MOUNT Saint Michael, Rosscarbery are hoping it will be third time lucky in the Corn Dhonncha Uí Nuanáin (U19B football) final.

For the third time in seven years, the Ross school will contest this provincial decider.

In 2019, they fell in the Munster senior B football final to Scoil Phobail Sliabh Luachra of Rathmore after conceding a last-minute goal. In 2022, the West Cork school lost narrowly to Tipperary side Abbey CBS (1-8 to 0-10).

Now, this on Friday, 13th (12.30pm), Mount Saint Michael face the Tipp school again in the final in the Páirc Uí Chaoimh 4G pitch and will be looking for revenge.

The Rosscarbery school has seen off Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne (6-12 to 0-3), St Michael’s Listowel (0-14 to 1-7) and De La Salle Macroom (3-7 to 2-8) en route to this decider.

Abbey CBS have accounted for Coláiste an Spioraid Naoimh, Bishopstown (3-8 to 1-13), Our Lady’s Templemore (0-19 to 2-12) and Mitchelstown CBS (1-16 to 1-9).

Manager Mike Keohane has held the position since 1994 and, 32 years later, is still driven by an undiminished passion for the game.

‘It’s coaching football that I get the most pleasure from. I was asked in the 1990s to take over football in the school, despite not being a teacher, and I’m still here today. I love it. It’s a fantastic role to have,’ Keohane told The Southern Star.

‘But this is all about the players that have come on board. I meet students from the 90s and they still talk about football matches in school. That is something I’m very proud of. It’s a team effort in Mount Saint Michael with a lot of people involved and we’re very lucky in that sense.’

Mount Saint Michael coaches Enda Favier and Mike Keohane.

The team has played some exciting football in this campaign, and Keohane and coach Enda Favier are proud of how the Rosscarbery school is holding its own against bigger schools.

‘We’re a mixed school of 400 students. When you split that, you have about 200 boys in the school. To reach another final is a great achievement because most of the schools we come up against have far greater numbers than what we would have. A lot of schools would have close to 1,000 students. In some cases, they could have 800 boys,’ Keohane noted.

‘We’re very proud of what we can do. Out of those 200 students, not all of them would be playing football and yet we have teams at U14, U15, U16, U17 and U19 level. They are all doing relatively well so far this year.’

Mount Saint Michael have jumped some significant hurdles to reach the final. For example, DLS Macroom were operating in the Simcox Cup (Cork senior A level), reaching the semi-final where they fell to eventual winners Clonakilty Community College (2-8 to 1-7). So, in perspective, beating Macroom was a huge win for Rosscarbery.

‘We knew that it was a tough ask for us to beat them but we do have a very good team. We have been working on this for the last two to three years,’ Keohane said.

‘We are in a bit of bonus territory, to be honest, when you consider those big schools we came up against. Every time we have gone out, we have made a good account of ourselves and we surprised our opponents along the way. We have played some good football this year but we do realise that the Munster final will be the toughest challenge so far.’

This year, Mount Saint Michael are drawing from just three clubs – Carbery Rangers, Kilmacabea and St James. It may be a small spread, but they have built a team capable of competing.

‘You see some of the lists from different schools and they have seven or eight different clubs. We have three clubs involved this year and they are all within ten miles of each other and the school,’ Keohane said.

‘The one thing about school football is that it’s a very unique team to be part of, in the sense that some of these players will be playing against each other in championship matches at the weekend for their clubs. They come in on Monday morning and come together as a team.

‘There’s great satisfaction in getting all these players, ranging from third year to sixth year, playing together. We have a really good club feel about ourselves and a great relationship with our students.’

The Mount Saint Michael squad includes Jerry McCarthy, Padraig Tobin, Dylan O’Neill, Dylan Scannell, Seamus Lane, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Adam Baker, Ben Sheehy, Sean Cuinnea, Ciaran Campbell, Kevin Duffy, Cormac Ó Donnabháin, Cathal Buchanan, Jack McCarthy, Luke O’Neill, Sean Murphy, Ronan Hayes, Michael McCarthy, Jack McCarthy (all Carbery Rangers), Sean Gough, Cathal O’Loughlin, Felix Winkleman (all St James), Joe McCarthy, Oran O’Donovan, Jerome McCarthy, Aodhan Murphy and Joe O’Donovan (all Kilmacabea).