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06 Sept 2025

Dominant St. Patrick's, Maghera lift Foresters' Cup

Brilliant performance and win for Co. Derry school

Foresters Cup

The victorious St. Patrick's Maghera. Pic by Paul Kealey/ Sideline Photography

Reporter:

Seamas McAleenan

01 Mar 2024 11:33 AM

Danske Bank Foresters’ Cup final

St Patrick’s Maghera 3-19

St Louis Ballymena 0-11

ST Patrick's Maghera followed up success last year in the Danske Bank Leonard Cup by picking up the Foresters' Cup at a cold Portglenone on Thursday evening.
They were the dominant team from start to finish and set the early pace by taking a lead of 0-8 to 0-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Fionntan Bradley and Eddie Smyth hit back with points apiece to make it 0-8 to 0-5, but Lavey’s Dara O’Kane fired to the net in the next attack. Although Bradley and Domhnall McKay responded with points almost immediately, a second goal really hurt the mid Antrim school and they trailed at the break by 2-10 to 0-7 with seven different Maghera players registering scores.
Maghera’s half back line of Pádraig O’Kane, Daithí McCloskey and Darragh O’Neill was dominant providing plenty of support for their forward line and also picking off the occasional score. O'Neill moved on to Fionntan Bradley after five minutes and that more or less took the Cushendall forward out of the game. St Louis captain Eddie Smyth and Domhnall McKay continued to work hard and provide leadership, but Maghera were in cruise control for much of the second half.
Captain Pádraig O’Kane set the tone for the second half by going on a 50 metres solo run for the opening score. Dara O'Kane then eluded the Ballymena defence in the 39th minute to score his second, and Maghera's third, goal and there simply was no way back for St Louis with Rian Collins firing over four points over the final 20 minutes.

St Patrick’s: D O’Kane 2-1, R Biggs 1-2, R Collins 0-5, N McNicholl 0-3, C McFlynn, P O’Kane and D Hasson 0-2 each, O Doherty and D McCloskey 0-1 each

St Louis: F Bradley 0-6, E Smyth 0-2, C McCollum, D McKay and D O’Boyle 0-1 each

St Patrick’s Maghera: O Mulholland, C McLarnon, O Burke, M McMaster, D McCloskey, P O’Kane capt, D O'Neill, N McNicholl, O Doherty, R Collins, P Bradley, R Biggs, D O’Kane, D Hasson, C McFlynn

Subs: F Cartin, R McGuckian, F Hardy.

St Louis: C Boyd, J McFadden, A Doherty, R Blaney, N McCloskey, E Smyth capt., D McKay, S McMullan, J McGarry, E Curry, F Bradley, C McCollum, D O’Boyle, N Rodgers, E Molloy

Subs used: C Higgins, R Crooks, R O’Boyle.

Referee: B Toland

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