GAA: St Columb’s bid for MacLarnon Cup final spot

St Columb’s College from Derry travel to Drumragh today to take on Holy Trinity (Cookstown) in the semi-final of the MacLarnon Cup (throw-in 3.00pm).

The Buncrana Road students will be hoping make it a step further since their last appearance in the semis in 2012.

Coached by Eamonn Burns, Michael McLaughlin and Brian Trainor, St Columb’s reached the last four with a comfortable win over St Ciaran’s (Ballygawley).

That win was all the more impressive as Derry’s Ulster minor winning half back Eoghan Concannon, influential midfielder Odhran Crumley (Claudy) and powerful half back Thomas Reilly (Craigbane) all missed the game through injury.

Many of this current side has been battle-harded over the last two years, with Colleges All Star goalkeeper Dylan Doherty (Moville), Conor Feeney (Banagher), Mark McAdams (Sigersons), Eoin McElhinney and Sean Bradley (Faughanvale) - who both played their part in Faughanvale’s historic treble winning season and Ulster run - now in their third and final year of MacLarnon Cup football.

That experience is further enhanced by a host of quality Claudy players in Conal White, Ross Stevenson, Jamie Brown, Cillian Higgins and Kealan Smyth.

In addition to this, Steelstown’s powerful Andrew Moore, who was part of Derry’s Ulster minor winning team, and current Derry minor from Criagbane, Sean Mortimer and fellow clubman Eoin Coll, it is easy to see why this team has run up such an impressive run of results since that opening day win over St Malachy’s.

Nonetheless, in order to progress to the 2016 showpiece, St Columb’s College face their toughest challenge to date now have to overcome the formidable hurdle of Peter Canavan’s Holy Trinity who dispatched the current holders, Our Lady’s Castleblaney, on a scoreline of 4-9 to 1-12.