Shane Galligan of Bailieborough Community College, Cavan ahead of his team's Masita All-Ireland Post Primary Schools D Football Final against St Cuan's College, Galway, during the Masita All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Finals Captains Call at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
It’s shaping up to be a huge couple of days for Bailieborough Community School.
On Friday their Junior Ladies footballers will play Loreto College from Swords, Dublin in the Lidl PSS All-Ireland ‘C’ semi-final.
Then, on Saturday, it’s the turn of the senior boys who play St. Cuan’s Castblakeney in the Masita Post Primary Schools Br. Edmund Ignatius Rice Cup (Senior D Football) Final.
Bailieborough CS are located in the heartland of Cavan football and have always had a proud footballing tradition, but an opportunity such as this is unprecedented.
“It's great,” says Bailieborough CS teacher, Damien McIntyre, who manages the boy’s team.
“It's something we've never been to before so it's a great achievement for the lads and the ladies footballers are in a similar position so there’s a great buzz in the school. I just hope we can turn up and perform on the day.
“We would have won an U16 Ulster last year so we've had a good group of lads coming through and we've a lot of strong clubs feeding into the school.
“But we wouldn't have thought at the start of the year though that we'd be where we are now. Our main aim was to win Ulster, but that's something we've never previously done as a school so that was a challenge in itself. Everything is bonus territory now.”
What’s pleased McIntyre most about his team as they’ve plotted a route to the school’s first All-Ireland Final?
“Probably the way we have just progressed and grown as a team,” he says. “Every game I've seen a progression each time. The lads have taken ownership of each game. We would have had a very tough Ulster Final and we just got over the line by a couple of points that day.
“You could see how we improved from that in the All-Ireland semi-final. A lot of the lads are playing senior football for their clubs and some are in on county panels and development squads which helps as well.
“We knew we had a good team but it's just basically trying to gel them all together which can be difficult at the start but with games and training it comes together."
Bailieborough Community School players celebrate after their Ulster Final victory.
Proud Gaelic football clubs like Bailieborough Shamrocks, Knockbride, Killinkere, and Shercock feed into the school so there’s a huge interest in this final in the local hinterland and a big Cavan crowd is expected to descend on the GAA Centre of Excellent in Abbottstown for it.
What would it mean to everyone involved in the team to go back up the road to the Breffni County with some silverware?
“It would be massive for us,” says McIntyre. “It would probably be the biggest achievement football wise the school has ever seen.
“There's a massive buzz around the town and a massive buzz around the local clubs in the areas. They've all been brilliant, they've been giving us the use of their facilities because with the weather we've had the pitch at the school hasn't been fantastic.
“We've had great support in regards to that and there is a massive buzz. It's brilliant for the young lads. I would have never experienced something like this when I was in school. I just hope they understand that these things don't come around every day.
“We don’t know much about our opponents and we're going in completely blindfolded so all you can do is focus on your own game.
“It's an All-Ireland Final and I'd be hopeful we can go in, focus on ourselves, and hopefully we can get the performance we need to get a win.”
Saturday, March 8
Br. Edmund Ignatius Rice Cup (Senior D Football) Final
St. Cuans Castleblakeney v Bailieborough Community College, GAA Centre of Excellence Abbottstown, 2pm
Live stream here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndw7b4RyoH0
