De réir a chéile a thógtar na caisleáin.
Castles are built bit by bit. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
TO the left as you begin the journey down Dungiven’s main street sits Dungiven Castle.
Captain Edward Carey constructed the basis for the castle in the mid-17th century and it evolved into its present shape almost two centuries later.
It’s a grey building and doesn’t strike you immediately as having character. But then it depends from what angle it is viewed.
Back in in 1989, Universal Pictures released a film in which Kevin Costner’s character Ray Kinsella hears a voice telling him “If you build it, he will come”. Kinsella built his Field of Dreams and they came.
Around the same time a group of visionaries took possession of a derelict church on the Falls Road and built their “Field of Dreams” – the first second-level Gaelscoil in the north, Meánscoil Feirste.
And they came.
Over the past 35 years, Meánscoil Feirste has evolved into Coláiste Feirste and moved to its present elevated base in Ard na bhFeá / Beechmount. Its former residence has become the hub of Belfast’s Gaeltacht Quarter.
Over the next quarter of a century there were a couple of abortive attempts to establish a similar school outside Belfast.
Then, in 2015, another group of visionaries took over Dungiven Castle and established Gaelcholáiste Dhoire.
The numbers attending were small. A TV camera followed its progress through the first couple of years. The result was a documentary mini-series on BBC. By the end it was clear that Dungiven Castle had found a long-term tenant. They had built and now they were coming.
Clíodhna Ní Mhianáin and her younger brother Ruairí featured in that documentary.
Clíodhna made a cameo appearance as substitute to mark her 16th birthday when Slaughtneil beat Loughgiel in an Ulster club camogie final and is now on the Derry senior team.
In the summer of 2023, Ruairí completed his seven years in Gaelcholáiste Dhoire, won a county senior championship medal with Slaughtneil and progressed to the Derry senior hurling panel. He had played for the Derry U20 team in both codes while still at school.
Both siblings captained Gaelcholáiste Dhoire to their first Ulster schools’ senior titles as soon as they had gathered enough players around them to be able field at senior level.
Gaelic games, Irish music, traditions and customs were always going to feature strongly on the school’s curriculum. The camán and sliotar have featured strongly.
Gaelcholáiste entered Ulster schools’ camogie competitions with St Mary’s, Limavady as a combination unit – Gleann na Ró. A month before Covid hit, the Rosina McManus Shield was captured with victory over Dean Maguic, Carrickmore.
Hurling and football were a year or two behind, but hurling in particular emerged from Covid to make its mark.
Last Wednesday, Gaelcholáiste completed a meteoric rise by being included in the draw for the Danske Bank Mageean Cup. They are now featuring in the A Grade at each age-group in hurling.
Cian De Bhaldraithe is a Kilkenny native who moved to Dublin 14 years ago. He was corner-forward on the Cuala team that became the first from the city to win the All-Ireland Club hurling title in 2018. He now lives in Ballycastle and hurls for the McQuillans.
He has just started his third year on the staff of Gaelcholáiste Dhoire and attended the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ senior draws along with players Cathal Ó Mianáin and Finbarr Ó Muirí.
They watched Gaelcholáiste Dhoire come out of the Mageean draw in the same group as St Mary’s CBGS, Belfast; St Louis, Ballymena and Our Lady & St Patrick’s, Knock.
“We are really looking forward to the Mageean,” he told The Irish News. “We have played at underage levels last year in all the A grade competitions. So we have an idea what the Mageean Cup is about. I think this is a group where any team could beat another and all four of us would fancy our chances of doing well.
“It’s great for the school that we have got to this level. When I came into the school in September 2022 we were gathering up enough players to enter a senior team in the Casement Shield. We won that, went up to the Casement Cup last year and won that as well at the first attempt.
“We only lose three or four players from the team that won last year and a couple, including Ruairí Ó Mianáin, the year before after winning the Shield. So nearly everyone has experience of playing in at least one All-Ireland schools’ semi-final, if not two. It’s just wonderful for the school to be where we are.”
I
n their early years in the school, most of the players who will contest the Mageean started off in regional blitzes at the lowest level of entry.
Those not in their final year in school played in the Foresters’ level last season.
“They found out that the things they got away with the previous year would be punished at the new level. They have learned to adapt as they went up the grades. And they have worked hard.
“Now that we are in the Mageean, the boys want to make their mark. In making the choice between going up and staying another year in the Casement, we felt there wasn’t any point in making the move unless we were going to be competitive.
“Without putting a lot of pressure on ourselves, it’s important that we win some games. The boys want to win the competition outright. We will see how that pans out over the next couple of months,” he smiled.
A decision taken recently by the Derry County Board should help Mageean preparations. Minor competitions in both codes are drawing to a close at the moment. De Bhaldraithe maintains that the school will work in tandem with the clubs for the benefit of both parties and more importantly for the development of the players.
The school has three All-Ireland minor football medallists on the hurling panel – Finbarr Ó Muirí, Ger Dillon and Cathal Ó Mianáin – and the hurling mentor is adamant that the football team, operating at a lower level, will get their chance to develop as well.
“Oh yes, without a doubt. Conor Mac Alastair and Bliaidhan Glass and myself will be involved with hurling teams and Conor along with Jim Herron will be doing their best to see that the footballers also achieve their potential.
“These boys have been excellent ambassadors for the school over their time here. They have brought the school to the top level in hurling, but also brought football up through the grades as well.
“We are in a group with Loreto, Coleraine in football and that will be a derby game and the boys have already honed in on it.”
This is the first time that two schools from Derry will contest the Mageean Cup. Travelling down to the draw, the players and de Bhaldraithe discussed the pros and cons around being drawn in the same group as St Patrick’s, Maghera.
“Firstly, it’s great for hurling in Derry that there are now two schools competing at that level. The players certainly would have been up for a game with Maghera alright. Last year in the Casement Cup we played a semi-final with St Mary’s, Magherafelt in Owenbeg under lights. It was a great occasion and I think a match with Maghera under lights would be an even bigger event.
“However in the bigger picture, it’s probably better to play against teams from outside the county; players gain more experience that way. You never know we might end up against each other somewhere down the line.”
Shortly after Gaelcholáiste Dhoire opened its doors, Stormont announced the intention to build a bypass around Dungiven and the dualling of the A6 to Derry.
After a lot of roadwork, you can now travel down the A6, look over to the right and see Dungiven Castle from its best angle.
You still don’t get an idea of what has been achieved inside the Castle since it opened its doors to Gaelscolaíocht.
De réir a chéile a thógtar na caisleáin.
