Paul McKeown’s men were defeated by Errigal Ciarán at U15 level, who were undone in the Paul McGirr final by Dromintee
By Jack Madden
November 29, 2025 at 6:00am GMT
FonaCAB Ulster Club Minor Football Tournament quarter-final
Dromintee (Armagh) v Ardboe (Tyrone) (Sunday, St Paul’s, 1pm)
The minors of Dromintee and Ardboe are more familiar than one would come to expect.
Ahead of a meeting at St Paul’s, the blows exchanged in a challenge match in Armagh last summer resurface.
Before victory against Carrickmore in the Tyrone’s premier U18 competition, it had been 12 years since Ardboe were top dogs at minor level.
Michael O’Neill and Michael Cassidy were two of the 2013 stars, soon to be county players, but not before they were undone by a golden Glen generation on their way to four Ulsters in a row in west Belfast.
Now it’s the Paul McGirr winning men from The Orchard that await Paul McKeown’s charges, who registered five goals in their preliminary quarter-final win over Antrim’s Portglenone.
And it’s been a special journey to date, according to the man at the helm:
“Winning the championship was a big one. We’ve won plenty at the top level of minor, but this group didn’t win at U16.
“It was actually the first time the group got beyond the quarter-final of the championship.
“Errigal Ciarán pipped us at U15, and they were subsequently defeated by Dromintee in the final of the McGirr Cup, which was U15 that year.”
McKeown, who drafted in Chrissy McKaigue to his backroom team after the ex Derry star got involved with the Ardboe seniors, is wary of Aidan O’Rourke’s “really well coached” outfit:
“I know everyone is talking about Four Masters and Dungiven, but you have to respect the Ulster champions of this particular age grade.
“We’re no strangers to them believe it or not, we would have had meetings since the lads were eight or nine.
“I’ve been coaching them since they were six or seven, I would have stepped away for a few years with work commitments before coming back in. They’re a special group.
“We’ve worked on creating a special bond. We started training last year on December 1, so this week we’ll be a full 12 months on the go.”
On the influence of McKaigue, McKeown was highly complimentary, with the Oak Leaf stalwart having the small matter of the Ulster hurling final with Sleacht Néill to contend with on Saturday, prior to Sunday’s clash in Belfast.
Also part of Ciarán Meenagh’s new Derry set up, McKaigue seems a believer in the devil making work of idle hands:
“Chrissy’s involvement has been a huge benefit. He has a huge focus on winning.
“I approached him last August, he had been in with our seniors and was on about taking a step back from coaching.
“He said then he’d come in and help us out. When Chrissy McKaigue says he’ll help out, he’s a man of his word.”
By Jack Madden
November 29, 2025 at 6:00am GMT
FonaCAB Ulster Club Minor Football Tournament quarter-final
Dromintee (Armagh) v Ardboe (Tyrone) (Sunday, St Paul’s, 1pm)
The minors of Dromintee and Ardboe are more familiar than one would come to expect.
Ahead of a meeting at St Paul’s, the blows exchanged in a challenge match in Armagh last summer resurface.
Before victory against Carrickmore in the Tyrone’s premier U18 competition, it had been 12 years since Ardboe were top dogs at minor level.
Michael O’Neill and Michael Cassidy were two of the 2013 stars, soon to be county players, but not before they were undone by a golden Glen generation on their way to four Ulsters in a row in west Belfast.
Now it’s the Paul McGirr winning men from The Orchard that await Paul McKeown’s charges, who registered five goals in their preliminary quarter-final win over Antrim’s Portglenone.
And it’s been a special journey to date, according to the man at the helm:
“Winning the championship was a big one. We’ve won plenty at the top level of minor, but this group didn’t win at U16.
“It was actually the first time the group got beyond the quarter-final of the championship.
“Errigal Ciarán pipped us at U15, and they were subsequently defeated by Dromintee in the final of the McGirr Cup, which was U15 that year.”
McKeown, who drafted in Chrissy McKaigue to his backroom team after the ex Derry star got involved with the Ardboe seniors, is wary of Aidan O’Rourke’s “really well coached” outfit:
“I know everyone is talking about Four Masters and Dungiven, but you have to respect the Ulster champions of this particular age grade.
“We’re no strangers to them believe it or not, we would have had meetings since the lads were eight or nine.
“I’ve been coaching them since they were six or seven, I would have stepped away for a few years with work commitments before coming back in. They’re a special group.
“We’ve worked on creating a special bond. We started training last year on December 1, so this week we’ll be a full 12 months on the go.”
On the influence of McKaigue, McKeown was highly complimentary, with the Oak Leaf stalwart having the small matter of the Ulster hurling final with Sleacht Néill to contend with on Saturday, prior to Sunday’s clash in Belfast.
Also part of Ciarán Meenagh’s new Derry set up, McKaigue seems a believer in the devil making work of idle hands:
“Chrissy’s involvement has been a huge benefit. He has a huge focus on winning.
“I approached him last August, he had been in with our seniors and was on about taking a step back from coaching.
“He said then he’d come in and help us out. When Chrissy McKaigue says he’ll help out, he’s a man of his word.”
