Ben Browne of St Patrick's is closed down by Cathal Kilmurray of Coláiste Mhuire during the Leinster PPS Junior 'A' Football final at Abbotstown.

Agony for resurgent Coláiste Mhuire side

Damien Maher

Published: Wed 25 Feb 2026, 6:02 PM

Last updated: Wed 25 Feb 2026, 6:10 PM

St Patrick’s, Meath 4-10, Coláiste Mhuire 3-12

Mullingar’s Coláiste Mhuire were denied a Leinster Post Primary Schools Junior Football ‘A’ title when they lost out by a solitary point against St Patrick’s Classical School, Navan, at the GAA’s National Development Centre, Abbotstown, on Wednesday.

St Patrick’s led by 4-9 to 0-6 midway through the second half, but in a thrilling contest, Coláiste Mhurie produced a remarkable fightback to get within a point in added time. It was agonising at the finish for the Mullingar side, following a wonderful recovery in the second half as goals from Zak Bates, Hugo Corroon and Louie Dillon almost turned the tie in their favour.

In resurgent fashion, Coláiste Mhuire produced some excellent football against a physically stronger opposition and certainly had the Navan side chasing shadows in the final quarter. However, the dominance of St Patrick’s for three quarters of the game was enough to secure them the title and in wing-back Oisín Giles, midfielder Conn Brennan and corner forward Harry McGuirk, they had formidable footballers.

Conn Brennan is presented with the Leinster PPS Junior Football 'A' trophy by Michael McHugh (representing Leinster PPS).

It was a delighted and indeed relieved Conn Brennan who accepted the Leinster ‘A’ trophy from Michael McHugh, on behalf of Leinster Post Primary Schools, after a hugely dramatic contest.

Meanwhile, Coláiste Mhuire's senior footballers are preparing for the All-Ireland semi-final against Abbey CBS, Newry, on Saturday, in what is a big week for the secondary school. At present the Hogan Cup semi-final is fixed for Abbotstown (3.30pm), but neither side are happy to play on astro turf and efforts are underway to find a suitable venue for such a prestigious fixture.

Scorers - St Patrick’s, Navan: H McGuirk 1-6 (1tp; 2f), C Brennan 2-2, O Giles 1-0, J Finnegan and J Heery 0-1 each.

Coláiste Mhuire: Z Bates 1-2, C Keena 0-4 (2 2pt f), H Corroon 1-1 (1-0 pen.), L Dillon 1-0, C Clinton 0-3 (1f), M Brennan and C Kilmurray 0-1 each.

St Patrick’s: Ryan McDonnell; Art O’Neill, Niall Rogan, Ben Browne; Oisín Giles, Michael Gormley, Conor Larkin; Conn Brennan (Capt.), Tomás Proudfoot; Eanna Kenny, Cormac McKenna, Johnny Finnegan; James Heery, Patrick Travers, Harry McGuirk. Subs: Jack Kenny for Travers (36), Charlie Reuter for Kenny (45).

Coláiste Mhuire: Tom McCaul; Peadar Baird, Louie Dillon (JC), Tom Leech; Cathal Keena, Josh Scahill, Tom Weir (JC), Michael Brennan, Aidan Doyle; Hugo Corroon, Adam Slevin Kiernan, Colm Clinton; Jamie Leech, Zak Bates, Josh Mullaniff. Subs: Liam O’Brien for T Leech (ht), Matthew Webb for J Leech (40), Cathal Kilmurray for Doyle (42).

Referee: Brian O’Connor (Dublin).