Nathy’s are aiming to rise to the occasion

Whether at inter-county or post primary schools level, hype and excitement come with the territory when it comes to All-Ireland final buildups – and St Nathy’s College know that better than most.

They were previously in an All-Ireland ‘B’ final back in 2018 and won the competition in 2000 under the tutelage of the late, great John O’Mahony. A new generation are now looking to bring the Paddy Drummond Cup back to Ballaghaderreen but while fellow students, teachers and club members get caught in the buildup, this group will focus on the task in hand assures St Nathy’s selector Fr Paul Kivlehan.

“That's part and parcel of an occasion like this. You have to acknowledge the fact that you're playing in a big game, that is the elephant in the room. The other thing is that there's a match to play at the end of it so it's great maybe for supporters and teachers and you can see the buzz here in the school today,” said Fr Kivlehan last Friday.

“But I think we'll be trying to say to our lads that from now on we have to focus in. We have an important game to play and from the experience that we have in the team and the games that we've played, I'd be confident that the lads will be well able to stand up to the occasion when we get there.” 

Whether it be for Mayo or Roscommon, this St Nathy’s team is blessed with players who have dealt with the big occasions. Former Mayo minor Conor Moriarty won a Connacht title in 2024, with Roscommon duo Dean Casey and James Cassidy following suit a year later, ironically against Mayo. In fact, their St Nathy’s teammate, goalkeeper Declan Duffy, played outfield for Mayo in that Connacht final but county rivalry is well and truly out the window for a shot.

In a role-reversal, full-back Patrick Gaynor played in goal for Roscommon in the Connacht U20 final last year against Mayo. Big game experience is not lacking for St Nathy’s but neither is it for Longford and Leinster champions Cnoc Mhuire.

Like St Nathy’s, the Granard-based school, just three miles off the Cavan border, pulls from multiple counties. Five of the side that defeated Ulster champions Aquina Diocesan GS Belfast in the semi-final last month – Karl O’Hara, Cian O’Donnell, Liam Greene, Sean Fagan and Ben Blessington – were part of the Longford minor panel that stunned Dublin to win the Leinster title in 2024, a first provincial title at that grade since 2010, while Granard quartet Niall O’Donnell, Daniel Corr, Brendan Martin Burns and Shane O’Hara were involved with the Longford minors last year.

Cnoc Mhuire’s biggest challenge came in the North Leinster final against St Joseph’s CBS (Dublin), a game they would edge 3-16 to 1-19, before they ran out convincing winners in the Leinster final over Gorey Community School (4-16 to 2-10).

But this is a St Nathy’s team that has been building momentum ever since winning a Connacht juvenile title back in 2022. Fr Kivlehan, who has been involved with teams in the school since 2013 when he first arrived in the parish, has called his time involved a ‘huge privilege’.

“It's very life-giving for me. I'm dealing with different things that parish life throws up and it's great to be able to walk up here for an hour during the weekend and come to training and go off to the game on a bus with the team.

“I was chaplain here in the school for the first three years that I was here. I find it a great privilege and honour to be involved with not just with this group but with all the other groups so we've worked with as well along the way.

Fr Kivlehan added: “Being a priest, you're very much involved in a community, you're trying to pull a lot of strands together in that way. When you're involved in a team, there's a lot of different things that make up the end product that you see on the field on a weekend or during the week. I think there's a lot of similarities and they probably complement each other in some ways.” 

After the school lost the Connacht senior ‘B’ final in 2022, St Nathy’s went one better on this occasion, defeating The Bish in the decider in Bekan. But Fr Kivlehan recalls a group game against The Bish in early December that would shape the journey that has followed since.

“We played with the breeze as it happened that day. From memory, we weren't all that far ahead but we got important goals in the second-half and I think that we ended up on a scoreline that day at 3-7 to 12 points. Had we not got the goals that day it could be very different story and maybe you might be up in the Bish this morning instead of in here.

“You need a little bit of luck along the way and to go along with the talent that you have. But of course, when we started off this year we knew that the potential was there, but potential is one thing. You also need hard work and dedication and a willingness to win and I think that this bunch, we have all the ingredients to make up a very good and successful team.” 

It all leads to this Saturday, and they will arrive in their droves from Kilmovee and Ballaghaderreen to Ballinameen and Aghadestran (Eire Óg) to see whether the school can bring home another All-Ireland title, and whether Fr Kivlehan, Ronan Brett and Colm Maye can join Johnno in the list of managers who brought an All-Ireland to St Nathy’s.

“I know when we got to the 2018 final, the first man that lifted the phone to me after the semi-final when we beat Lucan was Johnno,” said Fr Kivlehan.

“To receive a phone call and to be talking to a man like Johnno about that is just kind of a hair-raising moment for someone like me. Johnno was a huge support in the lead up to that final, offering his advice and I had a few phone calls with him.

“Just to be talking to someone like John, an icon of the game, was just amazing really and I'm sure that John will be with us in spirit in the coming days as well.”