Roscommon connections help Westmeath school bridge 42-year gap to win Leinster title
Brian Murtagh (left), who is part of the Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar, senior football management, lifts the Jamesie Murray Cup with his brother Diarmuid after St. Faithleach's were crowned Roscommon intermediate football champions in 2021.
Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar, claimed the Br Bosco Cup by winning the Leinster Senior A Schools’ Championship title with a 3-10 to 1-13 victory, after extra time, against Árdscoil na Tríonóide, Athy, at Glenisk O’Connor Park, Tullamore.
The Murtagh brothers, Ciaráin and Diarmuid, from St. Faithleach’s have been stealing the limelight for Roscommon in recent weeks, but it was the turn of older brother, Brian, to be catapulted into the spotlight on Saturday afternoon.
Brian, who is a maths teacher in Coláiste Mhuire, was part of the winning school’s successful management team.
Will Scahill, son of former Castlerea St. Kevin’s footballer, David, was in imperious form, hitting two first-half goals to lay the platform for what ultimately turned out to be a memorable victory.
The sides were level, 2-7 to 1-10, at the end of regulation time, but Coláiste Mhuire — who last won the title in 1983 — edged out their Kildare opponents in extra time.
“We were definitely underdogs coming into this game. We had seen an awful lot of Árdscoil, and they’re a quality side. They had five or six players that would play on any team in the country at any level. We knew exactly what they would bring to the table.
“We had the lads prepared to stay calm and confident coming to the end of games. We let the shackles off, and we just went for the game,” said a delighted Brian Murtagh afterwards.
Coláiste Mhuire will now play St. Colman's, Claremorris, who secured the Connacht A title by getting the better of Summerhill College, Sligo, in Ballyhaunis.
