Masita All-Ireland Colleges SF ‘B’ final: Roscommon CBS v Patrician High School, Carrickmacross on Sunday at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, Longford at 2 pm
Memories of great days in 2011 and 2019 will come flooding back as CBS Roscommon face into another All-Ireland final this weekend. They meet Patrician High Schoool of Carrickmacross on Sunday in Longford.
Memories of those two glory days (when CBS won All-Ireland titles) are sweet, but this team has a chance to write their own names into the Schools GAA history books on Sunday.
Joint managers Noel Moran and Eoghan Coll and their selectors and coaches have presided over a very successful campaign so far. After the win against a very strong Oranmore side in the Connacht semi-final, the prospect of a long run in this championship beckoned – and so it has materialised.
A solid but unspectacular display against Scoil Mhiuire, Strokestown secured a Connacht title and then a superb performance in the semi-final against Dunboyne now sees the Roscommon town school back in the national final.
Not having seen Carrickmacross in action, it is hard to say what their form is like – but you can rest assured that they will be a top class side having emerged from the Ulster Championship which is always highly competitive. They defeated Carrickmore of Tyrone after a replay in the Ulster final so they will be battle-hardened. They have a number of top class performers such as Conor Mulligan, Tom Maguire, Fergal McEneaney and Joe O’Farrell, and will travel to Longford with confidence.
CBS will be hoping that their main players like Michael Gillooly, Eoghan Carthy, Colin Murray, Owen Rogers, Sam Hannon and Cian Duggan can lead by example on the day and produce the scores that will be required if victory is to be achieved.
That said, a huge work rate all over the field will be needed if Roscommon CBS are to win this title. If they can invoke the spirit of Mullingar in 2011 and Croke Park in 2019 they will be halfway there.
There is a history between these teams as Carrickmacross defeated Roscommon CBS in the 1997 All-Ireland ‘B’ final in Croke Park by a single point (0-15 to 1-11). One man who will want to see that result reversed is present-day CBS coach and selector Gerry Lohan who was one of the CBS stars that day 28 years ago. Lohan of course went on to have a distinguished senior inter-county career with Roscommon.
The fact that Roscommon CBS are improving in every outing is a very positive sign ahead of Sunday’s match. There is little doubt that this game is set to be tight, hard-fought and very intense. The CBS will have a big following in Longford and hopefully that will be a positive factor too. Roscommon CBS have momentum. If they get the breaks on the day they can win the title.
Prediction: Roscommon CBS.
‘Those lads are heroes in my eyes’
A very proud Leitrim man is Kevin Scollan, who is the principal of Roscommon CBS. He spoke to People Sport about this weekend’s final.
“The excitement around the school is phenomenal. It is an honour and a privilege for me to be the principal of the school at such a special time.”
Kevin was full of praise for the team and the management.
“They are fantastic. It is great to be in the school long enough to remember Eoghan (Coll) being involved. I can’t recall Noel (Moran) playing because that was just before my time but the bunch of lads that are there are absolute gentlemen.
“You meet one who is so mannerly and you meet the next one who is even more mannerly! They are products of their environment. They come from great homes and their parents should be very proud of them.”
So what would a win mean to all associated with the school?
“To win this final would be the cherry on top of the cake for us. As I said to the lads earlier – win, lose, or draw, those lads are heroes in my eyes. They are role models for the whole school with the younger lads looking up to them. We wish them the very best of luck.”
‘These players are always willing to listen and learn’
One of the great side stories in the build-up to this All-Ireland final is that CBS selector and coach and former Roscommon senior star Gerry Lohan was an integral part of the Roscommon CBS team when they were defeated by Patrician High School of Carrickmacross – this Sunday’s opponents – in the All-Ireland Colleges ‘B’ final of 1997. Gerry recalled that day when he spoke to People Sport.
“I can remember it well. They beat us by 0-15 to 1-11 and they scored a free in the dying minutes to win it. It was tough to take at the time. A heartbreaking defeat in Croke Park.”
So how does Gerry rate this year’s CBS team?
“We have a very good side. We are strong defensively and we have a good panel up front too… we don’t have any weakness in the team. Any one of the players on the panel from number one to number 24 can come in and do a job. They are a great bunch to coach and they are always willing to listen and learn. They are very hard-working on the field.”
As for Carrickmacross, he had this to say: “They are a very good side by all accounts. They will be very defensive but they break at pace and they like to kick scores from distance.”
Gerry says that it’s a massive achievement for the CBS to be in the final, noting that the ages of the players involved range from 15 up to 18.
“They might never get another chance to play in an All-Ireland final. That’s the reality. In the Connacht final only five 6th years started and in the All-Ireland semi-final only four started so it’s a very young team.”
Adamson delighted with ‘team ethic’
One of the most experienced coaches and selectors on the GAA circuit is Sean Adamson, who has been involved with teams from around the country for many decades. He was also involved with the CBS in 2019 and is now enjoying his role with the school team in 2025.
Sean says that the team has improved since the season started, admitting he wasn’t overly confident about their prospects at the beginning of the campaign.
“As the year has gone on they have got better and better. They have sprung to life as the campaign has gone on and it’s been great to see it.”
Sean echoed the thoughts of joint manager Eoghan Coll when he says that there are too many demands on these young players.
“The players are being pulled in many directions. There is club and county minor, and club and county U-20, so it’s very hard to handle all that… and you have to be conscious of that.”
So does Sean see a team that can win an All-Ireland title this year?
“Yes, we have a team that can win it. We had teams in the past that may have had more skilful players but there is a great team ethic this year. They have a great chance. The Monaghan side will be good for sure and we will have to stop their main players on the day.”
Adamson says that it is easy to see the bond that has formed within the group of players on the panel.
“That’s very evident. It helps that this is a small school. They are studying together, they are training together, and playing together so that’s a huge factor and hopefully that will tell in the final” he concluded.
About Patrician High School…
Roscommon CBS’s opponents, Patrician High School from County Monaghan, caters for about 400 boys. On the GAA front, it has a great record in the Ulster and All-Ireland ‘B’ championships, having won five Ulster titles and one All-Ireland crown.
That All-Ireland title was won in 1997 at Croke Park. Their opponents that day were none other than Roscommon CBS, with Patrician High School winning by a point, 0-15 to 1-11. One of the CBS stars that day was current team selector and coach, Gerry Lohan.
The Monaghan side came through a very tough Ulster campaign this year, defeating Carrickmore of Tyrone 1-10 to 0-12 in a provincial final replay, having drawn 0-13 to 1-10 in the first encounter.
In the All-Ireland semi-final they defeated Munster champions Cashel Community School by 1-11 to 0-3, pulling away impressively having led 0-5 to 0-3 at half-time.
They are a strong, physical side. The likes of Conor Mulligan, Joseph McArdle, Tom Maguire, Fergal McEneaney, Oran Connolly and Joe O’Farrell have been very prominent for them in this campaign so far.
The Carrickmacross-based side are managed by Dylan McEnaney and their selectors are Dylan Finnegan and Sean Raftery.
‘Players are focused and ready’ – Moran
The Roscommon CBS team are jointly managed by Noel Moran and Eoghan Coll. Coll was the manager back in 2019 when the CBS won the All-Ireland title, beating Rathmore of Kerry by a point in the final at Croke Park, while Moran was a selector on that occasion.
Looking ahead to this weekend’s final, Noel Moran says: “It’s super to be in a final, not only for the school but for the local community as well. We had great support in Abbotstown for the semi-final. We outnumbered Dunboyne on the day and the venue was only a few miles away from them. We got great support from the various clubs and the public in general, and that was a big boost to us.”
Moran says that bringing the players back down to earth after the semi-final was important.
“We got them back training on the Tuesday after the semi-final and they seem to be well focused now and they know what’s ahead. Our job is to keep them on the straight and narrow and hopefully they will rise to the occasion on Sunday.”
The joint manager reflected on what he says was a tough campaign to get to the final.
“Connacht was tricky. We played Headford and St Nathy’s and we had a really tough game against a very strong Oranmore side (CBS won by a point). When we came through that test we felt that we were in with a chance.
“We settled down for the Connacht final against Strokestown and we had to work hard to win that match. In the semi-final we had a great battle against Dunboyne.
“We have had great buy-in all year from this group of lads. We started with a panel of 40 and then whittled it down to 32. We put a tough programme in front of them. We did 35 or 40 training sessions and played eight or nine challenge games against strong teams. You can’t beat hard games in preparation.”
Noel says that Pearse Park in Longford will be an excellent venue for the decider.
“We were delighted with the choice of venue. We wanted to play the final in a recognised county ground. You saw what happened in the semi-final with the match played in Abbotstown. It’s great for these young lads to be playing in Longford and the fact it’s not too far away will mean that we should have a good following on the day.”
So what does Noel know about the opposition from Carrickmacross?
“We know that they have come through a very difficult Ulster campaign. We also know how tough football is in Ulster and we are expecting that they will be a physical side. We might not be the most physical in the world so that is something we will be working on. They defeated a very strong Tyrone side (Carrickmore) to win Ulster after a replay and that’s a good sign for them. They won the All-Ireland semi-final easily so we know what’s ahead. No All-Ireland title is easily won is one thing we can say” he concluded.
Coll hoping to revisit glory of 2019
Eoghan Coll has plenty of experience at this level. In fact he was the manager when Roscommon CBS won the All-Ireland title by a point in dramatic style at Croke Park in 2019.
He says that having been there before means that it makes preparations a little easier.
“The logistical side of things are certainly not as difficult. That end of things takes a little time but we have most of that off-field stuff looked after and we can concentrate on the important stuff now.”
Coll says that to have a strong panel is probably the most important aspect of their preparations. The selectors made a few changes during the campaign in terms of the starting 15 and they have paid off so far.
“There is not a lot between the players on the panel ability-wise, and we are telling them that all the time. There is no point preaching to them that there is competition for places and then picking the same 15 for every match.
“The team is picked on performance and on training and that bit of competition between them drives them all on. We would have a few players who are strong and would be first choice but there are a lot of lads chomping at the bit to get into the team for the next day and that’s very healthy.”
Eoghan says he is expecting the final to be a much different game to the semi-final.
“There was a lot of space up front in the semi-final and I wouldn’t envisage that there will be too much space in that regard in the final so we will have to plan for that. But we have done that all year and you have to take it game by game.
“From what we have heard we expect Carrickmacross to go quite defensive and we are going to have to figure a way around that. We have to make sure that we find the space and make the chances on the day.”
Eoghan says that Roscommon CBS will have to be tactically aware on the day.
“We have to be clever with our use of the ball. There is no point kicking a ball into a crowded area because it will come straight back. We have to be pragmatic about it and mind the ball, and then work the space when we can.”
The joint team manager says that for young lads on a big occasion such as Sunday’s, it’s all about how they handle it.
“You can try as much as you can to prepare them. Some lads will handle it fine and then other lads not so much. It’s all about chatting to them. It’s important that they enjoy it but that they understand what they have to do. The build-up and the craic in the school is great but you cannot let that dominate too much.”
Finally, Eoghan says that it is a huge boost to Roscommon GAA to have a team in an All-Ireland final. “It’s great for underage football in the county. Strokestown were very good this year too and for our lads it’s brilliant because they are being dragged in all directions between club teams, county minor and U-20s.
“We have such a narrow window in schools football. It’s far too tight in my view but that’s for another day. Remember too that these lads are in school to study for their exams so it all has to be factored in” he concluded.
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