It’s St. Brigid’s Fahey Cup to lose
Winners of last season's adult football champions (l-r): Fiachra Henry, St. Michael's (Junior A); Cormac Sheehy, St. Brigid's (senior) and Donal Brennan, Castlerea St. Kevin's (intermediate), at the launch of this year's championships in Dr. Hyde Park. Picture: Courtesy of Roscommon GAA
As the 12 teams line up for the start of this weekend’s senior football championship, it’s fair to deduce that we’re revisiting familiar ground.
St. Brigid’s will be the warmest of favourites to retain the Fahey Cup. It’s a case of testing the waters for potential ambushes, or for a point in the competition where Anthony Cunningham’s men could be vulnerable.
Given the way the Kiltoom-based side dealt with Roscommon Gaels in the recent O’Rourke Cup final, it’s probably akin to looking for a needle in a haystack.
Clann na nGael or Pádraig Pearses will claim that, on any given day, they have the capabilities to spring a surprise and take down the county and provincial kingpins.
Boyle have proved in the last two county finals that they’ve come a long way under manager Cian Smith to the point where they were within a kick of the ball of ending their long famine for senior championship success, including last year’s decider against Brigid’s where, arguably, they gave the eventual beaten All-Ireland club finalists their toughest game of the season.
But with Daire Cregg and Cian McKeon likely to be Stateside for the bulk of the championship, the North Roscommon side’s priority will be to get out of a group where they have Clann, Pearses and St. Dominic’s for company. In that regard, their opening round game against Dominic’s in the Abbey Park on Friday evening is pivotal.
Clann and Pearses will be looking for early momentum when they meet in a South Roscommon derby in Johnstown on the same evening. Given their side’s tame exit to Boyle in the quarter-final last year, it’s a big season for Pat Fallon and Seán Conlon’s outfit who will be hoping to take advantage of Pearses’ current injury crisis.
Dominic’s came so close to ousting Pearses a year ago. There’s a feelgood factor around the club following its two adult sides’ respective league promotions a few weeks ago. They’ll be dangerous opponents for Boyle next weekend.
In Group A, Roscommon Gaels and Oran will renew their neighbourly rivalry once more, with last year’s intermediate champions, Castlerea St. Kevin’s, and Tulsk Lord Edwards for company.
On home turf, Dara Bruen’s side will be looking to take advantage of any possible league final hangover from a Roscommon Gaels perspective next Saturday evening in a game that should capture the imagination of the O’Rourke Park faithful.
Oran have been excellent in the group stages of the championship since their elevation from the intermediate ranks a few years ago. But the business end of the competition has been problematic for them, as evidenced by their quarter-final loss to the Gaels last year after a penalty shootout. Closing out those knockout championship games that matter has been their Achilles heel.
Tulsk won’t be found wanting when it comes to their competitive streak, and will target their home game against Castlerea St. Kevin’s as their best chance of taking a scalp.
Realistically, Michael Glaveys, Western Gaels and St. Faithleach’s are playing for second place in Group C behind St. Brigid’s.
Manager Iain Daly will hope that having Cathal Heneghan at full fitness alongside the club’s recent O’Gara Cup success will fuel a push for the knockout stages. St. Faithleach’s have the firepower provided by the Murtagh brothers, while Western Gaels, once again, have an experienced cohort of players that they’ll lean heavily on to stay out of relegation trouble.
North Roscommon will enter the competition at the preliminary quarter-final stage. While the concept of regional teams taking part in the championship is laudable, the reality has been different, as evidenced by Mid-South Roscommon not fielding for the scheduled divisional final a few weeks and West Roscommon opting out altogether for 2024.
This is St. Brigid’s championship to lose. Anthony Cunningham wasn’t asked to come back a second time just to make sure that the Fahey Cup would spend another 12 months in Kiltoom.
The club’s ambition is far loftier. As long as they don’t put the cart before the horse, only one outcome seems likely when championship honours are decided on October 20th.
