Celtics out to sink Saints

Paul Fitzpatrick

From the outset, there were, we’d suggest, few football followers in the county who didn’t expect Lacken to at least contest the Junior Championship final.

The Celtics even being in junior ranks seemed somewhat jarring; since the club was reformed in the 1960s, they had exclusively plied their trade in intermediate and senior grades. As recently as 2022, they won two matches in the Senior Championship, including a 10-point victory over Kingscourt Stars. Two relegations in three years followed, however, and here they were.

It happened, as Hemingway wrote about going bankrupt, gradually, then suddenly. A combination of factors were at play; injuries and emigration were chief among them, but a lot of players have returned from both. Had the likes of Thomas and Killian Galligan, James Galligan, David Wilson and Ryan Coyle among others been fit and available throughout that period, chances are the club wouldn’t have found themselves in junior. That’s all moot now.

Templeport, meanwhile, have been something of a surprise package, but are very much here on merit. Their homegrown management team of Shane Maguire and Manus McManus – both integral players in the club’s 1995 Intermediate success – are in their second year and have overseen significant progress as this campaign has gone on.

The first thing to establish is that there is a clear favourite here: the form book points quite strongly towards Lacken.

On a line through Shannon Gaels, it is difficult to come to any other conclusion; Lacken have beaten the Gaels twice in this championship while Templeport lost to them in round one on a sun-drenched afternoon in Swanlinbar.

Templeport subsequently drew with Belturbet, whom Lacken accounted for in the semi-final, but there is no doubt the St Aidan’s outfit have improved considerably.

They handled Killeshandra with ease – as did Lacken – and then defeated a fancied Kill side in the semi-final without, by the admission of more than one supporter we spoke to, playing their best football.

Lacken’s presence at this level feels like something of a throwback to the unusually strong Junior Championships of a few years ago.

From around 2018 to 2024, the standard was very high, helped by the decision to relegate three teams from Intermediate on two occasions. Ulster results from 2019 onwards suggest that several Cavan Junior clubs were among the strongest teams in the province at the grade; at times, winning the Cavan title appeared almost as difficult as winning Ulster.

Arva and Denn both went on to become Ulster champions while Drumlane reached the provincial final and lost on penalties. The strength of those championships is further underlined by the fact that three of this year’s Intermediate semi-finalists have lifted the Sean Leddy Cup since 2019.

There was a sense last season that the standard had dipped somewhat – there were no Division 1 teams involved, for one thing, and no high-profile county men lining out in the final – although Munterconnaught still went on to win twice in Ulster.

Lacken’s arrival has changed the complexion again.

They have power and experience in abundance and their scoring returns have been relentless. Their six championship totals read 1-17, 2-24, 1-24, 1-18, 3-23 and 1-17 – and the remarkable thing is that they have actually been wasteful in several of those matches.

In terms of experience, it is advantage Lacken, too.

While Templeport’s Donal Maguire – a full-back when he won his Junior medal and now operating in goals – Liam McAweeney, captain James Murphy, James Rudden, Michael Devine, Gavin Donohoe, fit-again Oran Duffy and Liam Galligan have all won at this grade before, Lacken’s players have operated at higher levels for club, county and school.

Across their panel, there are Intermediate Championship, ACFL Division 1, Minor Division 1 and Ulster Senior Championship medals, while the team contains two All-Stars and several others who have represented Cavan at underage level or spent time around senior county panels.

So, what is the case for Templeport?

It starts with their age profile and the possibility that a young team, like a two-year-old racehorse, could make a big leap forward in a short space of time, leaving old form behind.

Writing in the Irish Times in the week prior to the All-Ireland final, former Mayo manager Stephen Rochford accepted that were Kerry and Mayo to meet 10 times, the Kingdom would probably win nine times.

“But,” he noted, “Mayo don’t need to beat Kerry nine times. They only need to beat them once.”

That logic applies here. Finals can have a funny effect on players and underdogs always stand a chance.

There are also more tangible reasons for Templeport to believe. Lacken have conceded 10 goals to date, the most of any of the 10 teams still standing across the three championships, and that perceived vulnerability has to offer some encouragement.

Templeport possess players capable of exploiting it. Brothers Sam and Danny Maguire carry a genuine two-point threat and, in terms of pure quality, the former, along with the classy Dylan Edwards, would be regarded as an exciting prospect in any club in the county.

There is pace, too, with the Fahy brothers particularly quick, and there is greater depth than Templeport may have been credited with at the beginning of the competition. For example, Liam Galligan, a former county minor and U21 starter, is being held in reserve and generally makes something happen when introduced, whether drawing frees or getting on the scoresheet himself.

That combination of youth and pace gives Templeport, powered on by a robust half-back line of Prior, McAweeney and McGovern, a puncher’s chance.

But the difficulty for the underdogs is that there appears to be a greater margin for error on the other side.

Lacken have been consistently posting big scores without necessarily converting anything close to everything they have created. They have size, strength and a deep bench, too, and in a tight final those options could become crucially important as the game wears on.

It all adds up to a fairly intriguing final. There is little or no recent history between the two finalists, either. They haven’t crossed paths in championship football in recent times, if ever, so there is a novelty factor at play which should appeal to all.

It is difficult, however, to see past Lacken, especially with Ray Galligan in goals and his cousin Thomas around midfield. Templeport are far from no-hopers but, put simply, anything other than a win for the sky-blues would qualify as a notable upset.