2026 has offered plenty of opportunities thus far for the great Irish tradition of lamenting the weather; as LBC journalist James O’Brien posed to the GMB Chamber last Thursday, “who’d want to be out playing in that?” The answer is, of course, probably Trinity Gaels. And as the words left his mouth, Trinity Men’s GAA side were romping to victory over SETU Carlow by 3-18 to 2-18, leaving them with a place in Wednesday’s Trench Cup Final against Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. In a thrilling matchup in DCU, Trinity narrowly beat out the Limerick side by a point, prevailing 3-19 against 2-21 in extra time.
The team made a strong start, pulling ahead with an early lead. The highlight of the first half action came from Tom McCarroll, who secured Trinity’s first goal as he raced through the Mary’s defence with a swift 1-2 pass before smashing the ball into the top corner of the opposition net (the Carryduff man was given Player of the Match for his efforts in the final). The strength of the first half performance saw the athletes go in at half-time with a ten-point lead, holding a 2-11 to 1-4 advantage over the opposition. However, similarly to last week’s semi-final, Mary’s fought back to level the tie.
An excellent run of scores from the Limerick college’s forwards saw them build on some early second-half momentum, levelling the score and forcing the match into extra time. The final stages of the match were similarly back and forth, with the contest looking set for a penalty shootout before Darragh Dempsey scored a dramatic late point to secure the victory for the Gaels.
The team was joined by Provost Linda Doyle in raising the trophy, the third occasion of the Trench Cup returning to the college and the first since 2012. As well as adding another piece of silverware to the team’s trophy cabinet, the win will also see Trinity Gaels compete in the 2027 Sigerson Cup. Ryan O’Dwyer, the team’s top scorer in the match with six points, emphasised the importance of this opportunity for the team, especially in light of the disappointment of last year. All eyes will be on the team for this coming campaign as they try to make their mark on the top level of college football.
