How St John's Overcame Decades of Defeat to Win the Championship Against All Odds

A Story of Resilience and Triumph

St John's must have doubted so many times whether a day like this would ever come. How could they not? Six gut-wrenching semi-final defeats in seven years, extra-time horrors, and replay hell conspired to leave them with that sickening feeling of so near yet so far every time Dunloy and Cushendall claimed the silver.

Chokers. Bridesmaids. Joint captain Ciaran Johnston referenced all the taunts that were tossed their way through the years. What better way to answer those critics than looking out over a sea of blue and white, ready to bring the Volunteer Cup back to the Whiterock Road for the first time in 52 years.

That is what set the St John's class of 2025 apart; resilience, the word most often referenced by all amid the glorious mayhem when all was said and done in Ballycastle on Sunday.

They just edged beyond Belfast rivals Rossa in the last eight courtesy of a late winner from corner-back Ryan McNulty. Two weeks ago, reigning county kingpins Cushendall were downed after extra-time.

And, when the chips were down against Loughgiel, St John's showed what they are made of – starting fast and leaving the Shamrocks with too many questions to answer, goals from Donal Carson and Oisin MacManus in either half telling only a fraction of the story on a day when heart and guts dragged them over the line at long last.

"It's resilience in this team," said manager and Johnnies stalwart Gerard Cunningham, "they don't know when they're beat, just keep going and going. I actually don't think we were behind there… They came back at us again but we showed great character to go on and get the next score - it's unbelievable."

Cunningham could barely finish that sentence before being engulfed in hugs and handshakes.

Surveying the men stood in the changing rooms once breath was finally caught, he will have recognised the journeys so many have been on. When Colum Cunning's long whistle finally sounded, Domhnall Nugent's legs went from beneath him as he crumpled against the goalpost.

Brother Padraig was one of the first on the scene to lift him back up, tears flowing as the emotion of it all took hold.

Nugent is one of the many who endured all of those difficult days, and more. Personal demons have been battled along the way too, not to mention the long list of injuries that have left him watching from the wings for so much of the last three years.

Reimagined as a goalkeeper, Nugent produced a magnificent save to deny former county team-mate James McNaughton a first half goal.

"People talk about resilience – it's easy to be resilient whenever you're winning, or getting beat in county finals, or All-Ireland campaigns. We haven't got to a county final," he said. "I'm just so proud of every one of them. We got together, looked each other in the eye and we knew we were in the right place at the right time. Of course [in the past], there's been arguments, there's been bickering, there's been people hating each other, people not speaking, but this year it was just 'let's get over that shit'. We're a mature team now – we can't finish our careers without winning a championship. Let's not let that happen."

Mission accomplished.

There will be no Monday club for Nugent – he had a flight booked to Spain for 7am on Monday morning, win or lose. "I'll be sitting in about 12 hours on a sun lounger going, you know what? I'm doing alright…"

One man who won't be getting on a plane any time soon is Peter McCallin, even though he was due to fly back to Australia on Tuesday. McCallin has overcome his own cruciate injury hell – twice - in recent years, coming home from the other side of the world at the start of this championship for another crack, determined that he wouldn't be going back without the Johnnies' name on the trophy once more.

"I might have to push that back now for Ulster," he said of his planned return Down Under. "We knew we were capable of doing that, and it's been resilience. No matter what, if things are going bad, you go back to the well, you go back to the club. The club kept me going in difficult times – I would class these boys as my brothers, every single one of them was there for me when I was going through tough times."