MOUNT St Michael Rosscarbery are one step away from an All-Ireland football final, but know they must reach a new level to realise that dream.

The Munster champions take on Connacht kingpins St Nathy’s College Ballaghaderreen in an All-Ireland senior B schools semi-final this Saturday at the University of Limerick South Campus (2pm thow-in).

This is a huge challenge for the Rosscarbery school, but manager Mike Keohane feels they’re ready.

‘We’re not the biggest of schools – we have 200 boys in a mixed school. To get to the last four in the country is a great achievement for us,’ Keohane told The Southern Star.

‘When you get there, you are one step from an All-Ireland final, so you have to make it count. We are approaching this knowing we are up against a very tough school from the Roscommon/Mayo border.’

The Roscommon school beat St Joseph's Patrician College of Galway (2-10 to 1-8) in the Connacht final, though Mount St Michael are in good form too. Having beaten Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne (6-12 to 0-3), St Michael’s Listowel (0-14 to 1-7), De La Salle Macroom (3-7 to 2-8) and Abbey CBS (0-8 to 0-7) to win the Munster championship, the West Cork school want to keep the momentum going.

‘We saw Nathys in the Connacht final and they are a very good team. We’re going into this game believing that we can match them all over the pitch. If things go our way, we would be hopeful of a positive result,’ Keohane said.

‘They will start as slight favourites, but we’re okay with that. We weren’t favourites in the Munster final or semi-final either and we were able to get over the line. We believe in our team and they have performed all year.’

There is a real family feel amongst the Mount St Michael team that draws players from three local clubs – Carbery Rangers, Kilmacabea and St James. Forwards Luke and Dylan O’Neill are brothers, as are the McCarthys, Gerry and Michael. In fact, the McCarthys’ father, Conor, was on the Rosscarbery schools’ team that last won Munster back in 1996, a side also coached by Keohane. Mark McCarthy’s father, Kevin, was on the team 30 years ago too.

‘With school teams, players are coming in from rival clubs but we have a great bond. There’s a lovely club feeling. Whether the players are in third, fourth, fifth or sixth year, they aren’t split into groups – they all stick together,’ Keohane said.

‘There are benefits to having a relatively small squad. We have around 25 players. We would normally have 20 but we have an extra five or six lads this year. The students themselves recognise what they are part of and how special this is.’

Confidence is high right now after conquering Munster, a triumph made even more special considering the school had fallen short in 2019 and 2022. Super-sub Dylan O’Neill was the hero with his late winner.

‘We were knocking on the door for several years and it was a while since we were able to win it. The last two defeats spurred us on this year. We knew we had a good team coming through, having worked with them over the last couple of years. This was our best shot at winning the championship,’ Keohane said.

‘We met one of the most consistent schools of the last few years in Abbey and it was always going to be a tough task to win that final. On the day, we played exceptionally well. We had our homework done on them and the lads carried out the instructions very well.

‘Thankfully, we got that winning score. That was a fitting reward for our efforts, not only this year but over the last number of seasons after coming up a little short. It was a great relief.’

In terms of injury news ahead of the All-Ireland semi-final, long-term absentees Kevin Duffy and Jerome McCarthy (ankle injuries) are still out, while Munster final hero Dylan O’Neill will most likely start on the bench given his recent fitness struggles.

Football is improving in the Rosscarbery school. The All-Ireland semi-final might be the main story right now, but Mount St Michael have teams at U14, U15 and U16 levels still playing in the championship.

‘You can see it amongst the players and in the build-up to the final in the school that this run has given the place a massive lift. We have never been so busy in regards to football. As well as an All-Ireland semi-final, our seniors can look forward to a Cork colleges final as well,’ the manager added.