Ulster Colleges

[Targetman]

From my days at the Abbey I never remembered anyone from Lurgan even going to the school never mind playing Mac Rory cup, Lurgan ones all went to the Armagh Rd!!

[ONARAGGATIP]

From my days at the Abbey I never remembered anyone from Lurgan even going to the school never mind playing Mac Rory cup, Lurgan ones all went to the Armagh Rd!!

it was bad enough having to listen to the ones from south Armagh.

[Targetman]

Ach they were monya craic!!

[jmk]

 being from Lurgan , I've never heard of anyone from the town who ever went to the Abbey

[armaghniac]

being from Lurgan , I've never heard of anyone from the town who ever went to the Abbey

The Abbey had many positive features.

[Owen Brannigan]

From my days at the Abbey I never remembered anyone from Lurgan even going to the school never mind playing Mac Rory cup, Lurgan ones all went to the Armagh Rd!!

Ok, there are a few going to the Abbey given that there is a bus running every day.  With the epicentre of colleges football shifting to Lurgan, looks like no one wanting to play at the top level going to Armagh either.

[The Gs Man]

Mulholland aghagallon
Haddock clan eireann
Mulholland aghagallon
Mc closkey Eire og
Mccreanor clan na gael
Lamont aghagallon
Haughey Wolfe tones
Lenehan aghagallon
Kelly clan eireann
Meehan clan eireann
Loughran aghagallon
Smyth sarsfields
Mc conville st pauls
Monterio tir na nog
Mc conville clan eireann

Subs used:

Megoran wolfe fones
Mc afee aghagallon

So, the days of leaving Lurgan to go to Newry to the Abbey or Colman's to win a MacRory Cup medal are well and truly over. Imagine how competitive St Ronan's would be if all the best players in its catchment area stayed in Lurgan for their post 16 education.

The first years who have applied to St.Ronan's next year is already well above what they're allowed to take.

It'll be the biggest school in the north, numbers wise, when the new build is finished in a couple of years.

[nrico2006]

Mulholland aghagallon
Haddock clan eireann
Mulholland aghagallon
Mc closkey Eire og
Mccreanor clan na gael
Lamont aghagallon
Haughey Wolfe tones
Lenehan aghagallon
Kelly clan eireann
Meehan clan eireann
Loughran aghagallon
Smyth sarsfields
Mc conville st pauls
Monterio tir na nog
Mc conville clan eireann

Subs used:

Megoran wolfe fones
Mc afee aghagallon

So, the days of leaving Lurgan to go to Newry to the Abbey or Colman's to win a MacRory Cup medal are well and truly over. Imagine how competitive St Ronan's would be if all the best players in its catchment area stayed in Lurgan for their post 16 education.

The first years who have applied to St.Ronan's next year is already well above what they're allowed to take.

It'll be the biggest school in the north, numbers wise, when the new build is finished in a couple of years.

I take it a lot of the Clann Eireann minor squad go to other schools then?

[The Gs Man]

Mulholland aghagallon
Haddock clan eireann
Mulholland aghagallon
Mc closkey Eire og
Mccreanor clan na gael
Lamont aghagallon
Haughey Wolfe tones
Lenehan aghagallon
Kelly clan eireann
Meehan clan eireann
Loughran aghagallon
Smyth sarsfields
Mc conville st pauls
Monterio tir na nog
Mc conville clan eireann

Subs used:

Megoran wolfe fones
Mc afee aghagallon

So, the days of leaving Lurgan to go to Newry to the Abbey or Colman's to win a MacRory Cup medal are well and truly over. Imagine how competitive St Ronan's would be if all the best players in its catchment area stayed in Lurgan for their post 16 education.

The first years who have applied to St.Ronan's next year is already well above what they're allowed to take.

It'll be the biggest school in the north, numbers wise, when the new build is finished in a couple of years.

I take it a lot of the Clann Eireann minor squad go to other schools then?

Not sure, but they've 8 lads on the panel, which is a large enough number surely?

Some of them could be lower 6th or younger so may not have made the squad this year.

[nrico2006]

Mulholland aghagallon
Haddock clan eireann
Mulholland aghagallon
Mc closkey Eire og
Mccreanor clan na gael
Lamont aghagallon
Haughey Wolfe tones
Lenehan aghagallon
Kelly clan eireann
Meehan clan eireann
Loughran aghagallon
Smyth sarsfields
Mc conville st pauls
Monterio tir na nog
Mc conville clan eireann

Subs used:

Megoran wolfe fones
Mc afee aghagallon

So, the days of leaving Lurgan to go to Newry to the Abbey or Colman's to win a MacRory Cup medal are well and truly over. Imagine how competitive St Ronan's would be if all the best players in its catchment area stayed in Lurgan for their post 16 education.

The first years who have applied to St.Ronan's next year is already well above what they're allowed to take.

It'll be the biggest school in the north, numbers wise, when the new build is finished in a couple of years.

I take it a lot of the Clann Eireann minor squad go to other schools then?

Not sure, but they've 8 lads on the panel, which is a large enough number surely?

Some of them could be lower 6th or younger so may not have made the squad this year.

Was thinking they would have more given their success over the past few years.

[The Gs Man]

Think a lot of their minor team left St.Ronan's last year.

See the lads running around in the morph suits yesterday? Mostly Clann Eireann... :-)

[illdecide]

St Ronan's will be in or around 2000 pupils, bear in mind 50% of that figure are female (or there about), you wanna see the sporting set up for their new school...very impressive in deed. Aghagallon are really strong at minor level and i'm glad to see it, hopefully they can mature into good senior players and compete at senior level in Antrim...In all seriousness Aghagallon has a great catchment area and is getting bigger by the year, soon it'll be a small town, it's expanding like Jim Stynes waistline . An antrim senior Championship in the next 5 years? (bold statement).

Funny you men mention the Abbey, any Lurgan man with half a brain ended up at St Coleman's but never the Abbey. suppose they had the football in mind when selecting their school .

[lurganblue]

St Ronan's will be in or around 2000 pupils, bear in mind 50% of that figure are female (or there about), you wanna see the sporting set up for their new school...very impressive in deed. Aghagallon are really strong at minor level and i'm glad to see it, hopefully they can mature into good senior players and compete at senior level in Antrim...In all seriousness Aghagallon has a great catchment area and is getting bigger by the year, soon it'll be a small town, it's expanding like Jim Stynes waistline . An antrim senior Championship in the next 5 years? (bold statement).

Funny you men mention the Abbey, any Lurgan man with half a brain ended up at St Coleman's but never the Abbey. suppose they had the football in mind when selecting their school .

I only know of people who left the town to go to either St Colmans or St Pats.  With St Ronan's now declaring themselves as a grammar it means that kids joining either St Colmans or St Pats wont get free travel like they used too. That will be the main impact on the ability of parents to send their kids to other schools.

[JimStynes]

St Ronan's will be in or around 2000 pupils, bear in mind 50% of that figure are female (or there about), you wanna see the sporting set up for their new school...very impressive in deed. Aghagallon are really strong at minor level and i'm glad to see it, hopefully they can mature into good senior players and compete at senior level in Antrim...In all seriousness Aghagallon has a great catchment area and is getting bigger by the year, soon it'll be a small town, it's expanding like Jim Stynes waistline . An antrim senior Championship in the next 5 years? (bold statement).

Funny you men mention the Abbey, any Lurgan man with half a brain ended up at St Coleman's but never the Abbey. suppose they had the football in mind when selecting their school .

Jesus it's not growing that quick illdecide! There's still only a total of about 200 children in the two parish schools. My waistline is though haha

Aghagallon has always had a great representation in St. Michael's teams and now St. Ronan's too. There are actually a few from Aghagallon that go to the Abbey, a few in St. Coleman's and 1 or maybe 2 in St. Pat's Armagh. We've a few who go to Lismore and are very good footballers, Lismore isn't a good sporting school to get the best out of them though. 

I heard it was going to be around 1200 in the new school, not 2000? That will be fun trying to past Cornakinegar and Kilwilkie in the morning.

Yesterday was brilliant and it really has given the town and surrounding areas a real buzz. Lurgan is a Gaelic football mad town and it's about time they were competing for and winning McCrorys.

[general_lee]

Great achievement by St Ronans. I'm not sure though how long they can continue at this level in the immediate future (maybe someone in the know can correct me) but this current squad is backboned by last year's Armagh minor winners and last years antrim minor finalists. All players from a 6 mile radius between 9 clubs.

As for pupils going to Newry... Can't see too many wanting to go St Colmans for a variety of reasons of late. With St Paul's Bessbrook also playing McRory, Castlewellan, and St Ronans etc the days of St Colmans attracting players from south and north Armagh, east Down could well be over.