Marist quartet prepare for ‘toughest challenge’ yet

The Marist College was eerily quiet when players from the school’s senior football team gathered last week to look ahead to this Saturday’s Leinster final (TEG Cusack Park, 1pm). The Athlone school was closed due to a training day and the usual hustle and bustle associated with groups of secondary school students was absent.

Yet the sight of the school’s blue and yellow colours, festooned in various places, was a sign of the imminent Leinster final against Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar.

Adam Smyth, James McHugh, Jacob Bourke and Dónal Dawson, all of whom are sixth year students, were the four players speaking on behalf of the team.

“I can’t wait for it,” declared James McHugh succinctly when asked about the upcoming final.

McHugh earned Marist extra-time in the semi-final against Ardee CS by landing a two-pointer from a last-gasp free, also scoring three goals on what was hugely memorable occasion for the team and for him personally. The Garrycastle player described that game as “the stuff you dream of”.

James knows Coláiste Mhuire attacker Will Scahill well, having played with him for the Westmeath minors, and he describes him as “an unbelievable player”.

“We’re on the (Westmeath) U20 squad, there’s about nine or ten of us between the two schools. They’re all very good players,” said James.

“They’re by far the best school team I’ve ever played. They’re well set up, just everything about them,” he said.

Adam Smyth is joint captain along with McHugh and, asked about this honour, he said “these are things you dream of when you come in the doors in first year”.

Adam is one of four Maryland players on the panel, with William Geraghty also starting the semi-final, while David Temple and DJ Connaughton were among the subs.

For a rural club with small numbers, naturally this is a source of pride for the Drumraney outfit. “David Temple and DJ Connaughton have been putting in a great effort in training all year as well, and it’s great for a rural club like ourselves because we are struggling with numbers at underage level,” said Adam.

Overall, Adam knows the Marist face “a very tough challenge” in Saturday’s final against the reigning champions. On a personal level, given the strength of Coláiste Mhuire at midfield, he reckons it will “probably be the toughest challenge I’ve ever faced, to be honest”.

“They have two very big men at midfield and great footballers, so we’ll just do our best to try and keep up with them,” he said.

The way the Marist coped with injury setbacks in the semi-final was a sign of “the bond we have together” said Adam. “We get through things, we try not to look at the negatives and just try to move on as things come at us,” he said.

“We haven’t done things the easy way in the last few games, but we’ve got out on the other side, so we’re going to try and do our best next Saturday,” Adam added.

Adam’s midfield partner the last day was Dónal Dawson, a player with roots in Lecarrow and Limerick, and indeed he still plays football and hurling with the Ahane club in Limerick. “My dad and the majority of my family are from Limerick,” explains Dónal.

Similar to Adam, Dónal is aware of Coláiste Mhuire’s prowess at midfield. “They’re very big lads and excellent footballers. I’ve seen them play a couple of times now and, yeah, it’s going to be a serious challenge. It will be a step up from the games we’ve played before anyway,” said Dawson.

After the dramatic semi-final victory over Ardee, there were joyful scenes at the final whistle and Dónal could be seen making his way over to a group of Marist students to celebrate with them and to acknowledge their support.

“The lads (the students from the school) were serious the last day, serious support; they were kind of like the 16th man,” Dónal remarked.

Castledaly’s Jacob Bourke was part of a Marist defence that was put under considerable pressure in their quarter-final and semi-final against Terenure College and Ardee CS respectively.

“Well, you never get an easy match at this level,” said Jacob with a smile. “Ardee were very good, and sure it’s not going to get any easier now with Mullingar. They have plenty of good forwards so it will definitely be a tough match.”

The choice of TEG Cusack Park “makes sense” according to Jacob. “We hope to have a good bit of support there as well, so we’re not complaining about it anyway,” he said.

This could be the last time this group of Marist players play a big game together as teammates and the four lads are aware of the significance of the occasion. “Especially when you spend nearly every day the last six years with the lads, it definitely would be a good one to win,” added Jacob.