Pauric Boyle plays his part in a unique double for St Eunan's

Not many players in any given county get to play a role in winning a Senior A Championship, but Pauric Boyle enjoyed a unique double achievement on Sunday as he helped St Eunan’s to Senior B glory before playing his part in their dramatic Senior A Championship triumph later in the day.

The Monaghan native played 62 minutes as the reserves defeated Four Masters by 0-12 to 0-6 in the Senior B final, before coming off the bench in the closing stages of the Senior A decider against Naomh Conaill, replacing the injured Conor O’Donnell Jnr with the game finely poised.

It was a memorable day for Boyle, whose season has been disrupted by injury, including a dislocated elbow that kept him sidelined for three months, but he was ready when called upon as St Eunan’s secured a remarkable double.

“I’ve had an injury-interrupted year and been in and out, I haven’t played as much as I’d have before.

“But you always have to be ready. Niall came on in the first half, and that’s a forward sub gone straight away, but you always have to be ready to jump in and I was lucky to get a few minutes.

Boyle is a former Clontibret player in his native Monaghan, but is now living in Letterkenny.

And he was never a stranger to facing Naomh Conaill before heading to the North West, as his local side faced the Glenties men in the Ulster Club Championship semi-final, losing out as Naomh Conaill went on to lose the final to Kilcoo.

But he was on the right side of it this time, although it looked like it would be another disappointment as Ethan O’Donnell hit the net and Shea Malone kicked a two-pointer to put the men in blue ahead, before James Kelly got them back in it with a goal from close range.

Malone and John O’Malley both raised orange flags, but Ciaran Moore hit two late points and a superb two-pointer from Niall O’Donnell got them level, before Moore kicked over in what was the last action of the game for a 1-16 to 1-15 win.

“It was nice to get on in the end of the game, it went down to the wire and you might have felt like it was heading the other way and Naomh Conaill would sneak it.

“But we showed great character towards the end, and we got a couple of chances and nailed them. Ciaran Moore got a lovely one towards the end and Niall (O’Donnell) with a big two-pointer.

“It was looking like a big period in the game with the way momentum goes in games these days, but thankfully we got a goal straight away after, it may have been fortunate in a way, but we needed it, and it steadied us up. Towards the end, they got a couple of big turnovers, but we didn’t panic and got those big scores at the end to creep over the line.”

And while they will now face the Fermanagh champions in Ulster quarter-finals in three weeks, securing the Dr Maguire has put the icing on the cake for a dominant year for the Black and Amber.

It’s a great day for the club and a great year for the club, we already had a hurling title and ladies title, so the reserves and seniors really topped it off.

“It’s a brilliant year. I think our Under-14s won a title, and the Under-16s won last Monday night as well, so it has been a phenomenal year for the club. But that doesn’t happen by accident, a lot of work is going on in the background, with people giving up time and coaching and putting in plenty of hours, so we’re grateful for that.”