Joy on the Moy as Ballina win Cawley Cup final in Galway

A long and loud rendition of 'The Boys From The County Mayo' rang out over Galway Bay on Saturday afternoon as the Ballina rugby team celebrated a 24-17 win over Creggs in Crowley Park.

The men in green had just won the Cawley Cup final and it was time to celebrate.

In truth, the celebrations were well-deserved. Ballina had left body and soul on the pitch in search of victory and were the better team on the day. That said, Creggs were outstanding opposition and the men from East Galway never threw in the towel, scoring a converted try in injury-time to leave just a score between the teams at the end.

Ballina played into the strong breeze and driving rain in the first half, but took a 14-7 lead to the break. They hit the front in the opening minute when hooker Billy McVann got over for a try, converted by Cian Anderson. 

Creggs, who have been the standard-bearers in junior rugby in the province for the past few seasons, hit back when out-half Shane Dowd dived over for a try from close-range and Mark Purcell converted.

However, Ballina were not for turning and with Ronan Molloy outstanding in the centre and Thomas Hannigan, Pat Howley and Conor Boyce excellent in the pack while Cian Quinn working wonders at out-half, the Ballina men took the lead again when McVann touched down in the left corner after a rolling maul off a line-out.

Teenage kicker, Conor Connolly, converted brilliantly from the touchline and the Moysiders took a seven-point lead to the break.

They looked to build on it early in the second period when they enjoyed a large dose of territory and possession, but the Creggs defensive display was nothing short of excellent.

Ciaran Purcell, Luke Divilly, Brian Diffley and their colleagues threw everything in front of the marauding Mayo men and kept them scoreless until the final quarter.

Then, Ballina were awarded a penalty two steps into the Creggs half and Connolly struck a stunning long-range kick straight between the sticks to put his side 17-7 clear.

That sparked Creggs into life and they were rewarded for powerful attacking play when Purcell drove a penalty between the posts to close the gap to seven with eight minutes to play.

Once again, Ballina went in search of scores and when powerful play from Calum Quinn, Gary Kavanagh, Sean O'Connell, Brian O'Donohoe and their colleagues forced a mistake on the Creggs line Dan Molloy dived over the line for the winning try.

Connolly converted and Ballina were 24-10 clear.

However, Creggs refused to fade away and a break-out try from Michael Dunne, converted by Purcell gave them hope again.

However, that was as close as they could come to overhauling the Ballina men and a few minutes later, Luke Sweeney was hoisting the big cup into the sky before his team's famous victory song rang across Galway city.