St. Patrick's Maghera ready for historic Hogan Cup Final in Croke Park

Masita GAA All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Hogan Cup final

Monday 1pm in Croke Park

St Patrick's Maghera v St Colman’s Claremorris

Not many of the St Patrick’s Maghera supporters making their way to Croke Park on St Patrick’s Day really expected to be doing that at the turn of the year.

It would be a surprise if there was any expectation at all that they would be there when they trailed by three points with as many minutes left against their neighbours ten miles south on a cold mid-January Wednesday evening in Owenbeg. Were some of them searching for your keys ready to make the quick exit when Turlough McHugh swivelled and found the Convent net?

For a Maghera side with half a dozen from the back-to-back All-Ireland winning minor teams on board, it was very unusual that they were not name-checked among the MacRory favourites at the start of the season. There was much more expectation with the Convent side who contained another half-dozen successful minors.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons that Maghera have actually gone this distance and will play in Croke Park for the first time ever on the national saint’s day. Neither they nor their supporters couldn’t look beyond the next game. There was no expectation and therefore no pressure on a group who had won nothing more in their school careers than the Year 8 competition.

They have been allowed to grow through the competition and the management team, including past MacRory Cup players Sean Marty Lockhart and Chrissy McKaigue, have nurtured them well.

For example there was no sense of panic when they conceded a goal just before half-time on an awful windy wet Sunday afternoon in Derrylaughan in the semi-final, nor even when Abbey Vocational poached two early goals in Celtic Park. Nor again when Mounthawk’s Ben Murphy went on a quite brilliant solo run through the Maghera defence in the 6^th minute of the Hogan semi-final and found the net.

That lack of panic is a sign of a mature team. It’s also the sign of the confidence that they have in each other to dig themselves out of the hole – no matter how late it is in the game.

There is a tenuous link between Maghera and St Colman’s Claremorris. The Mayo school won their first and only Hogan title in 1977. That of course was the first year that Maghera won the MacRory Cup.

It won’t have any relevance to what happens in Croke Park however.

Claremorris club claimed the Mayo minor title last season and, not surprisingly, a number of them feature in the school team. However a quick scan through the county minor starting team over the past couple of seasons and only Mark Noonan overlaps with the team that beat Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar in the recent Hogan semi-final.

That semi-final was played a week before the Maghera one and allowed the Claremorris management a chance to have a close look at their opponents. That would give them a slight advantage in how they prepare for the final.

Goals won them the semi-final – 4-4 to 1-7. They were very adept at getting in behind the Mullingar defence to finish close-range chances and each of their goals was well-worked. Those goals were finished by four different players – Darragh Beirne, Nathan Gill, Tom Hession and Dara Flanagan.

Maghera have not been as adept at finding the net – four across three group games pre-Christmas and then just two in the four MacRory knock-out games. The tally rose to eight from eight games with the two strikes in the Hogan semi-final.

But they have had a range of point-scorers along the way – while their defence has also been pretty tight.

The neutral view is that Maghera have the team to continue Ulster schools’ strong showing in the competition. While there were no games in 2020 nor 2021, Ulster has won four of the last five Hogan finals played. It’s 12 years, and two final defeats, since Maghera won their 5^th national title.

Monday can again become a special St Patrick’s Day for the Maghera.