Aiming for glory

The INEC Arena will be filled with supporters from clubs all over Ireland eager to see if their competitors can win a coveted All Ireland title.

With County Antrim and Ulster Final wins already achieved this year, Ballad Group member Una McStravick said there’s a great buzz in advance of the All Ireland final.

She said: “It’s great to be in an All Ireland final and representing our parish on a national stage. We’ve really enjoyed competing this year and as ever we’ve had great support from family, friends and club members. Scor is very strong in St Mary’s and earlier this year we had our first ever Ulster Finalists in Scor Na n’Og, which is a good sign that there’s plenty of talented young people coming through.”

In fact this is St Mary’s sixth appearance in an All Ireland Senior Scor Final, with competitors from the club previously reaching All Ireland finals in solo singing, novelty act and ballad group categories.

Una said: “Gaelic football and camogie are very strong in the parish and we are very proud that we also have one of the strongest Scor clubs in Ulster. It brings a whole different dimension to a GAA club and gets lots of people involved, particularly during the winter months.”

St Mary’s only previous All Ireland win was in 1999 when the ballad group were victorious in the Ulster Hall.

Una said: “It was a wonderful occasion to win an All Ireland on home soil. That was on April 24, the same date as this year's final so we’re hoping it’s a lucky omen. "There are lots of supporters travelling down for the weekend and we’ll enjoy it whatever the outcome, but if we win it’ll be the icing on the cake."

The Ballad Group: Una McStravick; Anne Crawford; Caitriona McAtarsney; Adrian Hannon; and Joe McDonald will compete against groups from Kerry, Leitrim, and Offaly. They will sing Neansai and My Heart’s Tonight in Ireland in the final.

Una had special praise for one person who has really made the All Ireland weekend possible.

She explained; “Bronagh Carlin had to step in at very short notice to perform with us in the Ulster Final when one of our group became unavailable. She did brilliantly to pick up the songs in such a short period and we simply wouldn’t be here without her."