The Connacht season winds up in customary style tomorrow when the blue riband of the junior game, the Heineken Junior Cup final between Sligo and Connemara, acts as the centrepiece of a four-match programme at the Sportsground.
Technically speaking the second-best junior team in the country after finishing runners-up to Naas in the AIL roundrobin qualifying series, Connemara will be favourites to avenge last year's defeat in the final to Sligo and thus complete a rare double after beating Buccaneers 41-9 in the league final a week ago.
Their sole success in the Cup and one previous double was in 1995. However, the Connemara All Blacks lost seven of the eight Cup finals they contested in the '90s. A young, largely remodelled team over the last few seasons, only 37-year-old former Connacht full back Henry O'Toole and veteran prop Gerry King survive from the side which went 92 junior league games unbeaten from the late '80s to the mid-'90s.
Coached by former Offaly footballer Aidan O'Halloran, they were also unluckily edged out of qualification for the AIL after losing narrowly to Naas in their opening game before beating Bruff and Coleraine. This marked a fourth failure to progress from the round robin and a third in successive years.
Always more suited to Sunday matches given much of their playing base is drawn from the farming community, Sligo regrouped after losing their AIL status two seasons ago to win the Junior Cup under coach Pat Curran. They possess a strong and experienced spine in Eric Brett, Finbar Filan, Peter Mullan, Gavin Foley, Ken O'Neill, Aidan Ryan and Oisin Grennan.
A crowd of 1,000 is expected to travel from Clifden alone, and with sizeable support also expected from Sligo, not to mention other clubs with a vested interest in tomorrow's four-match programme, the Sportsground should have one of its biggest attendances of the season.
The under-14 Cup final kicks off proceedings at 12.30, followed by an under-12 exhibition match between Sligo and Connemara, and following the main event at 3.00, the Junior Plate final concludes the programme at 5.30. As well as live music between games, bars and refreshments will be available.
Continuing a succession of personal awards in a season when he has been ignored at national level, Victor Costello was yesterday honoured as Leinster's Player of the Year at a luncheon in the Berkeley Court Hotel. Stephen Minogue of Naas was chosen as the Leinster League Player of the Year, the Leinster Young Player of the year award went to Old Belvedere's Simon Keogh, while the Leinster Hall of Fame award went to Dave O'Leary of Blackrock College.
