Masita GAA All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Drummond Cup (Senior Football B) Final – St. Mary’s Academy Carlow CBS 1-14 Abbey CBS 3-3

St. Mary’s Academy Carlow CBS defeated Abbey CBS by 1-14 to 3-3 in the Masita GAA All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Drummond Cup (Senior Football B) Final on Saturday April 11th at Croke Park.

Click to view video highlights from the game

Dream comes true for near perfect St Mary’s CBS

Report by Eoghan Cormican for the Irish Examiner newspaper

For 52 minutes or so of Saturday’s Drummond Cup decider, this was a near-perfect performance from St Mary’s CBS. The Leinster champions recovered from the concession of a sixth-minute goal to carve out an eight-point interval advantage, posting 1-7 without reply in the process. Their dominance continued apace at the change of ends, notching a further five unanswered points to move 13 clear. Their movement up front, use of possession and composure in defence ticked all the right boxes.

On 49 minutes, Josh Ryan converted a run-of-the-mill free to end Abbey CBS’s 43-minute barren spell. The midfielder, fetching an Andrew Vance delivery, finished to the net at the second attempt for goal number two and St Marys’ lead was further eroded when Ryan was tripped inside the large parallelogram on 54 minutes. Daire Egan converted the resulting penalty to reduce the gap to 1-13 to 3-1.

St Mary’s composed themselves and a massive free from Niall Lowry put paid to whatever comeback was stewing. “You are always wondering when you come up with a group of minors to Croke Park what way are they going to perform,” said winning manager Maurice Browne. “We knew we had the potential. To deliver on the day is very satisfying. In the last 10 minutes, they got two goals, but other than that, we dominated most positions, used the ball smartly and took our scores well. We had a meeting at the start of the year. We said we’d give it everything or we’d give it nothing. The lads decided they would give total commitment and we’d see how far that would take us. We never dreamed it would lead us to Croke Park. Dreams are made of this.”

Ciarán Larkin, impressive Dublin minor Colm Hulton, Adam Deering, Niall Lowry and Shane O’Neill tallied their eight first-half points. Hulton, collecting Shane O’Neill’s floated delivery, fired to the Abbey net on 16 minutes to cancel out Shane Neville’s well-taken goal at the other end. The Carlow school were desperately unlucky not to find the net for a second time in the subsequent action, Shane Ryan sweeping Jordan Morrissey’s kick off the line. Ross Dunphy’s point on 43 minutes meant St Mary’s front eight had all contributed from open play, this contest signed, sealed and delivered from a long way out.

Scorers for St Mary’s Academy CBS, Carlow: C Hulton (1-2); N Lowry (0-3, 0-2 frees); S O’Neill, A Deering, J Brennan (0-2 each); C Larkin, J Morrissey, R Dunphy (0-1 each)

Scorers for The Abbey School, Tipperary Town: J Ryan (1-2, 0-2 frees); D Egan (1-0 pen), S Neville (1-0 each); A Vance (0-1 free).

ST MARY’S ACADEMY CBS, CARLOW:

Ciarán Bryne (Tinryland); D Salter (Éire Óg), T Collins (Graiguecullen), Colin Byrne (Ballinabranna); K Galligan (Killeshin), B Byrne (Graiguecullen), C McGrath (Tinryland); N Lowry (Tinryland), S O’Neill (Palatine); C Larkin (Tinryland), J Morrissey (Éire Óg), J Brennan (Éire Óg); A Deering (Killeshin), R Dunphy (Éire Óg), C Hulton (Ballymun Kickhams).
Subs: A Murphy (Éire Óg) for O’Neill (50 mins), O Nolan (Michael Davitts) for Deering (52), R O’Grady (Graiguecullen) for Larkin (52)

THE ABBEY SCHOOL, TIPPERARY TOWN:

C Fanning (Galtee Rovers); S Ryan (Lattin/Cullen), E McNamara (Oola), S Moloney (Lattin/Cullen); T Lowry (Arravale Rovers), S Power (Galtee Rovers), C Ryan (Arravale Rovers); J Ryan (Oola), B Fanning (Pallasgreen); D Byron (Galtee Rovers), K Landy (Golden Kilfeakle), S Neville (Lattin/Cullen); A Vance (Emly), D Egan (Galtee Rovers), S O’Dwyer (Galtee Rovers).
Subs: S Ryan (Galtee Rovers) for O’Dwyer (HT), D Fanning (Pallasgreen) for Ryan (38), C Hennessy (Oola) for Landy (42), P Ryan (Solohead) for Neville (60), G Halligan (Arravale Rovers) for Moloney (62).

Referee: M McNally (Monaghan)

Fixture Details

11-04-2015 (Sat)
Masita GAA All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Drummond Cup (SF ‘B’) Final
Páirc an Chrócaigh 13:30
The Abbey School, Tipperary Town V St. Mary’s Academy Carlow CBS
Referee: Martin McNally

@TipperaryGAA Here’s all the latest @CrokePark transport info you need for Saturday’s @PostPrimaryGAA Football Finals http://t.co/19BoJbdTaQ

— Croke Park (@CrokePark) April 9, 2015

Admission Prices (Hogan Stand Only)
Adults €20
OAPS/Students/Post-Primary Students/Juveniles €5

Match Preview

Preview – @PostPrimaryGAA Masita Drummond Cup Final, Abbey School, Tipperary v St Mary's, Carlow: http://t.co/MIdLREDbTe #GAA

— The GAA (@officialgaa) April 10, 2015

The Masita GAA All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Drummond Cup (SF ‘B’) final between Abbey CBS and Carlow CBS will be a close affair.

Both teams were pushed to their limit in the semi-finals.

“We had to work extremely hard to overcome a very good Coláiste na Carraige side,” said Abbey CBS manager Damian O’Brien. “Our defence was tested to the limit and they kept us in the game when Coláiste na Carraige dominated possession in the second half, only conceding two points in the entire second half, this was a major achievement against a very well coached side.

“This allowed us to stay in the game and our players up the field showed great patience in slowly reeling in a four point deficit with 20 minutes to go.

“Our free-takers were clinical, finishing with six out of six, on what was a wild and windy day. We had to wait until injury time to lead and we had to ride our luck at stages but against very good teams at this level that’s what you have to do sometimes.”

They are in an All-Ireland senior football final for the 3rd time in our history. In 1998 they overcame St.Louis, Ballymena 1-13 to 0-10 in Croke Park and in 2005 they were defeated by Our Lady’s, Castleblaney 1-11 to 1-9 in Parnell Park.

The Abbey have only faced Carlow opposition once before – in the 1998 semi-final the Abbey defeated Knockbeg College by 4 points.

But now they face a school with massive pedigree. Carlow CBS won the Leinster Clonard Cup in 1962 and 1983 and won the Leinster ‘B’ hurling final against FCJ Bunclody in 1990 when Conor Kinsella’s dad, Rory was in charge of Bunclody while CBS was managed by Leo Hogan, their current principal. and the recently deceased and much loved Denis O’Grady.

“Carlow CBS will be a great challenge for us in the final,” O’Brien agreed. “They are an impressive outfit and play a very good brand of football. We will have to play at our best, fight hard for 60 minutes so as to be in with a shout in the closing stages.”

The school had Tipperary and Limerick minor hurlers in the first round of the Munster Minor Hurling Championship on Wednesday 8th April as well – Eoghan McNamara (Limerick captain) and Shane Neville & Tommy Lowry (Tipperary) which only adds to the challenge facing the school.