South West College (SWC) made the long trip to compete in the semi-final of the 2024 Electric Ireland Corn na Mac Leinn HE GAA Senior Football Championship last Friday.
It was to be a rematch of the semi-final of last year's competition against New York and like 2023 it was the Yanks who came out on top.
But there was to be some success for the SWC players as they defeated Cavan Institute in the Shield Final of the competition to bring some silverware home with them.
In the semi-final against New York, it was all square at half time but two second-half goals proved the difference at full-time.
Tiarnan McKenna, Cian O’Brien and Paidi Drumm got the points for SWC as they were beaten 3-08 to 0-08. This meant they went to the Shield Final against Cavan Institute.
But SWC used a strong second-half wind to their advantage and brilliantly weathered a late Cavan Institute onslaught to secure the shield on a scoreline of 2-12 to 2-10.
Commenting on the win SWC manager, Dermott Feely said: “Absolutely delighted with the lads reaction to Friday’s defeat. Under tough conditions, the lads battled to the very end to claim a two-point victory against a strong Cavan team. “The legs were sore after their third game in a week, so credit where credit is due.
“The lads deserved to take the Shield back up the road after a tough championship in
which they can take the credit of being All-Ireland champions within Ireland.
“A most enjoyable weekend and I hope the lads take home fond memories of Tralee.”