TIPPERARY STAR
Saturday 26th April 2003

Second half collapse foils Killenaule's glory bid

Supermac's All-Ireland Vocational Schools Senior Hurling Final

by Michael Dundon

St. Brigid's, Loughrea 1-13, Scoil Ruain, Killenaule 0-12

• Bidding for a first senior national title, Scoil Ruain of Killenaule faded out of the picture in the second half as St. Brigid's of Loughrea surged home to their fourth consecutive Supermac's All Ireland Vocational Schools Senior Hurling championship at Semple Stadium, Thurles on Sunday 20th April.
  
  The promise of a lively, competitive, first half by the Tipperary boys was not realised after the break, as the Galway team, bristling with county minor talent, and with a large representation also on the Galway Vocational Schools team which is in the All-Ireland final, stepped up their game to retain their crown in impressive fashion.
  
  Rank outsiders Scoil Ruain, did themselves proud however. For thirty exciting minutes in the first half, they carried the game to their highly rated opponents, and when half time was reached with the Killenaule lads ahead 0-10 to 0-5, the prospect of a major upset was on the cards.
  
  In that early period players like Shane Long and Keith Holohan, had a huge influence on proceedings, as Scoil Ruain, on top at midfield where Jamie McCormack had a big say, knocked the Loughrea contingent out of their stride
  
  Scoil Ruain were twice fortunate not to concede goals, thanks to the excellence of Gerry Kennedy between the posts, one of the stars of this performance, but overall they were playing confidently and well, and were well positioned to push for victory in the second half.
  
  That push did not materialise however as Loughrea called the shots for the entire second half and were not flattered to win by four points. Niall Healy, the Loughrea captain, and winning his fourth medal on the day, was an inspiring figure for the champions as they cut the deficit by three points in eight minutes. Then Healy, from an acute angle in the 11th minute, blasted home a Loughrea goal to put them in front for the first time.
  
  They never looked back. Five further, unanswered points followed in the next eleven minutes. Killenaule had yet to score in the half, and with Loughrea using an extra man at midfield to control play, the Tipp boys hadn't seriously threatened the Galway lines since the resumption. To their credit, they never gave up and points by Willie Coleman and Niall Teehan in the 25th and 26th minutes had them within striking distance of their rivals, but that's as close as they got, and Gerry Kennedy had again to come to the rescue with another brave save before the finish.
  
  The honours rest where they belong but Scoil Ruain won many friends by their sporting and skilful challenge to capture the title. The boys were a credit to the school, to their mentors Gerry Maguire and Francis Kearney, and to themselves and much will be heard of some of them in the years to come.
  
  The contributions of Shane Long, Jamie McCormack and Keith Holohan to the performance have already been lauded. Worthy of praise too is goalkeeper Gerry Kennedy, who was brave, alert and confident all the way. Niall Teehan, and Edward Stokes also put in a great effort, but overall, the sixteen players who figured, gave their all and have nothing to be ashamed of.
  
  St Brigid's answered the questions that were asked of them and fully deserved to record a unique four-in-a-row in the competition. Even when not at their best early on, the potential in the side was apparent, and once they settled into their game, there was no stopping them. While Niall Healy was the star of the show, Michael Broderick, also collected his fourth medal, and they were ably supported by Mark Herlihy, Dermot Ryan, Maurice Callanan, Alan Callanan and Liam Geraghty.
  
  St. Brigid's Loughrea - Mark Herlihy; Sean Burke, Donal Nevin, Dermot Clarke; Pat Holland, Dermot Ryan, Liam Geraghty (0-I); Michael Broderick, Donal Reilly; Maurice Callanan (04), Frankie Burke (0-1), Daniel Whyte; Finian Coone, Niall Healy (1-4), Alan Callanan (03).
  
  Scoil Ruain - Gerry Kennedy (Killenaule); Jonathan O'Dwyer (Killenaule), Mark McCormack (St. Patrick's), Edward Stokes (Gortnahoe-Glengoole); Kevin Kenny (Gortnahoe-Glengoole), Niall Teehan (Gortnahoe-Glengoole) 0-1, Sean Cahill (Ballingarry); Michael Heffernan (Gortnahoe-Glengoole), Jamie McCormack (Fethard) 0-1; William Coleman (Gortnahoe-Glengoole), 0-1, Michael O'Connor (Killenaule), John Coleman (Gortnahoe-Glengoole); Shane Long (Gortnahoe-Glengoole) 0-3, Keith Holohan (Gortnahoe-Glengoole) 0-5, John Holohan (Ballingarry) 0-1. Substitute: David Maguire (Killenaule) for W. Coleman.
  
  Referee - Andrew Stapleton, Laois.