Robert Emmet’s Slaughtneil, Ulster treble champions.
It can’t be understated, the grandness of what this tiny Derry club have achieved.
At the foot of the Glenshane mountain – in a community of a few hundred families and an area of windy roads, fields, no shops, and nothing really but Gaelic pitches – the most dominant club in the north lies.
Slaughtneil represents everything good about the GAA. It’s at the heart of the community, it has a place for everyone and, whether you want to play football, hurling, or camogie, you can do it with the Robert Emmet’s and, by God, you can do it well.
On Sunday, Mickey Moran guided the club to their second Ulster football title in three years. Even that needs to be talked about because, before Moran took charge in 2014, the south Derry outfit were not this dominant force that they are today. They had won just one football title ever before in Derry – and that was a full decade previous.
They stopped reading history though. They started making it.
2016 Ulster senior camogie champions
2016 Ulster senior hurling champions
The first and only Derry club to ever win this, by the way.
2016 Ulster senior football champions
Shane McGuigan hit five points in Armagh as Slaughtneil ousted Down champions Kilcoo with three to spare on a scoreline of 0-12 to 0-9.
The club now boast three senior provincial titles in the one season.
This is history. One club, three codes. #TheToughest #CandC pic.twitter.com/QkuoHD2EQ8
— Derry GAA (@Doiregaa) November 27, 2016
And full back Brendan Rogers looks delighted.
A great day for @BrendanRogers6 pic.twitter.com/CNPI82qv4p
— Derry GAA (@Doiregaa) November 27, 2016
Elsewhere, a first half hat-trick from Daithi Casey eased Dr Crokes to the Munster title whilst Corofin had no problems reclaiming their Connacht championship with an emphatic hammering of St. Brigid’s.
1-2 from Mossy Quinn helped St. Vincent’s through a nervy encounter in the Leinster semi-final in Longford and they now face Offaly’s Rhode in the decider.
Connacht club SFC final
Corofin (Galway) 2-13 St Brigid’s (Roscommon) 0-05
Ulster club SFC final
Slaughtneil (Derry) 0-12 – 0-09 Kilcoo (Down)
Munster club SFC final
Dr Crokes (Kerry) 3-15 – 0-06 The Nire (Waterford)
Munster club IFC final
Kenmare (Kerry) 1-20 Adare (Limerick) 1-8
Leinster club SFC semi-finals
Rhode (Offaly) 0-12 Sean O’Mahonys (Louth) 1-05
St. Vincent’s (Dublin) 2-12 Mullinalaghta (Longford) 0-11
Dick Clerkin makes his GAA Hour debut to talk about a wonderful career and argue passionately with Colm Parkinson over Sky Sports GAA. Subscribe here on iTunes.
