vast majority of his players were able to build momentum: “It’s been great to be honest. It actually was good when we had the four weeks out there was two rounds of football. In terms of keeping the players sharp and match fitness, you can’t put a price on match fitness because you can’t train it. In those terms it was excellent. Then the lads who don’t play football were working hard around that.”
At those knock out football ties, those who aren’t dual could be seen on the grassy bank at Dunsilly offering their support. Gregroy said it was a testament to the unity there is within the group: “We’ve a good group. The unity’s there and everybody wants success, it’s a nice environment to be in and that’s important too.”
There’s a certain excitement that comes to O’Kane’s voice when it came to talking about Sunday’s final. You can tell he relishes the challenge of what the Volunteer Cup brings. You don’t have 11 medals as a player and four as a manager without having that hunger and desire to be the best in the business. The Dunloy manager said: “The best place you can be on Sunday is playing. There’s no substitute for it, money can’t buy it. It’s the best place any hurler, especially a Dunloy hurler on Sunday is preparing for a county final.
“You set out every game and that’s your focus, everyone is the same and we’re no different. We’re absolutely delighted to be in the final and every one of the lads and coaching set up are really looking forward to it.”
Sunday presents Dunloy with a chance of equalling their record of four in a row. A record they hold with Loughgiel and Rossa. This will be the third time in six years the teams will have faced each other, Cushendall will be hoping it’s third time lucky but O’Kane said what has happened in the past will have no bearing on what’s to come on Sunday: “We’re definitely not ’17 and definitely not ’19 but neither are Cushendall to be fair to them. It’s two teams who are improving all the time and it’ll be the team that’s improved the most. We’re hoping that’s Dunloy.”
With some thinking the decider could be played in Ballycastle, Corrigan Park was given the nod. One off if not thee best playing surface in the county and a repeat venue from 2021. O’Kane said the venue matters little to them with the focus and pursuit for the Volunteer Cup their number one objective: “Belfast is a fantastic venue for the county final. Corrigan has a super surface and it’s the county ground but to be honest it doesn’t really matter where we’re playing. We’re just looking forward to the final.”