PEN PICS: St. Cecilia's College U16 girls in Ulster Final!

St. Cecilia's College U16s are hoping to bring their first Ulster title back to Derry when they face St. Patrick's, Banbridge in Tuesday's Schools final.

It has been quite the journey for these young girls, who defeated Dominican Portstewart in the quarterfinals at Celtic Park. They then had to dig deep to come through a difficult semi-final against St. Joseph's College from Crossmaglen. Trailing by seven points at half-time, the girls dug deep and showed not only their quality, but their character as they overturned the deficit to emerge as 5-12, 7-7 winners.

Many of the girls in the St. Cecilia's team are from local clubs such as Sean Dolan's and Doire Trasna, and they will be doing their clubs proud when they represent the school in this year's showpiece.

Captained by Eden Faulkner from Pearses, the majority of these girls are under 16, and have showed great camaraderie to make it this far, just one more game from creating history.

Team coach Kevin O'Connor said: "This is our second Ulster Final, and we aim to carry the cup home with us this year. The girls have worked hard and demonstrated remarkable determination over the previous three months. They deserved it. Whatever happens, we are very proud of them, and they should be proud of themselves."

St. Cecilia's College - U16 Gaelic team in Ulster Final. (Photos - Tom Heaney, nwpresspics)