By Matthew Wilson
St Eunan’s College captain Pauric Devine is hoping that they can end a 12-year wait for a MacLarnon Cup triumph when they face Aquinas Grammar School in this Thursday’s final.
It’s been a brilliant campaign to date for the Sentry Hill side, with the group first meeting up back in September when they regathered for the start of the new school year.
They’ve conquered every obstacle that has been put in their path so far and Devine is hoping that they can get over the line once again in Thursday’s showpiece and reinstate a bit of pride back into the school’s jersey.
“I suppose we’re doing bits here and there, we’re training away and we’re just really excited to be in a MacLarnon Cup Final. Obviously, it’s been a while since the school was in a MacLarnon Cup Final and the last winning of the cup would’ve been back in 2014.
“That’s a long time ago now and for us young lads coming through, it’s all about putting a bit of pride back into the jersey and back into the school. Hopefully we can go and do it now.”
The Letterkenny school booked their spot in the MacLarnon Cup Final courtesy of a superb seven-point victory over Holy Trinity, Cookstown in the semi-finals two weeks ago.
This was a big occasion for the young group of players however, this didn’t phase them as they stood up to the challenge and got over the line on home soil at O’Donnell Park.
Speaking to the Donegal News, the Glenswilly man felt that the three first stanza majors from Matthew McGinley, Jack Duddy and Jack Robinson had a significant impact on the day.
“Yeah thankfully, you know I think the three goals in the first half came at crucial times. We were up by eight or nine points at half-time which put us in a great driving seat position.
“Listen, we were just glad to get over the line. As I said, I just can’t wait for the final now.”
The Letterkenny school have a huge squad of players involved in the MacLarnon Cup panel this term, with players from seven different clubs amongst the group.
They are all steering in the one direction and pushing each other on each week in training which has served the side well so far this term according to Devine.
“I think we have 45 lads there pushing and it’s great having a big squad like that. You’re going into a game not knowing who’s going to play because you’ve boys in training pushing you on every session and every day essentially.
“It’s great and there’s a real competitive feeling about this team. I’ve really enjoyed it so far.”
With the number of different clubs involved in the group, these players would be familiar with coming up against each other over the years.
However, they’re all together fighting for the one cause with this St Eunan’s College side which the Glenswilly native stated is the special thing about school football.
“It’s great, most of us lads would play for different clubs I suppose and when we play each other in the Club Championships we’re nearly going to war against each other.
“To join together with the school and play as a team is great. They say club football is great and it’s hard to be topped but there’s something special about school football. You’re playing with some lads that you’re not going to be able to play with for the rest of your life so it’s great.”
The Donegal school will now face Aquinas Grammar School in the showpiece, with the MacLarnon Cup up for grabs.
The two sides have already met in this year’s competition, with Peter Devine’s outfit winning convincingly in the group stage courtesy of a 13-point victory.
However, this will all go out the window in a final of this magnitude and the St Eunan’s College skipper expressed that the Belfast side are a different outfit now to the team they faced in November.
He stated that it’s all to play for when they go head-to-head on Thursday but is hopeful that it is his side that will prevail on the day.
“Obviously we would’ve played Aquinas in the first group game. We beat them but Aquinas has done very well. I saw a couple of their games, they’re a completely different team now.
“For us anyway, it’s all to play for on the day. It’s all about whoever shows up and whoever wants it more on the day and hopefully that’s us.”
