St. Columb’s College aim for Markey Cup success
January 31, 2025
Danske Bank Markey Cup final
St Columb’s Derry v St Patrick’s Keady | Greencastle, Friday, 7pm
It’s been quite the week for St. Columb’s College already.
Around a dozen players from the St Columb’s team that contested the Danske Bank Casement Cup hurling final against St Patrick’s Dungiven have had to quickly put the disappointment of the result behind them and focus on the Markey Cup final tomorrow evening.
For St. Columb’s, this is a second chance to win a provincial schools’ GAA senior medal and passage through to an All-Ireland semi final in early March.
The Derry school last won the Markey Cup back in 2019, with a team led by current Derry senior players Donncha Gilmore and Cahir McMonagle.
There is plenty of talent in the current team to emulate that group of six years ago.
Jude Bryson’s late, late goal in the semi-final got them through on a 3-5 to 2-7 score-line against St Mark’s Warrenpoint and Bryson, who also scored 5-2 for them to reach the hurling final a few days later, is already a member of the county under 20 squad.
Meanwhile Feargal Cutliffe, also a prominent member of the hurling team, collected an All-Ireland minor medal with Derry last year, while Tadhg Coyle, Oran Donnelly and Bliain McDaid are all emerging stars in soccer.
But what about St Patrick’s Keady? Many of them have already secured the Danske Bank Casement Cup for hurling and are in search of the provincial double.
Their overlaps with the winning hurling team include captain and Player of the Match Jack Loughran who scored a brace of goals in the Markey Cup semi-final win over Pobalscoil Ghaoith Dóbhair a fortnight ago.
Another hurler, Liam Rafferty, scored 1-1 in that 6-5 to 2-12 victory in Celtic Park Derry while Sean óg McNaughton also tagged on a couple of points in that game.
These three plus Pádraig Comiskey are the Armagh side’s main players.
Despite the Donegal’s side’s ability to get through for points, Keady’s pace on the break created the goal chances and the game was soon in their control.
St Columb’s have not won their games with just the same ease as Keady. But they showed a lot of resilience in the semi-final against Warrenpoint, leading for the first time in the game with just seconds to go.
Many of them got a taste of MacRory Cup football before Christmas with the Cathair Dhoire side and that experience could be put to good use in this final.
However their defence will need to be as tight as they were during the semi to close out the channels that delivered plenty of Keady goals through this competition.
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