St. Aidan’s teacher and coach Richie O’Callaghan says a much improved second-half performance was key for his side as they claimed a second Ulster title in 2024.

O’Callaghan led the school to its first boys final in 51 years back in January and came out with a win in Augher over Belfast school Coláiste Feirste in the McCormack Cup.

Last Thursday, St. Aidan’s defeated Largy College, Clones in the McEvoy Cup final leaving O’Callaghan joyous.

“Ah brilliant, it’s fantastic, totally over the moon for them,” he said after the game.

“It’s just a massive effort throughout the year. This team has been going since October and to be able to go from then to now is just a massive credit to them, it’s been fantastic working with them and I’m just over the moon for them that they got their just rewards today.”

He acknowledged that his side was slow to get going in Brewster Park offensively, but a few words at halftime seemingly worked a treat in the second half.

“First half kinda didn’t go our way, as a forward unit we weren’t great, we were very static, we didn’t get ourselves moving right, we didn’t take our men on as we know we can,” he added.

“That was the challenge at halftime and that’s what I said to a lot of them and in fairness the goals came off us going and taking men on and being aggressive towards their goal.

"That was the aim, that’s what they did, I knew that if they did that, we would have got over the line and got those goals. At halftime, the question was there, I wasn’t 100 per cent sure but I’m glad that they responded the way they did.

"They came at us in the first half, kinda ripped us to shreds at times in fairness to them, only for Thomas (Fitzpatrick) in nets. 

"It would have been very hard to come back from what they had threatened but that’s why he’s there, that’s why he’s a great keeper, that’s why we put him there.

"He is a great keeper and he showed that today on several occasions, I’m over the moon personally for him as well, he’s had a couple of injuries and stuff.

"But very happy to go into halftime level and I'd say Largy would have went in frustrated to go in level. It was definitely positive for us.”

After successive wins in cup finals after such a long wait, the Enniskillen Gaels man says the same group will be hungry to go again as they look forward to making the step up in the competition next year: “These boys are with us for another year, we’ll go back in September we’ll train hard again, and we’ll try it again.

"We’ll be moving up now obviously to a higher competition but again that will be the challenge. It will be put to them, and I hope they respond to it the way they responded this year.

"You never know, but I’m sure they’ll rise to the challenge whatever it is.”