ST Eunan’s College are aiming to bridge an eight-year gap on Thursday by reaching the MacLarnon Cup Final.
As fate would have it, standing in the way of the Sentry Hill lads are Holy Trinity Cookstown, who defeated ‘Eunan’s in a replay back in 2018 at Celtic Park.
St Eunan’s have struggled at senior level in recent years but Peter Devine has a good crop on his hands this season.
They are boosted by the fact that they have home advantage for the semi-final.
With Ulster Schools GAA struggling to find a neutral venue, the schools agreed to toss for home advantage.
It went the way of St Eunan’s College and they will welcome the Tyrone school to O’Donnell Park today for the 2pm throw-in.
The team have shown good commitment throughout the season and they are keen to make it through to the final.
“The last time we were in a MacLarnon Final was in 2018. We actually lost to Cookstown after a replay,” said Devine, who is joined in his backroom team by David O’Herlihy and Brian Diver.
“Shane (O’Donnell) would have been part of that when he was in third year or TY, and you’d have had Peter McEniff, James Kelly and Shane McDevitt, Padraig McGettigan and those cohort.
“There was a couple of years of MacRory after that.
“There was a very good team two years after that with Shane, Kealan Dunleavy, Jack Gallagher, and Kieran Tobin, who got to the MacRory Cup quarter-final.
“They were beat by two points by a strong Newry team who won their semi-final and the final was never played because of Covid.”
St Eunan’s College have shown steady form throughout their league campaign and then saw off St Malachy’s, Castlewellan in the quarter-final with Glenswilly youngster Jonah Cannon coming off the bench to score the key goal.
Cannon’s clubmate Pauric Devine is team captain and played in the Donegal Senior Championship last year.
Matthew Enright and Matthew McGinley (Glenswilly), Callum McGilloway and Cathal Doherty (Letterkenny Gaels), and Evan Hickey and Evan Daly (St Eunan’s) were all county minors in 2025 and Devine will need those players to show leadership.
St Eunan’s clubman Devine says he has a strong panel and they aren’t overly dependent on any one club to provide players.
“We’re lucky that we have a good spread.
“We have a group from St Eunan’s, and Glenswilly probably supply the most with that good minor team that were beaten by Four Masters.
“You have a nice sprinkle of Letterkenny Gaels players, and they’re quite young – none of them are sixth years – but we have a few St Michael’s lads involved in the team.
“You have two Newtown boys and you have a player from Convoy and two from Termon.
“It’s very important to have that spread. You look at Twitter and you see Dungannon and Omagh and Newry and I was counting one of their teams and there was 11 different clubs represented in a starting fifteen.
“That’s just frightening and makes what Abbey (Vocational School) are doing even the more exceptional.
“We have good feeder clubs but at the same time, half the ‘Eunan’s lads are going to Coláiste Ailigh, the vast majority of Termon lads are going to Milford, and St Michael’s boys would tend to go to Falcarragh or Milford.
“We are getting a good sprinkle from all and that’s what we need.
“We have a big squad.
“We have 20-25 lads that can be called upon and trusted and you have the competition for places at training.
“We have a good balance of sixth year, fifth years and TYs and a lot of them will be about again next season which is good.”
Holy Trinity were playing MacRory Cup football up until last year and have more than held their own in the premier competition.
They have now dropped down to MacLarnon but will be keen to work their way back up.
The Cookstown side defeated Rathmore from Belfast in their quarter-final.
St Eunan’s College have had a look at them already but Devine doesn’t think that will count for much at O’Donnell Park.
“When you looked at the list of schools when the draw was made they were the team that stood out because it was only three years ago that they were beat in the MacRory Cup Final.
“Sometimes they go up and down but they tend to play at that top level.
“We know they are going to be good. They were in our group and we actually played them.
“But it was a dead rubber so it’s hard to know what to read into that. I haven’t even looked at it because we were missing boys and we don’t know who they were missing.
“I have no doubt that they are a good team and Peter Canavan is over them. They are bound to be in good shape.”
