Swatragh capture first-ever Ulster Junior Hurling crown in emphatic style

Derry champions Swatragh showed their class to power past the challenge of Down’s Castlewellan and secure a first-ever Ulster Junior Hurling title, with a resounding 3-18 to 0-8 victory over the Mourne men in Stewartstown on Saturday afternoon.

Castlewellan opted to play with the aid of the gale-force breeze blowing from right to left in Stewartstown, but the two-in-a-row Down Junior champions failed to make it count, registering nine wides in the opening interval.

Instead, it was Swatragh, who competed in the provincial intermediate final as recently as 2024, who showed their quality, scoring 2-4 without reply while playing into the breeze midway through the first half to blow away the Mournemn's challenge and command their way to an emphatic victory in Tyrone.

Derry sharpshooter James Friel continued his sensational form, having hit 0-20 in the county final, with another handsome tally of 1-10 to his name as Michael Davitt’s captured a first-ever provincial crown to cap off their 80th anniversary celebrations. They will now head into a provincial final against the All-Britain champions in a fortnight’s time.

Tiernan Connolly landed the game’s first score with a third-minute placed ball, with Matthew McCabe following up five minutes later to push the Mourne men 0-2 to 0-0 in front. James Friel got Swatragh off the mark soon after, with Cathal J Quinn levelling the game in the eleventh minute.

On the quarter-hour mark, Eoghan O’Kane reacted quickest to Michael Keown’s batted clearance to whip the loose ball to the net. Fintan McGuirk followed up to extend the gap to four before McGuirk’s goalbound effort was well saved by Keown, only for Conor Murray to hammer home the rebound and suddenly push Swatragh 2-4 to 0-2 in front by the nineteenth minute.

Tiernan Connolly finally ended Castlewellan’s 12-minute scoring drought with a placed ball, only for McGuirk to cancel it out at the other end with a glorious effort from a seemingly impossible angle.

Sean O’Neill tacked on another score for the Down side, only for Derry star James Friel to round out the half strongly for Michael Davitt’s with a brace of scores, leaving nine between the sides at the break, with Swatragh 2-7 to 0-4 in front.

Swatragh continued to assert their dominance after the restart, with Friel landing another brace of placed balls before Tiernan Connolly responded in kind with a free of his own.

Friel and Connolly exchanged further frees to have the scoreboard read 2-10 to 0-6 before an Eoghan O’Kane brace, including a remarkable effort over the shoulder, pushing Swatragh into a 13-point advantage by the forty-second minute.

James Friel and Matthew McCabe exchanged a brace of scores each, only for Swatragh to seal complete control of the game in the closing minutes by hitting 1-4 without reply. Substitute Mick McCormack landed a brace off the bench, while the ever-dangerous Friel landed 1-2, including a rocket from a close-range free to the roof of the net as the Derrymen cantered to victory.

Swatragh: Niall McQuillan; Cathal Quinn, Patrick Turner, Ben Kearney; Tiernan Walsh, James Friel, Daire O’Lochlainn; Dominic Bradley, Sean Marty Quinn; Ryan Tohill, Cathal J Quinn, Conor Murray; Eoghan O’Kane, Fintan McGurk, Cahal Murray.

Scorers: James Friel 1-10 (7f, 2 65), Eoghan O’Kane 1-2, Conor Murray 1-0, Cathal J Quinn 0-2, Fintan McGurk 0-2, Mick McCormack 0-2, Cathal J Quinn 0-1.

Castlewellan: Michael Keown; Eoin Pol Hillen, Rory Burns, Lorcan Calms; Shea Daly, Jason Corskery, Joe O’Boyle; Eoin Maginn, Padraig King; Enan Fitzsimmons, Matthew McCabe, Sean O’Neill; Tiernan Connolly, Daire McVeigh, Rian Walsh.

Scorers: Tiernan Connolly 0-4 (4f), Matthew McCabe 0-3, Sean O’Neill 0-1.

Referee: Aidan McAleer (Donegal).