Football

Armagh minors to 'Run against the Sun'

Clann Eireann midfielder Oran McCafferty is part of the Armagh minor squad
Clann Eireann midfielder Oran McCafferty is part of the Armagh minor squad Clann Eireann midfielder Oran McCafferty is part of the Armagh minor squad

ROUND one of the Ulster Minor Football Championship was scheduled to be played tomorrow and the Covid-19 enforced postponement of the four games came as a huge disappointment to a generation of emerging players with ambitions for success at provincial and national level.

Thankfully the competition has been saved, not scrapped, and (health concerns permitting) it is now expected to follow along the same lines as the Ulster Senior Championship. Armagh were originally scheduled to travel to Monaghan tomorrow but now they will take on Derry in a straight knock-out curtainraiser before the Orchard county’s Ulster Senior Championship clash with the Oak Leaf county when (if) the GAA season resumes.

That isn’t expected to be before November and in the meantime the Armagh youngsters have channelled their energy positively by accepting a challenge from Dublin All-Ireland winner Dean Rock to run a squad 5K. Speaking just after he’d completed his run in an impressive 21.18 minutes yesterday, Clann Eireann midfielder Oran McCafferty explained that Rock’s invitation for Armagh to get behind the ‘Run against the Sun’ fundraising challenge was helping to keep the squad united.

The Clann Eireann midfielder was part of the Orchard U17 panel last year but hand injuries (he broke both of his thumbs in the space of three months) ruled him out of championship action. He was also part of the St Colman’s College MacRory Cup squad last season and had played Rannafast Cup football with the Newry school before transferring closer to home to St Ronan’s to study for his A-Levels.

“Every player in our squad has to submit a 5K time by 4pm tomorrow,” he explained.

“We had already been completing challenges, we started last week with different skill challenges and we were put into groups of four and five to compete against each other. Now we’re doing this as a full squad of 30 and we all put the times together and send it off.

“Dublin are involved and the likes of Meath are as well. It was Dean Rock who came up with it so all the times we do get posted to him.”

He added: “It’s important to have a focus to train for because it gives you something to do, it will keep us fit and ticking over until the time does come to start training and playing games again. It keeps us together as a team as well because we’re all communicating and working together.”

St Michael’s College, Enniskillen won last year’s MacRory Cup on the way to sweeping all before them with their first ever victory in the Hogan Cup final. At just 16, Oran did well to get a place on the St Colman’s panel for the competition and, after featuring in midfield for Armagh during the Ulster League this year, he hopes to be in the starting line-up for the Ulster Championship opener against Derry and then push on to the senior ranks.

Dublin and Ballymun Kickham’s forward Dean Rock has organised the ‘Run against the Sun’ fundraiser in aid of Stewarts Foundation. To donate to the appeal go to: www.gofundme.com/f/run-against-the-sun