Joe’s and Mattock in bid for Sheelan Cup

THE last two winners of the Paddy Sheelan Cup – Newtown Blues (2022) and Naomh Máirtín (2023) – went on to contest the senior championship final later in the same season so the loser of Saturday night’s decider in Darver may not be overly disappointed.

Then again, finals are for winning and neither Mattock Rangers – an intermediate club, of course – nor St Joseph’s, who are appearing in their first Sheelan Cup showpiece in 17 years, will be contemplating defeat when the maiden honour of the term is handed out this weekend.

Incidentally, Joe’s faced Blues – who Mattock overcame along with Ardee St Mary’s to qualify – back in 2007, entering having lifted the Joe Ward Cup for the second time a matter of months earlier. They would succumb to the Newfoundwell natives on that occasion and end the term in the intermediate grade following relegation.

How they will hope victory this time around could, instead, propel a promotion push from Division 2, where they have resided for more than a decade ade despite earning their way back into the senior championship in 2016 – when, incidentally, seeing off Mattock in the Dowdallshill decider.

Tom Franklin is in his second year at the helm and getting up to the senior league is a priority, especially now that they have no players distracted by membership of Ger Brennan’s Louth panel. Both Conall McCaul (inset) and Ben Collier lined out in the semi-final victory over St Fechin’s where Ciarán Johnston added to his growing reputation by converting the match-winning goal. It appears as though both McCaul and Collier sustained injuries and their participation against a rejuvenated Mattock outfit, with Gus Flynn and David Reid, is in some doubt. However, the scoring form of Oisín McGuinness, another to drop away from the county senior set-up, has boosted Joe’s considerably and the Dromiskin/ Darver team have bettered top tier opposition in the holders and Fechin’s, as well as drawing with St Patrick’s, en route to the final.

So Mattock will hold no fear for a well-prepared, physically-primed Joe’s side that has put in a committed block of pre-season training.

Though the Collon club has a quality-laced team with Cathal Fleming, the Caraher brothers, and Ben McKenna in sync, while the precociously talented Seán Flynn, son of Gus and a recent-year Louth minor, has made an impression since debuting.

Mattock had far too much for St Kevin’s and Geraldines in group matches before fending off Mary’s and Blues in the knockout rounds. They were defeated in the showpiece last term and are determined to go one step further, as they did in 2017. But Joe’s will go in as marginal favourites.