Dromintee have a chance at clean sweep

DROMINTEE minors have the chance to make it clean sweep of underage titles when they face Clontibret in Thursday’s final at St Paul’s.

The Armagh side lifted the club’s first minor title this season, capping off a magical journey, from the age of six, that also included an All-Ireland Féile title.

“We’ve had them they’re pretty much straight through,” said joint-manager Kevin Toale, who manages the team with Aidan O’Rourke and Stephen Dyas, younger brother of former Armagh forward Kevin.

“They have not come out second best, they haven’t lost anything and that’s not by luck.

“It comes from hard work and also the character that is way beyond these players’ years,” Toale said after watching his side come from five points down to see off Dungiven in the semi-final.

“Clontibret, our sparring partners on New Year’s Day, they don’t get there by chance either.

“We’re very, very aware of how good and how physical they are, they’ve a very good coaching structure in place, the players obviously follow it and the success is proven.”

What makes Dromintee’s success in Armagh even more remarkable was getting the job done without injured trio Michael Walker, Diarmaid and Gavin O’Rourke, the latter two not related.

The trio were part of a nine-strong contingent that helped Armagh minors all the way to the 2024 Ulster and All-Ireland finals.

Walker and Diarmaid O’Rourke, son of joint-manager Aidan, have since returned to action with the latter making “very good inroads” on his return from injury.

“We were missing three players who played in an All-Ireland final, to most teams that would be a huge psychological knock backwards,” Toale added.

“Where we are we’re not looked on as the biggest, most physical team, our strength is the strength of these boys’ minds.

“In the last 10 minutes of that match (semi-final win), especially towards the end, I think the mental discipline of our team kept themselves very much in it.”

It may be Dromintee’s first taste of St Paul’s and vying for the biggest prize on offer to the underage club players of Ulster, but they’ve taken out fancied horses in Ardboe and Dungiven.

As their fans celebrated booking a spot in the final, there was a sprinkling of blue and white Santa-style hats on the terrace.

“I think this is possibly the biggest game maybe in the club’s history, so it’s a huge thing,” Toale said, stating that having to train over the Christmas holidays is a pleasure.

“When you’re involved with a bunch of lads like this and the honour that it is, there’s no feeling of sacrifice.

“That discipline is on the pitch with the players following the hard work and keeping to the tactics that are in place while under pressure.”

For Toale, who also has a son – Fergus – on the team, getting to any final is an “extreme honour” with the level of work that goes into getting results.

“The thing that’s very easy to forget is that this tournament is our first experience of it ever in the history of the club,” he added.

“It’s on a pedestal and it is excellently run. It has been a joy to carry the Armagh flag.

“It’s not easy ever to win an Armagh championship. This year was the first time ever in the history of the club and we’re looking to take it one step further.”