Swatragh Win Oireachtas Cup

Semi Final: Swatragh 1-17 Ballymun 2-10 (aet)

Final: Swatragh 4-13 Castlewellan 0-05

Swatragh travelled to Celtic Park on Saturday last (4th) to take their place in the Oireachtas Cup. With earlier matches having already been played, the Davitts took their place in the semi-final against a strong Ballymun side from Dublin.

The two month break since the Davitts last match was evident early in the game. Swatragh’s first touch was conspicuous by its absence and this allowed the Dublin side to get on top early. The Davitts were struggling make inroads against committed and extremely physical opponents and when they conceded a goal, Ballymun had forged a six point advantage.

Fifteen minutes had passed at this point, and with the tournament being played 20 minutes a half, Swatragh were in big trouble. The Davitts managed to claw back two points before half time to leave the gap four at the interval.

Swatragh began the second half in the worst possible fashion. Within 60 seconds of the throw in Ballymun had bagged a second goal, and now the Davitts were seven points down with less than twenty minutes remaining.

Back Row L-R: Dermot McNicholl, Joe Quinn, Séamus McAlary, Cathal McQuillan, Owen McGuckin, Niall O'Doherty, Conor Quinn, James McKeagney, Neil McAtamney, Malachy Scullin, Benny O'Hagan

Front Row: Paddy McQuillan, Michael Conway, Declan McNicholl, Michael Kirkpatrick, Ruairi Convery (capt), Séamus Bradley, Eugene McGuckin, Seamus O'Kane, Adrian Diamond

Thankfully Swatragh remained composed and with Cathal McQuillan in charge at the back, they began to chip away at the lead. The real break through came when Michael “Kevin Mc Grath” Kirkpatrick found the Ballymun net, and with 3 minutes remaining two points separated the sides.

A free from Ruairi Convery reduced the deficit even further but as the game entered injury time Swatragh still trailed by a point. On the last attach the balls was fed forward to Eugene McGuckin who fired over from 40 metres to take the game into extra time.

With the Dublin men spent at having let their lead slip, Swatragh dominated the bulk of the extra period and eased themselves out to a four point victory. Indeed Swatragh could have won by more had Paddy Mc Quillan not missed eight sitters from 5 yards or less.

Final Score: Swatragh 1-17 Ballymun 2-10

The Final: Swatragh 4-13 Castlewellan 0-05

The Davitts had little time to revel in their semi victory as they had to retake the field almost immediately against Down side Castlewellan. The Down men have been ever presents in this competition without ever having previously gotten their hands on the trophy.

Swatragh began the final as strong favourites and although the final score suggest a comfortable victory, this was far from the reality.

In contrast to their earlier match the Davitts got off to the best possible start when Paddy McQuillan atoned for his earlier misses by finding the net from close range. However despite dominating the game, Swatragh could only extend their lead to five points by half time. During the first period there were a couple of top class scores from Neil McAtamney.

The pattern of the game continued into the second half, and as the game entered the final ten minutes the Davitts had failed to significantly increase their lead.

At this stage Swatragh were able to play their trump card. The introduction of Benny “DJ” O’Hagan completely changed the course of the game. With the Castlewellan defenders not sure how to mark him space appeared for the other forwards and the scores started to flow.

The Castlewellan defence was now overrun and Swatragh eased out to claim the Oireachtas Cup at their first attempt. The margin of victory was harsh on a very competitive Castlewellan team, but Swatragh’s strength in depth was to prove decisive.

All that was left was for Captain Ruairi Convery to collect the cup at say a few wors of thanks. Star man & linguist Benny O’Hagan addressed the gathered crowd in Irish keeping in the tradition of the competition.

Many thanks to everyone involved in organising the competition, and we look forward to defending our title next year.

Panel: Seamus McAlary, Declan McNicholl, Seamus Bradley, Niall O’Doherty, Cathal McQuillan, Conor Quinn, James McKeagney, Ruairi Convery, Michael Kirkpatrick, Eugene McGuckin, Neil McAtamney, Adrian Diamond, Paddy McQuillan, Michael Conway, Dermot McNicholl, Seamus O’Kane, Benny O’Hagan, Owen McGuckin.