WHEN THE FOUNDATIONS for Mercy Mounthawk were being dug, it was a coming together of St Mary’s Moyderwell and St John’s Balloonagh on land owned by the Sisters of Mercy, opened in time for the start of the new term, September 2002.

The growing population of Tralee meant that Tralee CBS, known as ‘The Green’, could no longer cater for the numbers around the town and hinterlands.

Whatever hopes and aspirations were laid out for the school, football would have been placed somewhere high on the list of priorities.

Since Coláiste Chríost Rí of Cork’s win in 2011, the Corn Uí Mhuirí has stayed in Kerry. It spent a glorious four consecutive years out in Dingle at Pobalscoi Chorca Dhuibhna when for some of that spell they were managed by the serving Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice.

The rest of the time though it was owned by St Brendan’s Killarney, with Tralee CBS sniping in for one in 2020.

On Saturday, it will all be about Tralee. The Corn Uí Mhuirí final is hosted at Austin Stack Park and is between the aforementioned two; The CBS, coached by Marc ÓSé, and Mercy Mounthawk, under the management of Aidan O’Shea, known to many as Jacko’s son.

Tralee CBS are seeking their 17th title, having won their first in 1931, while Mercy Mounthawk are going for their first.

The interesting thing is that Tralee, as a football mad town, is undergoing some turbulence. The twin pillars of Austin Stacks and Kerins O’Rahilly have both intermediate status now, along with the storied John Mitchels.

Na Gaeil are the town’s representatives at senior level.

The current state of play there will not worry the bumper crowd that will arrive in Austin Stack Park on Saturday, according to Kerry minor manager and former Stacks boss, Wayne Quillinan.

“It’s a once-off occasion, it hasn’t happened before. Two Tralee teams so it’s generated huge interest,” he says.

“Not just the guys that are involved with the school, but just the general public. There’s a good buzz around here about it and I think it will draw a massive crowd here on Saturday.”

In his own county minor panel, Quillinan has five players involved with The Green, and two from Mounthawk. From his conversations with those players, he is blown away by the preparation the teams are enjoying.

“The big thing comes down from the preparation by all the schools. Not just the two in the final. I think it’s like anything in football; the level of preparation compared to the resources you have, it’s been taken up so, so much and schools have followed in,” he says.

“I think it’s football in general. From intercounty down, the levels of preparation have gone up. Everything has gone down to the one percenters, so you are trying to find that. If that’s about analysing the opposition and finding out strengths and weaknesses on individual players.

“That’s what it comes down to and obviously that starts at intercounty level and comes down to club, filtering down to schools. At every level, at Corn Uí Mhuirí level, preparation at schools is really up there. It’s really high.”

Up in Armagh’s Box-It Athletic Grounds on Sunday, the biggest provincial final in schools sport is taking place in the Cardinal MacRory Cup final.

For the second year in a row, the cup will definitely spend the year in Tyrone.

Omagh CBS are back to defend this title, having beaten Holy Trinity Cookstown last year before going on to win the Hogan Cup with a landslide win over Sligo’s Summerhill College in the decider.

This time, St Patrick’s Academy of Dungannon stand in their way. The two have five MacRory Cups each and two Hogan Cups.

What’s more, those schools have powered Tyrone underage teams to frequent All-Ireland success at underage levels.

Seamus Woods, a former teacher at Omagh CBS and Tyrone footballer of renown, retired in 2003.

Throughout his teaching career he was involved in administrating Ulster school’s GAA activities, and took on the role of secretary 21 years ago. It’s a full-time role.

“Well,” he explains, “volunteers have the ultimate option of saying, ‘well, houl on lads…’”

But he doesn’t. In truth, he loves it.

This Sunday, they are expecting a crowd that would outnumber some Ulster senior championship matches.

Last year, the Omagh and Cookstown teams drew a crowd of 6,500 to the final on 12 February.

Tyrone were playing at home against Donegal the week before. A few weeks after, they had Kerry at home. Neither attendance came close.

“The only other competition that comes remotely near the MacRory Cup on the island, is the Harty Cup in Munster,” says Woods.

“They are mesmerised down the road, by the crowds we get. Our record crowd for a MacRory Cup final was 9,500 and that was the first year St Paul’s Bessbrook were in it, in 2013 when they lost to St Pat’s Maghera by a point.”

How does he explain the popularity?

“Club people are coming to them to see their players. There’s a massive interest from within the club constituency for schools football. Not only an interest, but an appreciation of the standard of it,” he says.

“It’s the clubs that feed into schools and then the schools reciprocate as well, so it’s a two-way street.

“You have four (Tyrone) schools in the MacRory Cup, which is a record for any county.”

Clubs, schools and county all working together to maintain their rich footballing heritage.