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by thesaffrongael

Cargin aiming for three-in-a-row as Ports aim to break their duck

SFC Final

Erin’s Own v Casements

3-00pm Sunday Corrigan Park

Erin’s Own Cargin are aiming for three-in-a-row as they take on a Casement’s Portglenone side hoping to break their duck when the South West rivals meet at Corrigan Park on Sunday.

Reigning champions Cargin will enter the game as firm favourites in the eyes of those who compile the odds but Ronan Devlin and his charges will be taking nothing for granted.

Cargin’s evergreen full-forward Michael McCann who was again prominent in his club’s Antrim SFC win over St Brigid’s at Dunsilly in the semi-final . Pic by Bert Trowlen

Casement’s got one monkey off their back when they defeated Lamh Dhearg in the semi-final after suffering defeat in the previous five semi-finals.

Possibly a record for the Casement’s but one they will be glad to forget about as they have finally knocked down the door to get the semi-final monkey off their backs.

Cargin are on a quest to add an elusive ‘three in a row’ and more than a few wearing the green will have already pocketed half dozen winnner’s medals and are on a quest to add more.

Casement’s are aiming to claim their first title after emerging as beaten finalists of 2005 and 2007 and they will be more than anxious to introduce the Padraig McNamee Cup to the Gaels of Portglenone.

Erin’s Own claimed their first title back in 1972 when they gained victory over Patrick’s Sarsfield’s in the final but the MacNamee Cup did not return again to their South West residence until 1995.

Cargin have emerged as the team to beat in the last decade with four wins in the last five years and success on Sunday would see them make it three in a row

Ronan Devlin, Fabien Muldoon, Kevin Doyle, and JC Devlin are the men in charge of the Toome side and have been working hard to prepare their side for Sunday’s decider and they have been fortunate that yhey have not had to deal with many injuries along the way.

Pat Shivers v Portglenone in the league

Attendance at training has been excellent with one individual rumoured to have travelled over 100 miles to report at least once a week.

The Toome men progressed through the group stages and after a facile victory over Ahoghill in the quarter-finals they faced a stiffer challenge in the semi-final.

St Brigid’s had already recorded a league final win over Ronan Devlin’s side and this ensured they needed to raise their game in windy conditions at Dunsilly with a late Paul McCann goal enough to ensure a place in the final.

John Mc Keever, with Scotchy Hagen, Tommy Devlin and Adrian McKeever have been working hard to prepare their side for Sunday’s decider and there have been no reports of injury in the Casement’s camp.

Casements were held to a draw by Glenravel in the group stages and were tested by Moneyglass at Marian Hill before earning a four point victory.

They overcame a tough challenge against rejuvenated St. John’s in the semi-final before emerging 2-10 to 1-12 winners at Dunsilly but survived a last minute penalty claim.

Mc Keever’s side put the pain of those five consecutive semi-final defeats behind them as they recorded a resounding win over Lamh Dhearg in the semi-final in Toome to stride confidently into Sunday’s decider.

Casements half back Fergal O’Kane

A big attendance is anticipated at the Corrigan park venue which is certain to be in superb shape and hopefully we will be treated to an entertaining final with both sides laced with players of quality.

There could be many key battles throughout the field with Gerard McCann and John Carron or Pat Shivers facing the threat posed by Niall Mc Keever and possibly Niall Delargy at mid-field.

The coming together of Jamie Gribbin and Fergal O’ Kane looks another tussle to savour as is how the Casement’s men cope with the threat always posed by the Mc Cann brothers, and Sean Og O’ Neill.

Cargin keeper John Mc Nabb rules supreme in both his kicking out and despatching free whilst his opposite number Kevin Mullan has relatively little experience at this level but has been sound since taking up the keeper’s jersey.

Mick McCann and his brother Tomas continue to have massive influences for the men from Toome and James Laverty and Justin Crozier add another layer of experience to a side with some emerging stars including Conhuir Johnston.

Ruairi Hagan, Fergal O’Kane, Deromt McAleese, Enda Lynn, Stephen Kelly and Oisin Doherty bring a wealth of talent to the Casement’s challenge as they face the formidable Erin’s own challenge.

Cargin will start Sunday’s decider as firm favourites and it is a title that they have earned but Casement’s have finally shaken off their semi-final hoodoo and this may allow them to play with the freedom that could see them push the champions all the way.

by thesaffrongael

In the lead up to Sunday’s Senior Championship final Cargin’s James Laverty speaks to the Saffron Gael

As reigning champions Erin’s Own prepare to face neighbours, Casement’s Portglenone in Sundays SFC Final at Corrigan, Cargin’s long serving defender, James Laverty shares his thoughts on the game with Paddy McIlwaine from the Saffron Gael.

Paddy: James how long have you been playing senior football for Cargin.

James: This will be my 16th year playing Senior football for Cargin. I made my Senior debut in 2009 when I was 17

Paddy: What honour have you won with Erin’s Own

James: I’ve won 7 Senior football championships and 3 U21 Football championships with Cargin.

Paddy: How long did you play for the County.

James: I played Senior for the county for 11 years. Unfortunately no honours but it was always my ambition to play for Antrim and it was a great honour to play for my county.

Paddy: Cargin are going for three in a row on Sunday has that been talked about in the weeks leading up to the final.

James: No there’s been no talk of it. Previous championship wins will have no bearing on Sundays result so we are just focussed on bringing the McNamee back to Cargin.

Paddy: Ronan Devlin took over from Damien Cassidy and the transition from trainer to manager seems to have run smoothly. Tell me about Ronan, Fabian Muldoon, JC and Kevin Doyle and the part they have played in that transition.

James: Damien did a fantastic job with us and was always going to be a tough act to follow. The transition was helped as Ronan, JC and Kevin were all involved with the club/team with Damien. Fabian added a new voice to the team and has been hugely influential in guiding the team back to another final. The amount of work these men put in behind the scenes is incredible and probably isn’t appreciated enough. They leave no stone unturned and have given us every opportunity to push ourselves further.

Paddy: Cargin face Portglenone in Sunday’s final. A new opponent for you but a team you will never the less be familiar with. Tell me your thoughts on Portglenone and the players you will have to contain if you are to win?

James: There has never been much between ourselves and Portglenone and we expect Sunday to be no different. I’ve played with a number of them over the years with the county and they always produce quality players. The likes of Niall Delargy, Dermot McAlease, Niall McKeever and Oisin Doherty will cause any team problems. Portglenone are a young ambitious team and have proven this year they can step up when required. We fully expect to come up against our toughest test this year on Sunday.

Paddy: Who are the players who have stood out for you this year and what new players have emerged to stake a claim for a regular place in the side?

James: We’re very fortunate as a club to have a lot of young talent coming through. I could name a whole bunch of players putting their hand up for a starting place so hopefully Sunday we’ll see a few of them make their mark on the game.

Paddy: Add anything else you feel is relevant and your thoughts on how you think the game will go and what will be the factors that might influence it.

James: I think it’s fantastic for both clubs to reach this stage of the championship. Portglenone and ourselves have made massive strides both on and off the pitch in developing the clubs and community. Hopefully on Sunday both teams can go out and put on a great final.

by thesaffrongael

St. Brigid’s goes two-tone for All Saints 

The staff and pupils of St. Brigid’s PS, Ballymena donned their black and white colours today for a very special morning assembly. They wanted to wish the players of the All Saints Senior Gaelic football team good luck as they try to land the title in Saturday’s Co. Antrim Intermediate Football Final. Many of the boys and girls (and staff) are players or have family connections with the club. So much so that several former St. Brigid’s pupils returned to their alma mater to receive the good luck wishes from the pupils of today. Cal O’Brien, Ciaran Campbell, Conal Killough, Charlie Metrustry, Ronan McKillop, Kavan Keenan and Jason Givens found themselves transported back in time as they received the cheers of the waiting children in the school assembly hall.

All Saints player, Kavan Keenan with his sister Cliodhna and son Tomas during his visit to St Brigid’s P.S. on Friday where he was a former pupil

The school had searched the archives and managed to find an array of photos of the former pupils taken during their time at the school and a power-point of memories ensured.  Special mention was made of Saints player Kavan Keenan to celebrate his recent announcement by the GAA as a Tailteann Cup All Star. Kavan will share this accolade with 14 others as one of the best 15 players across Ireland in this year’s competition. It was fitting that Kavan was able to receive the warmest of congratulations in the company of his younger sister Cliodhna who is a P7 pupil at the school and with his son Tomas who is in P1. 

Today’s event was a fitting way to link the old with the new and to celebrate the special relationship between both the All Saints Club and the school community in the parish.   

Back in 2011 All Saints players brought ther IFC trophy to St. Brigid’s. Emmet Killough (Back Left) is still playing while some of the children in the photograph will be part of All Saints team on Saturday. Can you spot them?

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by thesaffrongael

All Saints Conor Stewart looks forward to Saturday’s IFC Final

The 2024 version of county final week is different for Conor Stewart. He is on the inside looking out this time.

One of a handful of key players missing from All-Saints’ defeat to Glenravel, Stewart recalls being there but he wasn’t really in the room.

Injured players are like that. You are there at training, offering a word of support and wishing everyone well. But you are not there. Not really.

Just 17 minutes into last season’s Tailteann Cup quarter-final win over Carlow in Corrigan Park, Stewart’s game was over. A knee injury followed by pain followed by worry followed by the dreaded few words.  His cruciate was torn.

Like Dermot McAleese, who was replaced before him with a jaw injury, Stewart’s first game looking over the whitewash was a double whammy.

It was a trip to Croke Park. Missing a chance to play on the hallowed turf was doubled up by watching on as Meath took advantage of Antrim failing to maintain a hold on the game.

By August, Stewart was under the knife before getting on the bumpy road back to covering the grass as one of those box-to-box players for club and county.

He is indebted to Antrim and physio Jason McAnulla. The fact the Omagh man endured two ACL injuries left Stewart in good company.

“That helped as well, Jason was someone that knew the niggles and the feelings I was going to get,” Stewart said. “I got a bit cautious at the start and he was just reassuring me.

“Over the 12 months, I was just working away with him. Then it would be sessions with Antrim and he’d be giving me the strength the conditioning work to do…guiding me through the whole return to play, so every step of the way.”

By the time All Saints qualified for last season’s intermediate final, Stewart, Paddy McAleer and Kavan Keenan – who was a hit in his first season with the Saffrons this year – were amongst the key players on manager Liam ‘Baker’ Bradley’s injury list.

In their absence, Glenravel had a smoother path to glory and All Saints – like after their defeat to Tír na nÓg in 2021 –   were the bridesmaids.

Conor Stewart in action for Antrim aginst Down early in 2023 before picking up a serious injury that has kept him out of action for over a year. Stewart is looking forward to Saturday’s IFC Final against St. Teresa’s where the Ballymena side will be playing in their third final in four years

You have to go back to 2011 for the most recent of three intermediate titles. Liam Cassley’s goal was the key score as they came from two points down at half-time to have five points to spare on Portglenone by the final whistle.

A teenage Peter McReynolds kicked two points. Fast forward 13 years and he has shaken off a career threatening injury to returning to training, making him an option this weekend.

Emmett Killough and Paddy McAleer were young guns who are still on board. The experienced trio of Sean McVeigh, Peter McNicholl and Michael McCarry are still on board.

“Those boys are probably hungry for another one (championship) but for us young boys, this is our third final in four years,” said Stewart.

They crave their medal. A Tír na nÓg team managed by Baker’s nephew Michael O’Kane beat them in 2021 decider. Conor Stewart’s three points from midfield wasn’t enough.

And last year is still fresh in the memory. More emptiness. Defeat lasts longer. It cuts deep. That’s the nature of sport.

“Sometimes Baker would say ‘county finals don’t come down too often’ without really thinking and then he’d remember about the others,” Stewart jokes.

It’s not something the All-Saints squad shy away from. They use those painful memories enough to channel into a message of Saturday being a chance to right the wrongs.

“I definitely found last year’s defeat hard…just having to watch on,” Stewart recalls. “We probably were up against it; it was a strong Glenravel team and we were down a few men.

“Don’t get me wrong, we’d still be disappointed and still feel we had opportunities on the day to go on and win it but I’m sure Baker’s happier with the squad he has this year.”

Ahead of the 2021 final, there were knocks. There was last year and a handful of key men injured and on the outside looking in.

All the while, Stewart was a sponge as Jason McAnulla walked him down the road to recovery and coming on for Patrick Ferris in the last league game of the season, a win over Aghagallon on the familiar grass of Quinn Park.

Stewart’s point, with virtually his first touch put Ballymena six points up and on their way to a sixth win on the bounce to secure third spot in Division One and a semi-final against St Paul’s.

They’d more than met their target of staying clear of any relegation worries. With a mere 16 players available during the peak of holiday season, Ballymena came up short.

Now it was championship time. After hammering Gort na Mona, they came a cropper to Sarsfields and a hotly disputed disallowed goal in a one-point defeat at the hands of Sarsfields in the Bear Pit.

It was a wake-up call of sorts and All Saints’ championship odyssey took them to a semi-final win over Division Two champions St Paul’s after a blistering start.

Now they’re back where it matters. Its county final week and St Teresa’s stand in the way of a fourth title coming back to the shadow of Slemish.

“It’s sort of different from playing senior league and then going into the intermediate championship,” Stewart admits.

“We played St. Teresa’s a year ago in the semi-final but we haven’t seen them at all this year so you’re sort of not knowing what to expect.

“With that, you can only really look at your own group and your own performance so it’s all about us performing on Saturday.

St Teresa’s will give as much as we will but we’re just looking at a performance on Saturday. If we turn up, hopefully we can do the business and get over the line.”

Conor Stewart’s county final week is different. Twelve months on, he is on the inside now. All-Saints will hope their team’s fortunes will be different too.

by thesaffrongael

St. Teresa’s Philip Maguire speaks to the Saffron Gael

In the build up to Saturday’s Intermediate Football Final in Toome Paddy McIlwaine speaks to St. Teresa’s stalwart, Philip Maguire. Philip has been an ever present for St. Teresa’s for more than two decades and was happy to give us his thoughts on how Saturday’s final might go.

Paddy: Philip at what age did you make your senior debut for St. Teresa’s and how long have you been a member of the senior panel?

Philip: I made my debut in 2003 aged 15 against Aghagallon, played at Sean Treacy’s Lurgan. Think we had the bare 15 and I was told to stand in corner forward. My first real season was the following year and I’ve been involved with our senior footballers ever since. 

Paddy: Tell me about the honours you have won with St. Teresa’s during your career and your spell with the Antrim football side?

Philip: To date I’ve won, junior (2009) and intermediate (2013) football championships. 

I’ve also won the junior hurling twice (2005 & 2008) and the junior B twice 2020 and this year with Belfast Saints Hurling Club which is a combination of St. Teresa’s and St. Agnes.

I would love to win another intermediate championship this Saturday. 

I represented Antrim at minor and U21 football and got a few run outs at senior level. 

Paddy: I remember your dad, Danny playing Senior Championship with St. Teresa’s and his long career with Antrim. How much of an influence has he been on your career?

Philip: Massive influence. Always encouraging me to train hard and improve. I’ve always wanted to emulate what my Da achieved for the club. Like most GAA families the club is everything. I remember going to my Da’s matches and trainings from no age. My granda was a founding member of the club and his dedication and commitment to the club has been passed on to my Da and now on to me! He has always encouraged me to play and brought me to club and county games all my life. He has also paid for a few pairs of boots down the years! 

Man of many talents! Philip Maguire in action against Sarsfield’s in the Intermediate championship semi-final and (Featured Image) In goals for the Glen Road side earlier in the season

Paddy: You have had a great year with Belfast Saints. I was at your semi-final against Larne and we covered the final as well. You have been in great scoring form. How many St. Teresa’s players from that side are likely to figure on Saturday?

Philip: The hurling has a great atmosphere around it. It’s a set of boys who all just want to play some hurling. The boys do all the hard work and I get to knock a few frees over. From it started 2 years ago, everyone has really enjoyed it. Boys from both clubs, St. Teresa’s & St Agnes would obviously like to be playing under our own club names but unfortunately the numbers aren’t there at the minute, so it’s the next best thing. Both clubs are planning on rebuilding hurling from juvenile up but that will take a few years.

From our club we have 6 or 7 dual players who will also be playing on Saturday. Colm McGoldrick, Pierce & Conor O’Rawe and Philip Glennon. There are plenty more footballers who are very good hurlers and will hopefully get involved next year. 

Paddy: St. Teresa’a have had a great season, reaching the IFC Final and gaining promotion to division 1. Last season you struggled a bit. What has been the difference this year?

Philip: I didn’t play any league football. That might be the reason! A few boys like to remind me of that.  I slipped a disc in my back and trapped a nerve so I’ve only been back involved from the start of championship. I think this year we got a decent preseason at the start of the year, won the first couple of games and build up some momentum and confidence. We won games that in previous years we would have got beaten in by a point or two. We’ve also got a few boys who are starting to mature into senior footballers. 

Paddy: St. Teresa’s and All Saints met in the IFC semi-final at St. Enda’s two years ago. All Saints won narrowly. What are your recollections of that game?

Philip: For me personally it was one game too many at the end of the year. I had been playing most of the year with a sore back and I hadn’t been training between the games trying to recover during the championship. From what I remember it was the goals that were the difference that day. Ballymena are a big physical team with a big squad. We’ve a small panel and I think we just run out of steam after a long year. 

Paddy: Who have been the St. Teresa’s players who have stood out for you this year and who you feel can influence Saturday’s game and how do you see it going?

Philip: From not playing in the league and doing nets in a few championship games I’ve been able to actually watch us play probably for the first time not really being involved. For me, Paul Johnston and Darren McCann have had a great season. ‘Janty’ has been excellent in defence and Darren has stepped up this year as captain and lead from the front. Hopefully these two and a few more have a big influence in the game. 

Paddy: Philip, as you may know I’m an All Saints man but I wish you all the best on Saturday. Looking forward to the game and seeing you and your dad in Toome, and may the best team win!

Philip: thanks for the coverage The Saffron Gael produces. It’s fantastic and the media coverage it does for clubs is brilliant. Fingers crossed you’re taking pictures of St. Teresa’s players and supporters celebrating after the game. Best of luck and I echo your sentiments. May the best team win!