Sam Maguire visits school of 14 Armagh players

Forget the "Sham Maguire" – the real thing was at St Paul’s High School in Bessbrook on Friday– being closely guarded by members of the Armagh squad with strong connections to the school.

Leading the charge was teacher and player Joe McElroy.

“The numbers that this school has churned out for this All-Ireland winning team - I think there were 14 players and three of the management all came from this St Paul's and we are just delighted to get Sam in and to be a part of it all,” he said.

“I got married the week after so my life has changed pretty quickly.

"But the celebrations and the joy that you’re bringing to County Armagh are amazing."

Armagh got their hands on the famous trophy when they won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in July.

The Orchard County beat Galway by 1-11 to 0-13 at Croke Park in Dublin.

The "Sham Maguire" is the monicker which has been given to reports that a fake Sam Maguire trophy was at venues in Carlingford at the weekend.

“I had the cup for an hour last night and I was bringing it around to people who couldn’t make the game due to sickness and old age – so you can’t imagine the joy and how important it is,” Mr McElroy said.

“This definitely is the real deal because I picked it up off the Armagh County Board last night.

"I don’t know how they made the ‘Sham Maguire’ because the real one is a tonne in weight so you’d need some metal to produce that sham.

“This is what it’s all about, it’s a hugely passionate school for sport.”

After a bright orange guard of honour the players brought the trophy to a packed assembly hall where students were given a chance to celebrate the success.

St Paul’s is just a few miles outside of Newry, a city straddles County Down and County Armagh.

Given the geography it was understandable that a few cheeky hints of the red and black of Down could also be seen in the assembly hall.

“They’ve five [All-Ireland titles] and we’re chasing that [Armagh have two] but everyone is very supportive and it is nice to see a little bit of red and black here and there," Mr McElroy said.

"I think we have about 20% Down here because obviously its just over the county border there.”

Armagh's previous All-Ireland win was in 2002, meaning this is the first opportunity for St Paul’s 1,800 students to taste the sport’s ultimate success.

Siblings Aodhan and Alanna play for the nearby Dromintee club.

This week Aodhan’s team won the Armagh U16-championship, while Alanna’s fell short.

Both say Armagh’s journey has been a family and community affair.

“It’s amazing,” Aodhan said.

“Our whole family went down to the game, it was class.”

Alanna agreed: “The celebrations at the club after were unreal. Everyone was just so happy which was great for the community.”

Also at Friday’s celebration was Shea Loughran.

He was the captain of the Armagh minor team that this year lost their All-Ireland final to Derry.

Seeing the senior success will help motivate him and his teammates, he explained.

“We made our All-Ireland final but Derry just beat us, we didn’t bring it home,” he said.

“Obviously we wish we could have done it but in a couple of years hopefully we’ll be back at that stage ready to take another All-Ireland back to Armagh.

“The days after the senior team won it, the buzz was unbelievable. Everyone just wanted to get out and play football."

Time will tell just how many of the 1,800 students celebrating will get the chance to emulate their heroes.