Antrim Hurling League – Division 4
Rossa 2-22 St Brigid’s 4-23
The sport of hurling has been given an unprecedented boost on Belfast’s Malone and Lisburn roads where the St Brigid’s club has been crowned Antrim Division Four champions with a game to spare.
The men from Musgrave Park took on and beat Rossa seconds at Shaw’s Road on Wednesday evening in an epic top of the table clash, which saw the fledgling squad from South Belfast prevail by seven points.
St Brigids teenage marksman James Kelly, who bagged 1-14 in their previous outing against Ballymena All Saints weighed in with a remarkable 0-17 haul ( 0-9 from play) in the historic win which guaranteed St Brigids – formed just five seasons ago – would be playing division three hurling in 2026.
But this was far from a one man performance, corner forward David Prenter pounced for the “ Biddys” opening goal which he buried after 5 minutes, Oisin “ willo the wisp” McDonnell added a second shortly after.
A delicious over the shoulder point from Fionntain Cleary followed and then came a long range effort from teenager Donnacha McGurk which gave the away team a ten points interval lead.
But Rossa came with an early third quarter surge, James Close popped over three points from midfield and then two second half goals sniped in quick succession saw the West Belfast outfit take the lead with five minutes remaining on the clock.
But St Brigid’s, minus two talismanic leaders in the injured Phelim Lennon & Nial Murtagh, found a way.
With the clock ticking, Dara Sidebottom thieved a ball from a ruck on Rosa’s 13m line and found Cathal Conway with a subtle hand pass and the latter first timed to the “ onion bag”.
Game on.
Nearing injury time, Conway – a grizzly bear of a man – returned the compliment, emerging from a forest of sticks to boot the ball into the raiding Sidebottom’s path, which he whipped on first time low of his left. The net bulged and the covered stand heavily populated with travelling fans convulsed in a guttural roar.
Deep into injury time, James Kelly -the schoolboy with ice in his veins & kryptonite in his wrists – landed another monster free from 85m, St Brigid’s had hurled themselves into history.
The whistle sounded, Brian McGurk, so pivotal as goalkeeper let out a primal shriek, Jake Massingham who’d been a contender for man of the match at corner back, jumped higher than an Eastern bloc pole vaulter, Peter Heaney who played with a groin tear had a perma smile tattooed on his face that was wider than the mouth of the Lagan, Peter Middleton back with titanium screws in his ankle after a year out had played like a man in titanium armour; Todd Engman from Minnesota had a hurl in his hand & a tear in his eye, Darren Hamill hugged his boy Pearce, coach and player, father & son- suspended somewhere between disbelief and ecstasy – ; John McGuckian -a veteran of many campaigns with St Brigid’s Cloughmills – who thought he’d seen it all before confessed that he hadn’t, Conor McElhatton, Cuan Polley, Mikey Kerr and Michael Burke, three pups and an aul gnarly dog, jigged and leapt uncontrollably; big Jack Pardy from Offaly, stood wide eyed like a majestic lighthouse, unshakable & unsinkable as he’d been all season.
And somewhere amidst the frothing sea of waving hurls, John Rush, a prisoner of a collapsed moment, gazed south over the cityscape, stunned as an Easter island statue beckoning home some unseen ship on a hitherto unimagined horizon.
“ We’ve done it, we’ve done it “
The words spilled from the manager, first a trickle, then a torrent, just like the team he & big Darren had built.
