Masita All-Ireland Post-Primary School Senior Hurling Finals
Michael Cusack Cup Senior "C"
MITCHELSTOWN CBS 3-17 ST. MARY'S MAGHERAFELT 0-8
Niall McInerney Cup Senior "D"
COLISTE NS TRCAIRE RATHKEALE 2-21 COLISTE PHDRAIG CBS LUCAN 1-16
Mitchelstown CBS made the long trip to Abbotstown in West Dublin yesterday afternoon and came home with Michael Cusack Cup after they overcame St. Mary's of Magherafelt in a surprisingly one-sided final to win their first ever All-Ireland title at this grade, following on from their win at the equivalent football grade seven years ago.
That dual ethos continues in the North Cork school, who this year lost the Munster Senior B football final to the Abbey of Tipperary Town, .
With former Cork goalkeeper Anthony Nash part of their management team, this has been a momentous journey for Mitchelstown CBS as they came through an arduous Munster campaign. The Cork side beat Salesian College Pallaskenry by 1-11 to 0-12 to bridge a 19 year gap since they were Munster champions before.
Jason Walsh played on that team in 2004 and is now part of the management team for this current crop of players, who 19 years later went on to not just claim Munster glory but also lift the Michael Cusack Cup.
The win is also a testament to the work of Willie Duggan, who having taught in the school for 40 years, was part of one of Mitchelstown CBSs greatest days. He was manager when the school lifted the Corn Risteard Ui Mhathuna in 04 and was in the hotseat once more as Mitchelstown CBS proved too strong in Abbottstown.
At both ends of the pitch, Mitchelstown were in top form. Shane Looney and Matthew Fitzgerald struck first half goals, while the concession of just eight points in total, five free to James Sargent and three points from play, illustrated their defensive control.
Ben Carey, Darragh O'Brien and Oisn Ryan all scored well for the Cork school, while Luke Keating had a comparatively quiet day from frees, but also weighed in with some clever assists that brought other players into the game around him. Shane Looney's good approach play set up Conor Walsh for goal number three late in the game, long after the victory for Mitchelstown CBS was assured.
The LOETB Centre of Excellence just outside Portlaoise was the venue for another big final yesterday, as Coliste na Trocaire of Rathkeale created a slice of history, coming from behind to be crowned Masita All-Ireland PPS D Hurling Champions. The Limerick side became the inaugural winners of this competition at the expense of Lucan CBS.
This has been a terrific effort from the Rathkeale outfit, with a large overlap across the panel of players who reached the Munster D football final, where they were beaten by the eventual All-Ireland winners, St. Josephs of Spanish Point.
Coliste na Trocaire looked to have it all to do at the break as they trailed 1-11 to 0-9 at the change of ends but a quickfire 1-2 at the beginning of the final period helped the winners gain parity.
They built on this lead to move three clear with their second goal with a quarter of an hour to play leaving them 2-15 to 1-14 in front. From there they managed to keep Lucan CBS at arms length to become the first side to lift the cup.
Limerick U-20 hurler Cian OCarroll was captain for Coliste na Trocaire and in his winning speech, published on the social media sites of his club Croagh-Kilfinny, he said: Boys, its been a pleasure to play with ye all year. I have never worked with such an honest and hard-working team in my whole entire life. I love every one of ye to bits and its a pleasure to bring this cup back to Rathkeale".
This afternoon they will be introduced to the crowd at the TUS Gaelic Grounds, at half-time during the Allianz hurling league tie between All-Ireland champions Limerick and Wexford.
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