Obviously, the final round of Allianz League fixtures will take the vast majority of attention this sporting weekend.
For me, however, Croke Park is the destination tomorrow to cheer on my alma mater St Ciaran’s College, Ballygawley as they take on Ballinrobe Community school in the Paddy Drummond Cup final.
While the all-conquering Dublin boys in blue have been setting records of late on the county scene, I will be hoping Tyrone’s own boys in blue can create their bit of history tomorrow afternoon.
St Ciaran’s was my local school where my mum was vice-principal and all my brothers had gone before me, so I duly and happily followed suit.
The rich football history of the school was an added bonus. Past pupils – including Peter and Pascal Canavan, Kevin ‘Hub’ Hughes, John Devine, Paudge Quinn and Paddy Tally – gave evidence of impact far beyond the school gates on Tullybryan Road.
In my time, I was lucky to be managed by the likes of Martin McElkennon, Mickey Harte, Pascal Canavan and the great Robby Hasson, who was the heartbeat of all things Gaelic football at St Ciaran’s for many years.
I’ll always remember how, in the normal GAA tradition of surname position, the fact that the brothers before me had usually specialised in the full-back line meant Master Hasson only had the number three shirt in mind for the newest McGinley.
When my first year colleagues questioned the wisdom of his decision, the Derry man informed the bunch of 12-year-old veterans that ‘Mr McGinley will play where he is put’.
Lesson learned. Given some of my shooting over the years, I wondered was he ever that far off the mark.
School football holds a special place in any player’s development.
It is the first time you step outside the comfortable surrounds of your local primary school and club. You must step up to the plate against players from surrounding clubs and make new alliances.
The St Ciaran’s panel on Saturday is composed of lads from Kileeshil, Galbally, Eglish, Beragh, Aghaloo and Errigal Ciaran.
The clubs and school both benefit in this arrangement, as does the county.
Daniel Millar, Darragh Canavan, Cormac Donnelly and Cormac Quinn are all on the Tyrone minor panel, while Joe Oguz, Tomas Hoy and Ciaran Traynor are on the U17 squad and many more of the boys will be leading lights in their clubs.
Along with the football side of it, participation in school football often means learning the value of keeping your nose clean on the classroom side of things.
In my time, training was always at lunchtime and I remember well the rush to try to get back to class on time.
This had less to do with my interest in punctuality than to minimise the hassle come matchday when I would need the teacher’s permission to get out.
Admittedly, this sometimes meant forsaking the shower for a quick dry towel wipe down, but needs must and your classmates’ olfactory senses were of less importance than keeping teachers onside.
St Ciaran’s is currently celebrating its 50th year and it was on the 25th anniversary that I watched my brothers – Aidan and Emmett – play as part of the team which won the school’s first ever title at senior level, the Markey Cup, in the school’s first year entering a senior side.
St Ciaran’s High School is now St Ciaran’s College and while many changes in personnel will have occurred, the endeavour to succeed on the football pitch thankfully appears strong under new principal Paul Lavery.
The boys’ MacLarnon cup success added to an already successful year in which the girls won the senior A provincial title before falling just short in their
All-Ireland final against John the Baptist Community School, Limerick.
The boys’ extra-time victory over St Mary’s CBS, Carlow to reach tomorrow’s final demonstrated huge fitness and maturity, coming as it did just five days after their historic MacLarnon victory.
The three goals conceded in the semi-final is some cause for concern and certainly kept the Carlow side in touch when St Ciaran’s appeared the stronger and more slick outfit.
St Ciaran’s had a very good defensive record in the earlier phase of the competition and managers Fintan Devlin and Brendan Trainor will have been encouraging the lads to go back to their mean-spirited ways.
Their footballing ability and fitness should stand to them in Croke Park.
While a lot of big business is to be sorted out on Sunday in the Allianz Football League, you can never forget where you come from.
For this reason, a large contingent of Tyrone folk will travel to Headquarters tomorrow to hopefully see St Ciaran’s push for glory.
Hopefully a huge crowd of friends of the school, past and present, will turn out in what should be a very special occasion.
Tyrone folk chanting ‘Come on you boys in blue’ in Croke Park? For one day only.
