St Clare's Manorhamilton captain Jack Kelly buzzing to reach All-Ireland Final

Buzzing is the word Jack Kelly used to describe how he was feeling after Saturday’s Masita All-Ireland Senior C PPS Semi-Final but it is fair to say that buzzing described the St Clare’s CS captain’s performance as he set the Manorhamilton school on the way to a famous victory.

An unmarkable Kelly hit an incredible four points from play inside the first four minutes, a blistering start that left Donaghmede’s Gaelcholáiste Reachrann reeling and they never recovered from the Leitrim’s schools blitz as St Clare’s stormed to a 4-17 to 1-9 victory that was even more comprehensive than the scoreline suggests.

“I’m buzzing, I can't believe it,” was Jack’s initial reaction to being asked what it is like to be facing into an All-Ireland Final. The next question and subsequent answer reflected the reasons why Jack and his St Clare’s teammates were so driven to succeed with the school despite a hectic schedule with club, school and county this year. 

“The hunger was always there from the start of the year when we came back. We knew, with the Manor boys, the Dromahair boys and Shannon Gaels, we knew when we came back that there was something special here. Probably wasn’t expecting to reach an All-Ireland Final but we’ll take it, we're just delighted.”

St Clare’s also kept the boot down and never allowed Gaelcholáiste Reachrann back into the game, a point manager Shane Ward reiterated at halftime: “Wardie said at halftime, if we're going to really put these out of sight, we need to keep the foot down when they get their purple patch. 

TUAM FIXED AS VENUE FOR ST CLARE'S CS MANORHAMILTON'S ALL-IRELAND FINAL

“We said we'd put our head where we wouldn't put our foot and I have to say the lads at the back have done that today. And that's really what it came down to, is winning that dirty ball and getting the scores and we did that and I'm sure that's what got us over the line in the end.”

Crucial to St Clare’s success was their ability to turn over Donaghmede’s kickouts and turn them into score, something they work on at club level also according to Jacks: “Even when we were back at the club, especially the Manor lads, the goal kick is probably your best opportunity to score because they're so open.

“When Bailey and Ronan attack the ball and we get in around the breaks, sure we're basically straight in on goal and that's key. When you turn the team over, that's when they're most exposed and we emphasise on that as a team and you could see it coming through there today, which is perfect.”

The fact that the game took place on the astro-turf pitch at Kingspan Breffni Park rather than the main pitch at the famed Cavan venue was a bit of a shocker but Jack admitted that it may have played into St Clare’s hands: “We were shocked originally. We had thought it was going to be on Breffni and at the start, I was kind of shocked it was on the Astro and I wasn't looking forward to it. 

“But then I kind of realised that we're not the biggest team and we like to move it quickly and that Astro suits us. A soft pitch does not suit us at all and that Astro suited us down to the ground.”

Next up in an All-Ireland Final against Clare’s Ennistymon CBS and Jack can’t wait for the occasion against the Clare school: “We'll be looking forward to it. I'm sure Wardie, as soon as we go into the dressing rooms, the first thing he'll say is we'll be training on Monday and we'll be out back again on the track or wherever we are.

“We'll work hard for these two weeks because we're not just in a final. They're there to be won, and that's what we're here to do. We want to win this. It'll be massive for our school. It'll be massive for the county, the clubs - it'll be just huge.”