St Patrick’s High School, Keady is all too familiar with the adage that patience is a virtue in terms of achieving sporting success but this renowned educational establishment has suddenly thrust itself onto the schools’ sporting map in no uncertain manner.
Within the course of a month the school has landed three sports trophies in different codes to underline the message that progress can be made away from the classroom.
Indeed, such has been the impact of the school’s success that sport is being embraced by even more pupils as sights are fixed on a further helping of silverware.
But for now celebrations continue as the Leopold Cup, the Fr Davis Cup and the Markey Cup take pride of place in the school.
The Markey Cup is the latest trophy to land at the school and given the status of this competition, the team’s coup has triggered unbounded joy in the school which had been lumbered with the underdogs tag at the outset.
But the Keady team showed in powering through to the final that they were not burdened by the slightest hint of an inferiority complex.
And it is indeed perhaps fitting that the team should have reserved the most outstanding performance for the final in which squeezed past St Columb’s Derry by 2-8 to 1-10.
Cometh the hour cometh the man and when Jack Loughran stepped up to drill home what proved to be the all-important winning goal – a glorious score deep in the bowels of added time – he assured himself of the Freedom of Keady!
And not far behind him in the honours list came goalkeeper John Flanagan whose acrobatic dexterity ensured he was only beaten once.
Coaches Joe Feeney, Tom O’Kane, Pauric McNaughton, and Sean O’Connor deserved the laurels that came their way in the aftermath of a mesmerising contest.
Onto the Fr Davis Cup decider and here a fired-up St Patrick’s girls camogie side benefitted from the input of coaches Fiona O’Neill and Orla Fox to write their own chapter in their school’s sporting history.
The St Patrick’s team had entered the competition more in hope than confidence but stamped their authority on the action in no uncertain manner to reign supreme.
And in the Leopold Cup inspirational performances from Johnny Loughran and Caoimhin Mone helped St Patrick’s to thunder into the record books.
Here again the work of coaches Pauric McNaughton, Lorcan Devlin and Damien McConville paid rich dividends as the team played with composure and authority.
It had been thought initially that St Patrick’s might have taken delivery of at least one of the coveted trophies but a treble coup proved a significant feat for a school in which sport is enjoying a new lease of life.
It’s little wonder that Principal Mrs Kelley McKenna is delighted with the manner in which all three teams have represented the school.
“As a school community we are immensely proud of them all. The commitment and dedication shown by all the players and coaches involved reflects great credit on them and augurs well for the future,” says the Principal.
