Feature: Shooting the lights out

It’s Ulster SFC final time and Niall Gartland takes a look at the players who have top-scored in this year’s competition.

1. Ruairi Canavan 0-16 (8f, 45)

IT will be a major surprise if Errigal Ciaran forward Ruairi Canavan doesn’t finish as top scorer in this year’s Ulster Championship, though obviously that’s not his main concern as his team get ready for Sunday’s showdown against Kilcoo. He was in scintillating form last day out against Clann Éireann, scoring nine points, a statistic that doesn’t do justice to the quality of his score-taking. When the game was there to be won, he stepped up to the plate with two brilliant points late on in a blustery day at Newry, including an injury-time winner.

2. Jack McCarron 0-10 (5f, 2m)

MONAGHAN side Scotstown will wish to forget their 2024 provincial campaign having been left in the dust by Kilcoo in a surprisingly one-sided quarter-final encounter nearly a fortnight ago. Their top scorer across their two outings was Jack McCarron, though it should be noted he was kept quiet by the Down kingpins. He scored nine points in their first-round win over Erne Gaels, a performance that suggested that Scotstown were set to give Ulster an almighty rattle. It wasn’t to be though.

3. Conor Turbitt 1-5 (1-0 pen, 3f)

CONOR had a season from the heavens for Armagh, finishing as the championship’s top scorer, winning an All-Star and pocketing a shiny Celtic Cross. He had a good time of it on the club front as well, winning his second Armagh Senior Championship medal with a victory over Lurgan neighbours Clan na Gael in the county final. He was influential in their provincial outings against Newbridge and Errigal Ciaran, though there’ll be a few lingering regrets at the manner of their one-point defeat to the Tyrone champions.

4. Paul Devlin 0-7 (5f, 1m)

PAUL Devlin has been a mainstay of this Kilcoo team for as long as we care to remember and he’s still going strong for the 2021 All-Ireland champions who have made an almost-annual habit of making it out of Down. Having scored seven points in their quarter-final win over Crosserlough, he failed a late fitness test when Scotstown came calling. According to manager Karl Lacey, it’s touch and go whether he plays this weekend.

5. Conor McCarthy 0-7

THE second Scotstown and Monaghan player to make this list, 2023 All-Star Conor McCarthy weighed in with six points in an impressive performance against Fermanagh representatives Erne Gaels in the first-round of Ulster. His contribution was all the more noteworthy given he wasn’t on free-taking duty. He subsequently mustered a point on a forgettable day out against Kilcoo on their last day out.

6. Tomás McCann 0-6 (1 45)

CARGIN have been hugely competitive in Ulster in the last number of years, giving Glen their fill of it in narrow defeats in 2022 and 2023. They limped out of this year’s campaign following a surprisingly flat performance against Errigal Ciaran, but they kept on battling to the bitter end and Tomás McCann ended his day’s work with six points to his name. Ultimately it was fairly immaterial.

7 Micéal Rooney 2-0

MICÉAL entered Kilcoo folklore for his goal-saving intervention in their All-Ireland triumph over Kilmacud Crokes in 2021, but he’s dab hand in attack and scored two goals in their six-goal blitz of Scotstown. He’s had a fine season for club and county and is an integral part of a well-oiled Kilcoo side that carry attacking threats at every angle.

8. Tommy Canavan (0-5, 2f)

TOMMY Canavan skippered Errigal Ciaran to the O’Neill Cup in 2022, but he played a more limited role in their run to this year’s Tyrone Senior Championship title as injury curtailed his involvement for a long stretch. He’s back to full fitness, however, and has done extremely well in their provincial campaign, kicking five points, three from play.

9. Jerome Johnston (0-5, 1f)

JEROME Johnsto has been a leading light for Kilcoo for many years and scored an incredibly dramatic game-winning goal in the 2021 All-Ireland final against Kilmacud Crokes. He’s been at the top of his game in this year’s provincial championship, scoring two points from play against Crosserlough and following that up with the same again in their semi-final win over Scotstown.

Watch our special preview show ahead of Sunday’s Ulster final showdown