St Patrick’s Maghera crowned All-Ireland hurling kings

St Patrick’s College, Maghera coach and Slaughtneil native Joe McCloskey spoke of his immense pride after the Derry school captured their fourth All-Ireland B Paddy Buggy Cup title on Saturday afternoon, following an emphatic 3-19 to 2-14 victory over Tralee CBS The Green in Kinnegad.

Maghera were the stronger side for long stretches of the contest, aside from a brief first-half spell when the Kerry school struck for two quickfire goals to seize momentum.

However, the Mageean Cup champions showed impressive composure in response, regrouping quickly before taking control of proceedings once again and finishing the contest in dominant fashion.

A powerful final quarter display, during which they kept CBS scoreless for the closing fifteen minutes, ultimately sealed a deserved victory in Westmeath.

Speaking after the final whistle, McCloskey could not hide his delight at the resilience shown by his players in overcoming that early setback and finishing the job in style.

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Maghera’s ability to respond to that early adversity proved decisive, particularly after conceding the two goals that briefly handed control to their Munster opponents.

“I’m absolutely delighted to come out as All-Ireland winners,” he said. “That was a really tough game, and Tralee were a formidable opponent. They caused us serious problems that we had to deal with.

“I’m just so happy for all the boys for their dedication this year, but especially the Year 14 lads who sign off from their school career with a winner’s medal.”

“I think at this stage we should know never to doubt these lads. They give us plenty of opportunity to do so at times,” he added with a smile, “but they always come good in the end. We have so many leaders out there, and you could see them organising and problem-solving out on the pitch.

“That second-half performance was something else. Just a never-say-die attitude and not accepting defeat. You could tell that if we got level, that we would kick on.”

The victory also represents a significant boost for hurling in Derry. Maghera’s ability to overcome a Tralee side that had impressed throughout their Munster campaign, including victories over strong opposition from Cork and Limerick and a semi-final win over Portumna, underlined the strength of the Ulster school’s achievement.

Widely recognised as one of the country’s leading dual-code schools, St Patrick’s have once again demonstrated their ability to compete at the highest level in both Gaelic football and hurling.

Having captured the MacRory Cup last year, Saturday’s success confirms the school’s growing reputation as a powerhouse across both codes in a county traditionally associated more closely with football and also the massive potential to translate that success to Derry teams of the future.

“We’ve always produced good hurlers in Derry; we just haven’t always been able to get them all on the pitch at the same time,” McCloskey said.

“Here, we’ve been able to do that. Not one of those players out there would look out of place playing in one of the traditional counties. I’m just glad that I was able to be part of that journey.”

“It proves that coaching at club level is working. When we get the players at school, they already have the skills of the game coached into them at club level, so the clubs should be taking immense satisfaction from this.

“This is as much their win as it is ours. I suppose the big thing now is to get those lads to commit to representing Derry in hurling, and you never know where that will take the county.”