2010 isn’t going to go down in history as a vintage year for too many people in Ireland (don’t get me going about events yesterday – if I start, I fear I won’t be able to stop) but in the world of Gaelic football, it’ll certainly be remembered as a good one for Roscommon.  They may have had to bid a final farewell to the great Dermot Earley this year but it’s also a year that ends with the county in possession of both the senior and U21 provincial titles.

Yesterday in Tuam, Roscommon’s county champions St Brigid’s – a club in the east of the county, from the parish of Kiltoom and Cam, whose red and green colours you encounter within a few minutes of coming off the motorway at Athlone when heading westwards – added the Connacht senior title to that list when they pulled off quite a remarkable win over Killererin in the provincial decider.  A late goal in normal time saved a match the Rossie lads appeared to have lost and then – with Frankie Dolan to the fore – they pulled away impressively to win by 2-14 to 1-10 in extra-time.

Connacht is the first province to complete its club championship (why can’t we do the same at inter-county level, by the way?) and so it’s not clear at this stage who’ll be standing in the way of them as they go off in pursuit of the Andy Merrigan Cup in the New Year.  That should be sorted out over the next week or two and in the meantime the Brigid’s lads can take the well-earned opportunity to savour their second-ever provincial title.