The St. Malachy's Castlewellan footballers celebrate after winning the Markey Cup.
By John Harrigton
If a vocal support is worth a few scores to a team, then St Malachy's, Castlewellan will be off to a good start before a ball is even kicked against Tarbert Comprehensive in Saturday’s Masita GAA Post Primary Schools All-Ireland ‘C’ Final.
They expect to bring around 1,000 supporters on a fleet of buses all the way to Netwatch Cullen Park such is in the enthusiasm in the wider community for the team’s exploits this year.
St. Malachy’s have always a great Gaelic football tradition, but it withered on the vine somewhat in recent times.
This year’s Markey Cup success was their first piece of major silverware since winning the same competition in 2010, and there’s been a serious buzz in the school and its hinterland ever since.
“It's been unbelievable,” says St. Malachy’s manager, Peter Hynes. “The whole community has come out and supported the school brilliantly.
“We actually had a big breakfast morning last Saturday where the players were serving hot food and the whole community came out. Past players, clubs, everybody has really gotten behind us.
“The buzz around the school is just huge at the moment. We've first years that are just looking up at these lads in awe. They're heroes for them. These lads are then really reciprocating that because they're fantastic role-models for the younger ones in the school.
“It's given the thing a serious lift. Down football just hasn't been in a great place for a while, but we're starting to rise a little bit at the minute with the county teams doing better and Kilcoo winning the All-Ireland club two years ago was brilliant for us too because we had a lot of past pupils on that team.
“Success breeds success. When Down weren't going so well younger boys were maybe being distracted by the likes of rugby and soccer. But I just feel now that this age-group, especially this bunch of fellas that we have, they're so dedicated.
“It would be so easy to go out and celebrate after an All-Ireland semi-final and think your job is done, but all this bunch of fellas wanted to do was go and have a pizza and go home.
“The attitude and mindset...there's a winning mentality here and hopefully that'll show through on Saturday."
St. Malachy's Castlewellan players pictured hosting a breakfast morning for members of the local community, including Down football manager Conor Laverty, last weekend.
Such unity of purpose is all the more impressive when you consider that the school has around 18 feeder clubs with 14 of them represented on this football panel.
The manner in which they’ve reached this final has also highlighted the tight bonds that bind them, because two of their wins in Ulster and their All-Ireland semi-final victory over Ballyhaunis came after gruelling contests that required extra-time.
“They get on with each other on and off the field and I think that really stood to them in those periods of extra-time,” says Hynes. “That resilience and that sort of leaning on each other…they do go into the trenches with each other and we've seen that in training too and away from the field as well in school.
“That character is what has pleased us most about them, without a shadow of a doubt. We've joint-captains down here in Croke Park today, but I could say we've seven or eight captains.
“And not just from the older group. There's boys there in fifth year who are leading.
“This group of lads got to an Ulster Final in Second Year but Covid hit and they didn't even get a chance to play it. They made a promise themselves right up through that they'd work hard for something like this because they didn't get on the wall and that's been a big thing with regards to tradition in our school.
“We've got All-Ireland champions up around the school and these boys wanted to be a part of that. They've got their first picture on the wall now with the Markey Cup and they're hoping to add to that on Saturday.”
In attendance at the Masita All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Captains Call at Croke Park in Dublin were, from left, Eoin Travers and Chris Kelly McAvoy of St Malachy's Castlewellan, Sean Rinn and Jamie Maloney of Tarbert Comprehensive. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Facing them is a Tarbert Comprehensive team that also showed great character to win their All-Ireland semi-final against Mercy Ballymahon after extra-time and came through some might battles in Munster too.
What are Castlewellan expecting from the opposition on Saturday?
“Typical Kerry football,” says Hynes. “They're big, strong lads and they'll move the football really well. They'll want to kick-pass the ball quite a lot. But we're hoping that we can just stand up to that.
“Our All-Ireland semi-final didn't go well for us at all. In the first 45 minutes we had two scores on the board and we hadn't done that all year but we dug in when the game seemed to be moving away from us and we've been hitting home to the boys all week that we need to hit the ground running in this match from minute one.
“In the first two minutes just get that control, play with the handbrake off and just go at it because you get one chance to win an All-Ireland and that's it, they've got to take it on Saturday.
“Our word of the week this week has been 'Belief'. To grab that opportunity, seize it, and just go hell for leather and make sure that nothing stands in your way on Saturday. Don't have any regrets at all, just leave that field bleeding, leave it crying, leave it whatever.
“But just leave it knowing that you've given your all. This group of fellas has given their all so far and I know they'll do that on Saturday.”
Saturday, March 9
Masita GAA Post Primary Schools 'B' Dr. Eamonn O Sullivan Cup Final
Tarbert Comprehensive (Kerry) v St Malachy's Castlewellan (Down), Netwatch Dr. Cullen Park, Carlow, 2pm.