Four Masters put their Donegal and Ulster minor championship titles on the line

Four Masters will be going for their third Donegal minor title in-a-row on Saturday when they meet Naomh Conaill in the Donegal decider in O’Donnell Park, Letterkenny (4.00 pm) 

They are also putting their Ulster minor club title on the line, which they won on New Year’s Day in Belfast. 

With the minor age limit returning to 18 this year, it will be the same minor team that were so successful last year, that will take the field against Naomh Conaill. They also won in 2022 and lost out in the Ulster final. A good number of the panel are now going for three in-a-row in Donegal. 

Four Masters manager Greg Doherty says it’s unfortunate that it’s not on before the senior final. “That would have been brilliant.” 

They are meeting Naomh Conaill for the first time at the final stage although the sides know each other. 

“We are not surprised. We were expecting it to be Naomh Conaill or Gaoth Dobhair from a long way back. A lot of people didn’t think they could go to Gaoth Dobhair and win, but listen, we know Naomh Conaill. We have played them a lot down through the years. 

“They did something that we weren’t able to do, go to Magheragallon and beat Gaoth Dobhair. That was a big statement on their part,” said Doherty, who said they have been meeting over the last five years and have had tough battles. 

“We have everybody from last year. We know that the general public will have us as favourites. We have ourselves going up against a really tough Naomh Conaill minor team. There has been only a point between us when we have met. 

“We’re definitely not going into this game thinking it will be a walk in the park,” said Doherty. 

For Naomh Conaill manager Connie Doherty he is well aware of the task at hand in coming up against a Four Masters side going for three minor titles in-a-row.  

But the minor manager also knows that an upset is very possible, having once managed the Glenties men to a minor championship back in 2007, with a shock upset over St Eunan’s in the final, and he is hoping another underdog story will be on the cards this Saturday. 

“For a lot of our lads, this is their last hoorah at underage, so we’ll be going in with great confidence and no doubt the boys will give it their all,” Doherty said. 

“We know we’ll have to play very well to win, but it’s like when I managed the minors to a county title many moons ago, back then St Eunan’s were the team to beat and we did that, now Four Masters are the team to beat.” 

With a number of minor players being brought into the Naomh Conaill senior squad earlier this season, Doherty hopes that experience will stand to them on Saturday in Letterkenny. 

“We’ll have to play very well to win but we have a lot of good players that were brought into the senior squad this season, and no doubt there’ll be a few more brought in soon,” he said. 

“The boys know it’ll be a challenge this weekend against Four Masters but all we can do is give it a go and see what happens.” 

Four Masters panel: Turlough Carr, Theo Colhoun, Oisin Doherty, Calum Dunnion, Conor McCahill, Cian Gavigan, Cian Gallagher, Tiarnan McBride, Callum McCrea (capt.), Ethan McCrea, Lewis McCaughan, Daniel McGinty, Darragh Griffin, Terence McGovern, Alan McHugh, Tomas Carr, Eoghan O'Neill, Aidan Quinn, Jake Quinn, Lee McNamee, Patrick McGonagle, Thomas Linehan. 

Naomh Conaill panel: Dylan McGlynn, Leon Gallagher McDyre, Conán Brannigan, Fergus Campbell, Peter McGlynn, Finnbarr Roarty, Daithi Molloy, Max Campbell, Danny Brown, Daniel Breslin, Tiarán Ward, Conor Farrell, Stephen McDevitt, Jamie Byrne, Thomas McDevitt, Alan McLoone, Jamie McMonagle-Quinn, Ethan Dewhirst, Phelim Boyle; Owen Hunter, Noah Bonner, Seaghan Boyle, Orin Brannigan, Caolan Breslin Ward, Anton Campbell, Adam Hanlon, Niall Roarty, Eoghan Quinn, Senan O’Donnell, Daire Mongan, Darragh Kennedy, Logan Kellie, Donnach Malone.