Under-19 -Football championship: Mullingar Shamrocks 6-9 Lilliput Gaels 1-17.

The Gaelic football equivalent of driving for show and putting for dough was certainly in evidence on Wednesday evening last in Ballinagore when Shamrocks played Lilliput Gaels in this high scoring under 19 championship classic. The driving element applied to the home side as they kicked a series of superb points throughout with Shane Corcoran (son of former Malachy’s stalwart Paddy) particularly prominent. The Corcoran name has long been synonymous with football in the Castletown area and the latest generation shows signs of continuing the tradition.

The putting element however crucially applied to Shamrocks with Daithí O Mairtín, Oliver MacNamara and Shane Ormsby terrorising the hosts defence and ultimately this ability to score goals proved crucial. It was far from a three man show for Vinny Timoney’s charges as Ciaran Kiernan, the Hickey brothers, Ben Egan and Daithi O Mairtin amongst others played vital roles in an entertaining match. Another key element was the display of netminder Mikey Curley who made splendid saves and launched accurate kickouts throughout.

The managerial acumen of Messrs Timoney, Cashman and Gavin must be acknowledged too and Vinny is showing signs of being a front runner to succeed Kevin McStay in 2026.

This competition has been vital for these young players at this stage of their development and the players showed an appetite for work and a team spirit that can only be admired. The outcome was in doubt up to the closing stages when substitute James Devine pounced for the victors’ final goal.

Mullingar Shamrocks: Mikey Curley; Enda Keating , Ben Egan, Rian Adamson (Sheridan), Ruari Hickey, Aaron Russell (0-1), Tom Hickey; Tomass Turks; Ciaran Kiernan;

Adam Boyle (Darragh Hughes) , Daithí Martin (2-0), Luke McCabe (0-1)[Caoilinn Walshe, 0-1]; Mark Shaw, Oliver McNamara (1-5), Shane Ormsby (2-0)