David Clifford the hero as St Brendan’s end 24-year Hogan Cup wait

St Brendan's (Killarney) 2-13 St Patrick's College, Maghera 2-6: Of all the outcomes Conor Glass dreamt of on the run into Saturday’s decider, he surely never envisaged such a cruel finale.

Glass was the intriguing sub-plot of this Hogan Cup final; the St Patrick’s captain, and sole survivor from the all-conquering Maghera class of 2013, was lining out in his school colours for the last time before moving to AFL club, Hawthorn.

The perfect swansong was on the cards after 44 minutes, the underdogs from Derry ahead by 2-5 to 0-8. Then, disaster. Referee David Gough was called by one of his umpires after a passage of play that ended with David Shaw splitting the posts for St Brendan’s. The Meath official headed towards Glass, pulled the red card and ordered off the St Patrick’s captain. Asked by a member of management why he had been dismissed, Glass shrugged his shoulders.