The Official Ulster Colleges GAA Website - Sponsored by BT
Fri 5th Mar 2010
http://www.vimeo.com/9923495 - Sean Warnock interview & match action
There were no jubliant celebrations by the players from Omagh CBS at the end of their BT MacRory Cup Semi-final defeat of St Mary's Magherafelt.
In fact, coaches Noel Donnelly and Ciaran McBride kept the entire squad out on the Celtic Park pitch long after the final whistle had sounded, to ensure they focussed immediately on the Final against St Colman's.
That won't be too difficult for many of them who remember the heartbreak at the end of last year's Final by the Academy.
"We left it behind us in '09", recalls captain Sean Warnock. "I remember seeing the hurt on the faces of boys like Petie Harte who missed out on a second medal in their last year".
The Greencastle clubman is therefore doubly determined to win this time round on St Patrick's Day, though he realises the serious threat posed by the boys from Violet Hill.
"We know all about them because they've been our main challengers all the way up through school. Boys like Ross McGarry are quality players who will take some watching on St Paddy's Day".
Omagh CBS coach Noel Donnelly rates the previous meeting of the schools as the best game he's seen in the entire season. His team won by a single point on that occasion and he predicts another close outcome.
TYRONE-DOWN DOMINATION
The 2010 BT MacRory Cup Final will see the domination of the competition in recent years by schools from Down and Tyrone continue.
Since the all-Derry decider in 2003, the Cup has been shared by the Mourne county (Abbey CBS in 2006) and the O'Neill county (Dungannon in 04, '08 & '09, Omagh CBS in '05 & '07).
In the same period, St Louis Kilkeel contested two Finals in-a-row and now St Colman's will compete in the 2010 showpiece, which will make it a total 11 appearances by Down & Tyrone schools out of a possible 14 in seven Finals from 2004-10.
Omagh will of course be aiming to keep the trophy in the same county for the fourth year in succession, which hasn't happened since 1957-60 when St Colman's (3) and Abbey CBS (1) took ownership of the MacRory Cup for County Down.
The glory days continued on Violet Hill in the decades that followed, most notably from 1987-91 when they competed in five successive finals. Current Down manager James McCartan was a key force in those days, while the coaching double act of Pete McGrath and Ray Morgan drove the school on to MacRory and Hogan Cup success in 1998.
Since then St Colman's have been strangely absent from MacRory Finals, without an appearance in eleven long years (they were beaten in the 1999 decider).
In their place, Omagh and Dungannon have become the standard bearers, with Omagh's qualification for the 2010 Final ensuring that a Tyrone school will contest the decider for the eighth time in ten seasons.
Submitted by: Jerome Quinn
