Drumree celebrates All-Ireland success of Armagh's Ross
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Jason Duffy, left, Ross McQuillan, centre, and Aidan Nugent of Armagh lift the Sam Maguire Cup after the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final match between Armagh and Galway at Croke Park. Photo: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile Ramsey Cardy / SPORTSFILEImage 2 of 5
Ross McQuillan, left, and Jarly Óg Burns of Armagh, son of GAA president, Jarlath Burns, celebrate after Armagh’s win on Sunday. Photo: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile Ramsey Cardy / SPORTSFILEImage 3 of 5
Ross McQuillan of Armagh in action against Liam Silke of Galway during the All-Ireland Football Final. Photo: Daire Brennan/Sportsfile Dáire Brennan / SPORTSFILEImage 4 of 5
Ross McQuillan and Darragh Campion as co-captains of the Dunshaughlin Community College team that won the 2017 North Leinster Colleges SFC B championship. Photo: Dunshaughlin GAA FacebookImage 5 of 5
Ross McQuillan in action for Dunshaughlin Community College. Photo: Dunshaughlin & Royal GaelsEvan Kelly, of Meath's 1999 jubilee team being feted on Croke Park on Sunday was not the only Drumree connection to Sunday's All-Ireland senior football final fixture.
Ross McQuillan, one of Kieran McGeeney's subs to come on for Armagh, spent a great deal of his youth in his mother's native Drumree and attended Dunshaughlin Community College.
He was celebrating winning his second All-Ireland title this year - in January the 2023 Armagh IFC Player of the Year helped his club, St Patrick's Cully, to an Intermediate Championship title in Croke Park, in a hard fought win over Cork’s Cill na Martra. It was his goal against Allenwood that got Cully to that final.
Son of former Armagh great Martin McQuillan and Jackie McCann from Knockmark in Drumree, and grandson of the late Petey McCann, the family lived at Knockmark for a period when Ross attended Culmullen National School, and then Dunshaughlin Community College. He won an under-13 hurling league with Drumree, and then, with Skryne and current Meath player, Darragh Campion, he co-captained the Dunshaughlin Community College side that won the 2017 North Leinster Colleges SFC B final.
With the family moving back to Cully, McQuillan made his Armagh senior debut in the 2018 Championship season, before heading to Australia in 2019 when offered an international rookie deal by Essendon Bombers. But he decided Aussie Rules wasn’t for him and he left after one season into a two-year contract and returned to Cullyhanna to work in the family fruit and veg business and play his football for club and county, rewarded with a place in the annals of Ulster and All-Ireland history with his team's win in Sunday's win over Galway by one point. Ross came on as a sub in the 46th minute for Tiarnan Kelly, with Stefan Campbell for Conor Turbitt, just after Aaron McKay's goal for Kieran McGeeney's side.
The Drumree and Dunshaughlin GAA clubs congratulated him on his All-Ireland success at the weekend.