School's out for Ballinasloe bolter Matthew Devine

Matthew Devine’s last day of school was March 11, 2020. He didn’t spend it in Garbally College but at a cold and wet Sportsgrounds playing in the Connacht Senior Cup final

Ireland's Matthew Devine. Picture: INPHO/Ben Brady

Few of us forget our last day in school. Whether it’s the shirts and journals being signed with declarations of unending friendship, or the celebrations later in the evening, it’s a rite of passage and one of life’s most symbolic moments.

Matthew Devine’s was March 11, 2020. He didn’t spend it in Garbally College but at a cold and wet Sportsgrounds where, as scrum-half, he was pivotal to the institution as it claimed its first three-in-a-row of Connacht Senior Cup titles in over two decades.