It has been the GAA year of the colour maroon so far.
We don’t know why, we don’t know how, but the facts don’t lie.
The GAA year has been a great one, but no-one has enjoyed it more than teams in the colour maroon.
Multyfarnham (Westmeath)
The small village based on the outskirts of Mullingar brought home their first Westmeath title in 65 years when they won the Lake County’s Junior Championship final against Ballynacargy recently.
They followed this up with victories over Wicklow and Wexford opponents in Leinster, setting them up with a provincial final clash against Erin Rovers of Offaly.
Without breaking trend, it was the men in maroon who won out yet again, defeating the Offaly champions on a scoreline of 2-6 to 0-5.
Massive weekend for @MultyGAA and @ErinRovers in the Leinster Junior football final. Good luck to both teams #TheToughest pic.twitter.com/ZuQDbSUatJ
— AIB_GAA (@AIB_GAA) November 16, 2017
St. Patrick’s Ballyragget (Kilkenny)
The Kilkenny club’s intermediate county triumph may have made the headlines for the wrong reasons, but it was an intensely competitve championship that they won.
They won their semi-final against a fancied Tullaroan side, and then performed well to beat Graigue/Ballycallan in the final.
They advanced to the Leinster club semi-final, where they beat another maroon side, in Kiltale of Meath.
St Patrick’s got off to a flying start in the provincial semi-final on Sunday. Conor Delaney goaled early to put daylight between them and the Royal County champions, and from there, they never once looked back.
Kilkenny senior Kevin Kelly was deadly from placed balls and from open play, while the Brennans all played well.
In the end they won out on a scoreline of 2-20 to 2-10.
Galway
The Tribesmen broke their Liam MacCarthy duck with a landmark victory over Waterford on the first Sunday of September. This was their first time to raise the coveted cup in 29 years.
Micheal Donoghue’s men coasted to a National Hurling League and Championship double in 2017, becoming hurling’s kingpins for the year.
They also had seven players on this year’s hurling All-Star team, as well as picking up the Hurler and Young Hurler of the Year awards through Conor Whelan and Joe Canning respectively.
It was a year of years for the men in maroon, and their success seemed to inspire more maroon teams to go forward in style as the season progressed.
The ladies footballers in the county also recently won their first ever All-Ireland under-21 title.
St Martin’s (Wexford)
“A small club with big dreams.”
We went on a journey down to @StMartinsGAA and we got a lot more than we bargained for https://t.co/wbnjQhHkiz
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) November 16, 2017
The Wexford based club are having a year to remember, for reasons involving their hurling, camogie and both mens’ and ladies’ football teams.
Their senior hurlers ended Oulart-the-Ballagh’s dominance in the county, winning their first county title in that grade since 2008. That success was inspired by the same group of players who made it all the way to the county’s senior football final, where they eventually lost out to Starlights.
The Piercestown based club won both minor and under-21 A hurling titles in the sunny-south-east, becoming the first club ever in the county to win Minor A, under-21 A and senior hurling Championships.
They’re here to stay as well, with many of the under-21 team being key players on the senior team.
We’re only getting started about St. Martin’s. Their women enjoyed a year as good if not better than their men.
The camogie team, managed by Maire O’Connor, twin sister of their hurling and football manager Tomás Codd, won their first ever Wexford senior crown.
They will contest in the Leinster final against Thomastown tomorrow.
Their ladies footballers won the intermediate title in Wexford.
It doesn’t get any better than that.
Dicksboro (Kilkenny)
The ‘Boro raised their first Kilkenny senior title since 1993 this year. Their youthful team were eventually knocked out of the Leinster Championship by a rampant Cuala side, but they certainly had a year to remember.
Slaughtneil (Derry)
In fairness, every year seems to be the year of this amazing little club from Derry. With the way 2017 is going for teams in maroon, who’d bet against them winning the All-Ireland senior football Championship?
They raised both hurling and camogie crowns in Derry and Ulster this year, and that’s twice in a row they’ve achieved that feat.
It's actually scary what Slaughtneil are achieving as a club https://t.co/bUDVbkeCvj
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) October 22, 2017
Their footballers aren’t doing too bad, either, having won Derry, they are currently awaiting the winners of Derrygonnelly Harps and Cavan Gaels to take them on in the Ulster final.
Borris-ileigh (Tipperary)
The club won their first North Tipperary senior hurling Championship since 2007 this year. Conor Kenny, Dan McCormack, Paddy Stapleton, Brendan Maher and a host of young players played a key role in their surprising triumph in the competitive north division.
They made it all the way to the county final, having ground out a dogged victory over neighbours Drom-and-Inch, but came up narrowly short against perennial Premier county kingpins Thurles in the decider.
They capped off a fine year with a county league triumph.
There’s something in the colour maroon.
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