All roads lead to Burnfoot this Friday, where the Dr Tony O’Neill Senior Schools’ Final will take place at the home of Aileach FC, between Carndonagh Community School and Deele College from Raphoe.
This is the first Ulster final for the Raphoe school, since they emerged as winners in 2008. That year, they were narrowly beaten in the All-Ireland semi-final and they were under the guidance of Mr Michael Gallagher.
Mr Gallagher will once again lead his side out in the Ulster final stage of this competition and he is hopeful of causing yet another upset, as his side bids to become the best in Ulster.
Their campaign has brought them across the county and indeed the province, where Deele have seen off Moville Community College, St Columba’s of Stranorlar, St. Pat’s of Cavan, Rosses Community School and St Eunan’s of Letterkenny.
Despite being the underdog in many of this year’s fixtures, the team have shown great commitment and spirit to take a number of notable scalps along the way.
The team’s talisman has undoubtedly been striker Declan Sharkey, who has contributed goals in every game and has two hat-tricks to his name against St Eunan’s and Cavan. Oliver Quinn, captaining the team has also been in exceptional form and has bossed the midfield in every game to date. An interesting statistic is that the aforementioned duo are the only players to have scored for Deele College during their fantastic cup run.
When Deele last won the Ulster Cup, they had players such as Finn Harps’ Ciaran Gallagher and Ciaran Coll and Kildrum’s Johnny McGinty at their disposal. Almost a decade on, a new batch of players have come through the ranks of the school and are showing great potential for the future. Another McGinty is on the team sheet, with Brett playing a key role in the heart of the defence along with the solid, Michael Ayton. Shane Meehan and Damien Keys have been rocks of consistency at full back, while Oran Higgins, Alex Carolan and Zak Brolly have provided the spark and skill in midfield.
Striker, Simon McGlynn, who is a member of the Finn Harps’ U-19 team was suspended for a number of games this season, but his re-introduction to the team was key to the side’s success against St Eunan’s. His work-rate and physical presence gave Deele the boost they needed, when they had their backs against the wall for much of the game.
Coach, Michael Gallagher is confident that his charges can bring him another Ulster title, but he knows that it will be a tough encounter against the Inishowen men. “We’ve had a great run so far in the cup and the boys have shown great courage and dedication. In every game, we were underdogs, but they fought hard and were rewarded for their efforts. In a final, anything can happen. We know that Carndonagh will have quality players, but while we will give them the respect they deserve, we know that our own team is just as good and are capable of winning.
“We have some exceptional players, who are not only talented but also really hard workers. I have trust in each and every one of them to do the job they are asked. It will be a tough game but I’m confident our supporters can act as the 12th man and ensure that we can bring the cup back to Raphoe.”
Mr Gallagher doesn’t have far to go for inspiration for tactics and team talks, as the school principal is FAI coach Mr Joe Boyle, who has coached international underage teams in the past and is currently working with the Emerging Talent Programme in Donegal.
After such an eventful cup run, with last gasp winners and hat-trick heroes, Deele will be looking for the fairytale finish on Friday afternoon in Inishowen.