Breakthrough can pave the way for a bright future

In a dramatic final that saw Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar lift the Br Bosco Cup for only the second time in their history, mentors Dean McNicholas, Brian Murtagh and Matt Kearney shared their elation and pride in the team's character and determination.

The three men who masterminded Saturday's success - Dean McNicholas, Brian Murtagh and Matthew Kearney - had collective optimism and belief in their players’ abilities and this victory paves the way for what promises to be an exciting future.

Coláiste Mhuire's journey has been remarkable as they went from failing to win a game in the prestigious competition for three years, to being champions this season. With the Br Bosco Cup triumph now firmly in the bag, Coláiste Mhuire can look forward to building on this success into the future.

Speaking after Saturday's final, Tyrrellspass's Dean McNicholas was effusive in his praise. “I'm just absolutely over the moon for the 33 lads on the panel. Their character was tested throughout that whole game and probably through the second half there; I thought it was getting away from us, but look at the strength of the panel, the lads who came in: Paul Keating, James Murtagh, all these lads made a massive difference. They gave us legs and I'm just absolutely over the moon to be honest. I'm really proud of the lads today,” he said.

McNicholas praised Will Scahill, scorer of two crucial goals in the first half, scores he agreed were needed them to keep Coláiste Mhuire in the game.

"We were lucky. We were poor enough, calling a spade a spade, in that first half. Our shot selection was not probably on point; we had four balls dropping into the 'keeper's hands. But for a 16-year-old to show that leadership throughout the whole game, and in extra-time, he's an absolute credit to himself. He was unbelievable.”

Reflecting on the tight nature of the match, McNicholas said he was relieved to get to extra-time given that his side were chasing a late equaliser.

"We were glad to get there, particularly when we found out that they were going into the extra-time with 14 men. It allowed us to jig a few things around, just to put a bit of a press on them. From halfway through that second half onwards, I think the lads really took the shackles off, stood up and there were leaders all over the field for us.”

McNicholas praised the strength of the panel, referring to Paul Keating's extra-time goal which gave them a four-point cushion midway through extra-time. "Paul's probably unlucky, with the strength of the panel that we have. In other years, he could have been starting. But he's a huge engine in him and he was particularly unbelievable for us when he came in there. He was excellent.”

He agreed a significant moment in Coláiste Mhuire's season arrived when they overcame Naas CBS in the group stages. "We got the support of Mullingar behind us after that and there was talks. We were trying to probably keep a lid on it to be honest with you. We started the year off really well. We played a couple of challenges over in Connacht. And to be honest with you, we thought we had a nice side there. But the Naas game gave us all the belief and even from that, the commitment level went through the roof after that. So we never had to be asking lads to turn up for training or anything like that. The standard was set that day and really we've built from there.”

Brian Murtagh was equally upbeat about what victory meant for the school. Asked about the significance of a Leinster senior football 'A' title, he said: "It's huge for Coláiste Mhuire. What I think it does is, I've said it probably the last few years, that we should be competing at this level. It's not since the '80s that we won it and I think with a school and a town the size of Mullingar, they should be definitely competing in Leinster at this stage quite regularly. Hopefully, it's just now setting the groundwork for years to come. This is a place where these lads are going to be comfortable with. You can see there, it's kind of inspired a new generation coming behind them in the crowd; there's a lot of good footballers there and without putting pressure on them, we hope this is where they will be competing."

Great character shown

Speaking of the team’s work rate, he was extremely pleased. For long periods, a physically stronger Athy team seemed to be putting Coláiste Mhuire on the backfoot, but they kept going; they were relentless.

"We were talking about Will (Scahill) in the build-up, and him scoring goals, but it was just his scoring; he really set the tone there up front, himself, Eoin Meehan, Matty Thornton. Their work rate from the front is crucial to what we do. You can have all the tactics in the world but if you don't back it up with work rate and determination, you're not going to get the success at the end.”

When asked about retrieving a four-point deficit in the second half, he said the resolve shown was impressive and the ability to respond in the face of adversity shone through.

“It was just great character from the lads. There's only a couple of times all year that we have been behind. It is something that the three of us have accounted for all year. Setbacks might happen, we're not going to sail through the whole competition. It's how we react when those setbacks happen. You see the way the lads reacted there. Donnacha Maguire catching ball in the middle of the field; Oisín O'Hara making big plays.

"And then lads coming in off the bench, you might not even notice it there. Adam Glynn comes in there, takes one of their main men out of it and things like that. I suppose we just unleashed the shackles and let the shackles off. And that's what paid off in the end.”

Matthew Kearney, reflecting on his own journey with the team, recalled how they had endured difficult days over the years and defeats that presented serious challenges. Coláiste Mhuire hadn't won a game in the fiercely competitive Br Bosco Cup in three seasons.

“There were a lot of lean years: myself and Brian had these boys two years ago and the likes of Matty Thornton, our captain, and a lot of them were in TY. I suppose looking at the time, it was a great breeding ground for them. It got them exposed to playing senior 'A' colleges football. Then last year I took a step out. There's a busy household, at home with two small kids and I’m only delighted to get back in this year," he recalled.

"I suppose from the very get-go, getting back involved with the boys, I saw how well they had them prepared from last year.

“The really pleasing thing from a management point of view is we found ourselves in a position today that probably we didn't find ourselves in in any championship game yet this year. And you say the right things and you think the right things, but when it needed to be done today, the boys really stepped up from 1 to 33, as the two boys have alluded to already.”

Looking ahead, Brian Murtagh added: "It's Claremorris next. All year, at the beginning, all we wanted was to get a win in the group stages and get out of the group stages.

“We're not going to change our approach. It'll be one step at a time. We'll try and get a bit of information and stuff on Claremorris and we'll take it from there.

“And prepare like we have for all the other games. You never know what's going to happen.”