Can Ballagh’ lads follow in Andy’s footsteps?
Harry Dooney of Kilmovee Shamrocks is one of a number of players with underage inter-county experience that St Nathy's College can call upon. Picture: David Farrell Photography
The ‘B’ final is the only one of this season’s top four Connacht Post Primary Schools senior football finals that is not an all-Mayo affair. Ballyhaunis Community School lost to St Joseph’s College, Galway (The Bish) in their semi-final, stopping a clean sweep of Mayo teams in the four senior football finals St Nathy’s College of Ballaghaderreen play the Bish in the final after their triumph over local rivals St Attracta’s Community School, Tubbercurry, winning 2-12 to 2-8 in Bekan.
They have in their ranks Conor Moriarty, full-forward on the Mayo minors of 2024, while Kilmovee Shamrocks’ Declan Duffy, an impressive centre-half back for the Mayo minors last year, mans the same fort for Nathy’s. Corner-back Harry Dooney is in the Mayo minor squad for 2026.
There’s a good spread of clubs represented from Mayo, Roscommon and Sligo with players from Ballaghaderreen, Kilmovee, Western Gaels, Ballinameen, Éire Óg, Kilmore and Eastern Harps all part of the Nathy’s setup.
Ballagh’ have seven of the starting team from the semi-final with three from Kilmovee. Shamrocks’ Oran Frain is a key player at midfield. The talented Ryan O’Sullivan (Ballagh’) struck for 1-5 in the semi-final with Ballinameen’s Dean Casey grabbing 1-4. Nathy’s led by ten points at one point but had to rely on a penalty save from Patrick Gaynor to have enough between the teams down the stretch.
The Bish, as St Joseph’s College is known, overcame an Adam Kelly-inspired Ballyhaunis CS in the semi-final, 4-12 to 1-13. Kelly was one of the stars of the Mayo minor team in 2025 and his minor teammate Fionn Conlon was also part of the Ballyhaunis effort.
But goals at the start of either half for ‘the Bish’ were decisive.
St Nathy’s have a fine tradition in colleges football. They were the first Mayo college to win the Hogan Cup, in 1957 and only St Colman’s of Claremorris have followed in their footsteps.
They have won five Connacht senior ‘A’ titles, however, the most recent was 1968 and the long gap since is best explained by the end of the boarding school era at the school.
At the ‘B’ grade, they do not have to look back as far for inspiration. Nathy’s reached the All-Ireland ‘B’ final in 2018. With current Mayo seniors David McBrien and Kuba Callaghan key players, they lost out to a Peter Canavan coached Holy Trinity of Cookstown in the final at Croke Park on the same day that Rice College of Westport lost their Hogan Cup final by just one point.
26 years ago Nathy’s went one better, winning the All-Ireland ‘B’ with a team which included current Mayo senior manager Andy Moran and was managed by the late, great John O’Mahony.
