COLUMN: Success is no coincidence for Balla Secondary School

Ahead of the All-Ireland C Schools Final, our columnist Ger Flanagan examined his time at the school

BACK IN THE DAY The Balla SS senior team that won the 2010 Flanagan Cup against St Tiernan’s Crossmolina.

THIRTEEN years ago, when this columnist was finishing up his time in Balla Secondary School, an All-Ireland Colleges final was barely a flicker of hope.

If anyone even suggested it, their Kool-Aid would have been sent away for analysis.

So to see Balla SS competing on the grandest stage next weekend is somewhat surreal. It’s a real landmark moment. Not for the school alone, but for the clubs, the families and the community that feeds into it.

When you consider the catchment area, you’d assume Balla would have been there and thereabouts long before now. Balla, Ballintubber, Mayo Gaels make up the majority of the school, and you can throw in some from Breaffy and Castlebar too. 

It’s decent football stock but for whatever reason, over the years didn’t bear the fruits it probably should have.

The last time Balla won a Connacht Colleges title was back in 1990, which marked a back-to-back win having been victorious the year before too. 

Then nothing. A long, barren spell. When you think of the quality of footballers that walked the corridors of that school over the past 35 years, it’s staggering that more wasn’t achieved.

As a former student, I would have loved nothing more than to compete at this level but never got close.

The only bit of silverware we tasted was a Flanagan Cup title back in 2010 when we beat St Tiernan’s of Crossmolina. A team led by Kenneth Nally and Seamus Costello, it was a day I remember very fondly.

There was always something special about playing schools........

© The Mayo News