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All-Ireland Intermediate Club Football Championship Final: Cyr na Maltola v St Patrick’s Cullihanna |
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venue: croke park, dublin date: Sunday, January 14th Throw in: 15:30 GMT |
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coverage: Match report on the BBC Sport website and app |
Armagh half-forward Ross McQuillan is delighted to be “enjoying the benefits of being home” as he prepares for the All-Ireland interim final with his club St Patrick’s Cullyhana.
McQuillan returned from Australia in 2021 after playing two years in the AFL with the Essendon Bombers.
He is now preparing for Sunday’s biggest game in St Patrick’s history against Sir Na Maltra.
“These are the days I dreamed of as a kid,” McQuillan said.
“It was a difficult decision to return home, but it was truly worth it.
“It’s surreal for the community. There’s people painting sheep and fences and the place is in turmoil.”
St Patrick’s Curriehana have come a long way towards reaching Croke Park’s first final, but McQuillan is keen to savor the opportunity he never thought he would have.
“It would be really special to be able to play in Croke Park with Karyhanna from St Patrick’s, I dream of it but I don’t know if it will happen.
“If you had told us last year, we wouldn’t have believed you to be brutally honest,” he admitted.
“We would have had ambitions to win the Armagh Championship and be the first Curriehanna team to win Ulster, but putting that into action was completely different and we are in the position we are now. I’m glad I was able to do that.”
“We have been training for 63 weeks.”
St Patrick’s are a club that has been on a roll this season after suffering back-to-back relegations and dropping to intermediate level football.
McQuillan believes having a number of players back on the panel has contributed to the turnaround.
“We fought for a while without getting over the line in the senior championships, but then we sent the boys to Australia and America and that dashed our hopes.
“We went through two years of relegation on the bounce, but we decided to bring our boys back and give it our all.
“We have been training for 63 weeks now. [consistently]Thankfully it worked and we made it to the All-Ireland final. ”
St Patrick’s Cullihanna became the first team from Orchard County to win the Ulster Championship by defeating St Paul’s in the Armagh Club final and then Ballyhayes from Cavan in the final.
Stephen Leal’s side defeated Kildare’s Allenwood in the All-Ireland semi-final last Saturday, with McQuillan scoring, to reach a historic first final against Munster champions Cyr na Maltora.
McQuillan, who is one of three Armagh players in the squad, expects the match against the Cork kingpins to be a tough test for his side.
“They’re going to be a big, physical, aerial team. They’re going to be a real Cork team.
“There will be a lot of scoring chances so we want to eliminate them and play the way we want to play.
“We’re not going to change anything and hope it works out for us.”