It will be a strange day for Kieran Donnelly when he takes his place in the sideline in the Athletic Grounds on Monday afternoon with the intention of leading Omagh CBS to victory over his old school, St Michael’s Enniskillen.

Donnelly is a past pupil and former MacRory Cup player with St Michael’s but understandably, his loyalties lie with the Tyrone school in the final.

“It is unique in that I’m coming up against my old school and I would have very fond memories of my time in St Michael’s with Peter McGinnity taking the MacRory team at that time.

“But my loyalties are with this current group of players and the school that I am in. I have a very mature, young group and I would be very fond of them so my full focus is on Omagh CBS on the 18th,” he states.

Omagh come into the final having gone through the campaign unbeaten but Donnelly stresses that it has been far from plain sailing and he expects their toughest test to date to come.

“We are unbeaten this year so far but it has been a tough campaign from after Christmas. We beat St Michael’s in a MacCormack semi but there was nothing between us bar us getting goals. The quarter final against St Colman’s was a competitive game, we kept them at arms length bar them getting a goal near the end but they were a decent team and we were glad to come through that. We then had our week long saga with St Pat’s Armagh, it was really competitive and a test of our boys character as they had to get themselves up for three nights in the space of a week. It feels like a long campaign and we know we are going to get our toughest test against St Michael’s in the final,” he said.

As Donnelly mentions, Omagh have already beaten St Michael’s this season, netting five times as they saw off the Fermanagh side in the McCormick Cup semi-final. However, he feels that will have no bearing on Monday’s final.

“You read nothing into those games as all, it was just preparation for the quarter final. There will be nothing between us, it is the two best teams in the competition and I know that Dom will have St Michael’s well organised. We know that it will be a kick of the ball between the two teams, that’s what we have our lads prepared for,” he added.

Omagh also put five goals past Amagh in the semi-final and while Donnelly accepts that they are strong in attack, he is also wary of the attacking prowess that St Michael’s possess.

“We have a good forward line, we know that, it is one of our strengths and we have players who are hungry for goals. St Michael’s though have an excellent forward line in their own right as well. Love, McBrien and Glynn are all real quality footballers and you will find that it is a final with a lot of talent on show for both teams,” said the former Fermanagh player.

And he believes that the game will come down to whoever takes their chances on the day.

“I suppose on the day you just hope that both teams do themselves justice and make it a really good final. It will then come down to whoever takes their chances and whoever rises to the occasion the most.

“It is a brilliant occasion and there will be a massive noise on the day with both schools bringing a lot of supporters with them and I think the players deserve that given the massive commitment that they have made,” he concluded.