Ulster Colleges

[Milltown Row2]

I wish the games would revert back to Saturdays at 11am but i suppose a lot going on now.

Yeah those times really brought out the neutrals, it's also very difficult to arrange the referee's around the current days/times, at the weekend you could have the umpires and linesmen available, now you are lucky to get anyone to help

[Armagh18]

I wish the games would revert back to Saturdays at 11am but i suppose a lot going on now.

Would most 16/17/18 year olds not work on Saturdays??

[thewobbler]

Group stage games were rarely at 11am on a Saturday.

There's likely well over 150 fixtures to be fulfilled some weeks, across the various codes, various levels and various levels.

That's no easy task.

[Truth hurts]

St Colmans V the Abbey on Thursday at 1pm when people are back at work. Surely this should be under the lights of Esler to attract a big crowd.

[ONeill]

Big wins for Omagh and Cookstown tonight. HTC were dogged.

[screenexile]

Big wins for Omagh and Cookstown tonight. HTC were dogged.

Is there not a bit of controversy about HTC??

[ONeill]

What is it?

[Estimator]

What is it?

A few lads overage that have already completed year 14 and word of others doing a 2 day week in school? Surely not

It's the lads that have completed year 14 that are doing the 2 day school week. Work experience the other 3 days. It's definitely wrong and I assume the lads could be 19 by now. I don't know how many are at it but I know of at least 3 starting tonight, could be more, might not be.

You'd imagine the Academy / Maghera / Convent wouldn't be happy about this but they seem to be getting away with it for now.

[ONeill]

Sure for decades, all the major GAA schools in the competition allowed lads who bombed at GCSE/O'Level to stay on and introduced all manner of qualifications to enable them to play MacRory. Or enticed them from secondaries across the road for the same reason.

Isn't there an age cut-off anyway?

[Estimator]

Sure for decades, all the major GAA schools in the competition allowed lads who bombed at GCSE/O'Level to stay on and introduced all manner of qualifications to enable them to play MacRory. Or enticed them from secondaries across the road for the same reason.

Isn't there an age cut-off anyway?

That's very true, but that was more about keeping students good footballers on at the same school after their GCSEs, or moving them across at that point, not enticing them in after they've completed 7 years in a different school altogether.

MacRory is now U-19. I believe it used to be U-18.5 and there was a time where MacRory winning teams would've lost players for the Hogan as it was U-18

[ONeill]

Had a look there at HTC's squad last year in the final and this year's team today. I can only see 2 new names who may have come from 5th year, I dunno.

Who completed 7 years in another school and was enticed?

[thewobbler]

Sometimes you have to be careful for what you wish for in sport.

Abbey CBS led the charge back in 1996 to extend the eligibility age, when one of the McEntees was resitting upper 6th.

The unintended consequence of this is that "8th years" are more likely to turn up at schools with a technical / vocational bent.

[TwoUpTwoDown]

Had a look there at HTC's squad last year in the final and this year's team today. I can only see 2 new names who may have come from 5th year, I dunno.

Who completed 7 years in another school and was enticed?

Devlin the elder.

One of the lads in work today was saying that 3 of those HTC players are receiving financial incentives to entice them back. That surely cannot be true?

[bannside]

https://twitter.com/ulsterschools/status/1614042906213613569?t=Cu9S5bpydIxLeT_AyMBw4Q&s=08

Some comeback to be fair. They don't come much sweeter for the winners (or devastating for the losers) than this!

[Link]

19 year olds shouldn't be playing macrory. End of.