By Shaun Casey

ST PATRICK’S, Maghera know all about the challenges that face dual players, so they won’t have too much sympathy for their Paddy Buggy Cup opponents Tralee CBS this Saturday at Kinnegad.

The Kerry-based college contested the Hogan Cup final on St Patrick’s Day and came up short by the minimum of margins against Coláiste Mhuire. Mullingar at Croke Park.

Maghera have plenty of players on their panel that compete in both codes, and manager Paul Boyle knows the exact predicament that comes with playing hurling and football.

“At the start of the year, we were doing largely dual sessions along with the MacRory team, I think we had 13 out of our starting 15 that had dual commitments through the school and even with Derry and their clubs,” Boyle described.

“It is a big of a headache. We have boys involved with the Derry minors and the u-20s, but it’s been managed sensibly and there’s a good communication there to make sure the players are looked after.

“It’s tough for us to manage it but it’s tougher for those lads to serve two or three masters and they don’t know where they stand but I think we’ve done quite well at taking the load off them and putting their minds at ease.”

On Tralee, the Loughgiel clubman added: “They have six dual in total, and they had three starters on Tuesday who will play for them on Sunday as well.

“I suppose after we beat Callan in the semi-final, our attention turned to Tralee straight away because they are so far away, we were trying to find out stuff about them, and we’ve managed to get information to try and suss them out.

“They were an A school in Munster last year, playing Hearty Cup, and they have numerous players that are involved in Kerry setups, both football and hurling, and they’re a quality side so it’ll be a tough test.”

All-Ireland finals don’t come along every year, and St Pat’s have reached this stage since 2018, when they lost out to Coláiste Choilm by four points. They haven’t won the competition sine 2011, so they’ve enjoyed the build-up.

“Tiernan McHugh, who’s part of the coaching team with us, that was his year in school (2017), and they got to the Paddy Burke final, so it’s been a while, probably too long.

“The buzz has been unreal because we are trying to promote hurling and show young boys that when they come through Maghera, there’s a pathway for hurling to be seriously successful as well as football.

“The unique thing for us is that a lot of the lads have prepared in the build-up for a Hogan Cup final and a MacRory Cup final last year and then the Mageean Cup final this year so their used to the build-up, it’s nothing out of the blue for them.”