Jubilant Macroom finally get their hands on the ‘Holy Grail’

De La Salle, Macroom 1-12 St Flannan’s 1-4

So dominant were the Mid-Cork school, this final could have been a rout, just the thickness of the crossbar and the upright denying Macroom at least two more goals, with some poor finishing also costing them several other scores.

On a glorious day for football, there was going to be no repeat of 1993, when St Flannan’s surprisingly lost the hurling final but recovered to take the football title a week later. On this occasion, a finely tuned DLS took control from the throw-in and while Flannan’s will get top marks for effort and commitment, they were simply outclassed.

It took Macroom a long time to wear their opponents down, but there was only going to be one result after substitute Con Dunne finally scored the goal his side had been threatening in the 45th minute.

While this was essentially a team effort, Macroom were grateful for the brilliance of John Corkery, Donal Cotter and Rory Buckley in defence, team captain Sean Kiely and James Ambrose at midfield, David Gould and Donal O’Sullivan in attack; the latter’s free-taking was exemplary.

Macroom principal Noel Dunne, who is also a team selector, was, understandably, a bit emotional at the final whistle. He was also a mentor when his school last contested the final in 1978, and must have begun to doubt this day would never come.

“While it is the present team who won us the title, this victory is for all those other school teams which have gone before,” said Noel.

“There can be no disputing our right to the title. We have a great team who played a brilliant brand of football from start to finish and are very worthy Munster champions.

“Our game plan was to play the possession game at all times and while we ran down a couple of blind alleys at times, I was comfortable with it as long as we didn’t concede goals. The goal they got came too late to make any appreciable difference to the final score.”

Sport can be cruel at times and for five St Flannan’s players it was particularly hard as they were losing their second Munster final in seven days.

For all of DLS’s dominance, they had little to show for it on the scoreboard and could only manage an 0-4 to 0-2 half time lead. This was principally down to the tenacity of their defence in which Colm Madden and Seamus Hickey were magnificent.

Macroom's over indulgence in the short passing game cost them several scores in that opening period - Madden making a superb block to deny Mathew McDonagh a certain goal, and Sean Kiely and David Gould rattling the crossbar when it looked easier to score.

With the wind to their backs in the second-half, Macroom continued to play some delightful football and the Flannan’s defence was under constant pressure. By the end of the third quarter they were still within striking distance as the Mid Cork side led 0-9 to 0-3.

However, the pressure on Flannan’s was enormous and after Enna O Braoinain saved superbly from Patrick Lynch, the goal Macroom threatened finally came and it was a coach’s dream. The build up was neat and precise, and - following a series of clever passes from their own defence without a Flannan’s player touching the ball - substitute Con Dunne finished the move to the net to put his side into an unassailable lead.

The floodgates were expected to finally open, but while DLS added four further points, it didn’t quite happen as Seamus Hickey, Colm Madden and Stephen O’Regan continued to defend superbly. In one last-gasp effort to save the game, Flannans stitched Hickey to attack and there were a couple of scary moments for Macroom as the magnificent Hickey set up Padraig McMahon for a goal.

It sparked off a frantic last five minutes during which Declan Clancy added a second goal only to have it ruled out for a square infringement; Donagh Stack drove a 13-metre free inches wide and Declan Clancy fired into the side netting with the goal at his mercy.

“This is the Holy Grail for us,” said jubilant team coach Eric Graham.

“We have finally climbed to the top of the hill and I'm just thrilled and delighted for everyone associated with the team, players, teachers, clubs, and parents. It’s as much for them as it is for the school.”

* Macroom will play Ulster champions The Abbey (Newry) in the All-Ireland semi-final on April 6.

Scorers: Macroom: D. O'Sullivan 0-7 (0-5 frees); C. Dunne 1-0; J. Ambrose 0-2; P. Healy, P. Lynch, J. O'Leary 0-1 each. St. Flannan’s: P. McMahon 1-1 (0-1 free); S. Ryan 0-2 (0-1 45); S. Hickey 0-1.

DLS MACROOM: S. Casey; JJ Murphy, P. Lynch, J. Corkery; R. Buckley, D. Cotter, I. Casey; S. Kiely, J. Ambrose; D. O'Sullivan, P. Lynch, P. Healy; J. Ryan, M. McDonagh, D. Gould.

Subs: C. Dunne for McDonagh; J. O'Leary for Ryan.

ST. FLANNAN’S: E. O Braonain; S. O'Regan, C. Madden, S. Guilfoyle; C. Hickey, S. Hickey, D. Clancy; C. Duggan, S. Ryan; E. Lyons, D. Stack, C. Cooney; J. Egan, F. Neville, P. McMahon.

Sub: F. Neylon for J. Ryan.

Referee: M. Meade (Limerick).