Heartbreak, tears, desolation, inquests and negative analysis would have replaced the joy, the adulation, the celebrations, the glorious homecoming, the history created, the accolade of champions. 

It meant the Hogan Cup is not sitting beside all those IFTAs and BAFTAs and Oscars, Young Scientist and Grammy Awards as well as the batch of All-Ireland football titles they  have collected down in Kerry over the last six months or so. It had to stop sometime and maybe the stars were finally aligned after all these years. 

“Two goals as good as were ever seen in Croke Park … better even than what Eoin Mulligan did years age” was the half-time verdict of Ned Quinn before he headed for Mooncoin happy that another All-Ireland hurling title was added to the Kilkenny list. Ned has seen as many goals as any man has seen in the venue. And, if you don’t know, Ned Quinn is Mr Kilkenny hurling probably as important as Brian Cody to all those Kilkenny titles.  

“Something beautiful has been created” was how one Shamrocks mammy last week explained the fusion of talent, experience, local pride and rivalry that produced the powerful (in every sense of the word) football unit that turned St Patrick’s Day into St Mary’s Day in Croke Park and many other parks before the day of destiny.  The team of Dean McNicholas (manager), Brian Murtagh and Matthew Kearney have performed a remarkable feat in maximising the football talent of the eligible footballers in the Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar catchment area.

Make no mistake about it, this was a wonderful team victory against what was considered to be a very strong Tralee CBS team; we in Mullingar Shamrocks are massively proud of our contribution to the victory.  Back in 2019, we won the Westmeathgaaofficial Under-16 C title and were glad to do so; in 2021, we were competing in Division 2 at Minor championship level. We could never have believed that five years later 11 of our players would be panellists on a Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar team that walked out of Croke Park as Mesta All-Ireland Post-Primary Schools Football Champions.

So congratulations to Adam Buckley, Ben Sheerin, Ty Masterson, Críostóir Ormsby, Paul Keating, James Flynn, Ronan Byrne, Rory McCaul, James Murtagh, Killian Mooney and Hugo Corroon. These players have progressed through our Underage Coaching sructure over the last number of years and are a credit to themselves, our club and their families. We also acknowledge and appreciate the work of our club coaches who have worked patiently with these players and  the dedication of the players themselves who have worked so hard to develop their skills and fitness. 

It is appropriate that we as a club pay tribute to the significant contribution of Adam, Ben, Ty, Críostóir and Paul on the historic day.  Several of the other lads saw service on the journey to the All-Ireland title and can be proud of their contribution.    

Adam Buckley’s contribution can never be underestimated.  The enhanced rules have provided new challenges for the goalkeeper. With players shooting from outside the arc for two points more balls  are falling short and provide goal-scoring opportunities for forwards who can beat the keeper to the punch. Adam faced a number of these challenging situations and every time he won the vital punch and every time the ball was collected by a Scoil Mhuire defender. This test began in the first minute when Adam beat Gearóid White to the punch.  Then there was the massive catch halfway through the second-half with the ball falling from the clouds. If you can do that in Croke Park on All-Ireland final day, you can do it anywhere. There was the one-on-one saves. The restarts were top class (the one that found the sideline, ended with a fine one-on-one save) – the short ones always found the target, especially in the crucial last few minutes when composure was vital and the long ones just bombed through the Croke Park air.  

Compare this to his opposite number who kicked six restarts out of play and crucially failed to retain possession for the final score. No doubt about it: swap keepers and the cup would be resting in Tralee this evening. Goalkeeping is getting more difficult and crucial  by the month! 

Ben Sheerin did what he normally does. The man who was surely born to play corner back with his pace and anticipation  did a brilliant marking job on Nick Lacey, a display acknowledged by Dean McNicholas in his post-match comments. If there was a team of the championship, Ben would surely be an automatic choice. 

Ty Masterson wearing the Number 3 jersey was simply awesome and attacked from defence like a man who was never told about the Tralee CBS sharpshooters. Ty, especially in the first half, proved that attack is the best form of defence and his forward runs created endless trouble for the unhinged Kerry defence.  In the second half, the Tralee dominance forced Ty to concentrate on the more mundane task of defending which he carried out with his usual efficiency and authority and outplayed Ronan Carroll in the process.  

It was tough going in Kieran McGeeney’s “piggery department” where the Tralee management placed a special emphasis on neutralising the impact of the two giant Coláiste Mhuire midfielders. Críostóir Ormsby was more than capable of dealing with the extra attention and covered acres of the Croke Park ground in performance adorned with some brilliant catches. In the words of Paul Brennan in The Kerryman ‘Críostóir Ormsby put in a shift at midfield that will surely have Australian Football League scouts drooling in anticipation of what he could be capable of at the other side of the world’. 

Paul Keating has never been better. Tralee CBS must regret the creative space they allowed Paul in the first half. Paul made maximum use of the freedom and was instrumental with Michael Moloney in creating the opening goal for Will Scahill   and added two points from play as a bonus. A third point from play in the second half made Paul’s All-Ireland day a very special one. 

And, for his final contribution Paul returned to the part of the pitch where he had created first-half havoc and halted the final Tralee CBS attack with a tackle that would have lifted the roof across the city in the Aviva Stadium. The tackle might have eliminated the possibility of extra-time and as the resultant free drifted wide, history was created and the Hogan Cup was headed for a new home in Mullingar. 

Enjoy the victory lads and remember, in the GAA, the next match is always the most important ever played.