St Colman's College chase the heroes of ‘77

The weight of history can hang in the air, heavy and untouchable. Like a mist rolling off Clew Bay on a cold spring morning. It creeps into communities, hiding in the corners of dressing rooms, settling into the seams of old jerseys, lingering in the stands where the same faces have watched for generations. But history can be fickle. It moves on. And the denizens of Connacht know only too well how history can desert a region.

For the last 23 years, Connacht schools have been waiting for history to return to them. Not since St Jarlath’s triumphed in 2002 has a school west of the Shannon lifted the biggest prize in schools football. Some have come close. But the trophy has always gone elsewhere, slipping away to places where national success is expected, not entertained as a fleeting dalliance.

And yet St Colman’s College has persevered. The football nursery is now only one game away from an All-Ireland final and an opportunity to end a barren period that should never have extended this long.

Across from them stands Coláiste Mhuire from Mullingar, a school that doesn't exactly boast the name of some of the competition’s heavyweights that have frequently challenged for All-Ireland glory beyond their province. Until their victory earlier this month, they hadn't won the Leinster title since 1983. There are no easy paths to a Hogan Cup final, but as semi-finals go, this one feels different. The Mullingar school isn't dripping in history and expectation, though of course they'll feel the same way about the South Mayo school.

At this stage, reputations mean little. When it matters, a great team handles the heat when the pressure heightens, when leads shrink, and when moments of composure are the difference between elation and heartbreak. History looks great in a match programme, but it won’t track back when lactic acid burning legs.

St Colman’s already know what that feels like.

Some games are won in moments of brilliance. Others are won by simply hanging on for dear life. In the Connacht final earlier this month, the Claremorris school had to do both.

For 30 minutes in Ballyhaunis, they were in full control. They moved with confidence, hit hard, and looked every bit of a team ready to mount a serious All-Ireland challenge, led by star forward Darragh Beirne who bent the game to his will with a final tally of 1-5. By half-time, St Colman’s led 2-5 to 0-5 and were already turning for home.

But, alas, nothing is ever straightforward in Connacht football. The second-half brought a shift in momentum, and the Mayo school soon found themselves battling off a brave comeback from Summerhill College. The six-point cushion was eventually cut to one. The crowd could feel the leveller; the Sligo school could taste it. It was the kind of atmosphere that pulls every coach from the dugout, arms flailing like they’re conducting an invisible orchestra.

But when it came down to it, St Colman’s players came of age. A few late scores settled the nerves, and the Claremorris school live to chase the heroes of 1977 this weekend.

You can almost sense the echoes of 1977 in this St Colman’s team. The school’s one and only Hogan Cup-winning side knew what it was to lead, to feel the pressure mount, to sense an opponent growing in belief. And yet, they managed to hold firm and claim the title. They absorbed everything reigning champions Carmelite College of Moate threw at them in Roscommon that day, withstanding waves of attacks, digging in when the easy thing would have been to crumble under the intensity of the pressure an All-Ireland final brings.

And that final was far from a procession. St Colman’s led early, their free-flowing football cutting through Moate’s defences, their sharpness in front of goal separating the sides. But they only led by two points at the break. In the second-half, the tide began to turn. Moate surged forward, throwing everything at the Mayo school, desperate to break them down and hold on to their title in front of a 10,000-strong crowd.

It was in that mad scramble of a second-half that the true character of the eventual champions emerged. The team found a way, just as this current side did in Ballyhaunis. When Summerhill College cut the gap to a single point in this year’s provincial decider, St Colman’s refused to panic. They tightened up, rode their luck and found hard-earned scores wrought from resilience.

Similarly, the ‘77 team were given every reason to buckle when the reigning champions coasted into a second-half lead. They refused.

It would seem that it's a trait woven into the school’s football DNA.

Success, however, doesn’t happen in isolation. And it isn’t the product of luck. What’s happening in St Colman’s College right now is the result of years of quiet, determined work across South Mayo, a region that has long been crying out for a breakthrough.

For too long, that corner of the county has been on the outside looking in. Not since 1994 has a South Mayo club won the Moclair Cup. Clubs like Claremorris, Davitts, Garrymore, Mayo Gaels and Hollymount-Carramore have waited, developed, and hoped for the tide to turn. And maybe the current St Colman’s team, which brings the best of all those clubs together, is the first real sign of something more significant beginning to brew in South Mayo.

Underage football in the area is becoming a force. St Colman’s College may be reaping the rewards now, but the hope is that this success will soon metastasize into club success.

For that reason, this isn’t just about a Hogan Cup run. It’s about momentum, and belief. And if St Colman’s can go all the way, it might just be the spark that reignites a part of Mayo football that has waited long enough for its moment to shine.