Ulster Colleges 2011 - 2012

[duvet dave]

BT MacRory Cup - Section A
St. Mary's Grammar, Magherafelt
St. Macartan's, Monaghan
St. Patrick's Grammar, Dungannon
St. Michael's College, Enniskillen
St. Patrick's Grammar, Armagh


BT MacRory Cup - Section B
St. Colman's College, Newry
St. Patrick's College, Maghera
Omagh CBS, Omagh
St. Mary's CBS, Belfast
Abbey CBS Grammar, Newry


Sat 15th Oct 2011
St Mary's M'felt  v  St Macartans

Dungannon  v  Enniskillen

Omagh  v  St Mary's CBS

St Colman's  v  Maghera


Sat 22nd Oct 2011
St Macartans  v  Dungannon

St Mary's M'felt  v  Armagh

Abbey  v  St Colman's

Maghera  v  Omagh


Sat 5th Nov 2011
St Macartans  v  Armagh

St Mary's M'felt  v  Enniskillen

Abbey  v  Maghera

St Colman's  v  St Mary's CBS


Sat 12th Nov 2011
St Mary's M'felt  v  Dungannon

Enniskillen  v  Armagh

Abbey  v  St Mary's CBS

St Colman's  v  Omagh


Sat 19th Nov 2011
St Macartans  v  Enniskillen

Dungannon  v Armagh

Abbey  v Omagh

Maghera  v  St Mary's CBS

   

[PAULD123]

Are those drawn for home venue? If so it means St Colman's will play all their group games in Newry as they only away game is to the Abbey. Good stuff.

October 22nd Abbey vs St Colman's then in the evening I'm booked to see Mickey Flanagan at Vicar Street. Looking forward to that day already

Mind you the Abbey game will be a lot more of a contest this year, abbey had some good prospects coming through

[duvet dave]

All games are played at a halfway venue between the two schools.

[NP 76]

Are those drawn for home venue? If so it means St Colman's will play all their group games in Newry as they only away game is to the Abbey. Good stuff.

October 22nd Abbey vs St Colman's then in the evening I'm booked to see Mickey Flanagan at Vicar Street. Looking forward to that day already

Mind you the Abbey game will be a lot more of a contest this year, abbey had some good prospects coming through
They have good prospects every year Paul just cant get it out of them look at last year

[duvet dave]

An Dún to Add to the Mageean Cup

New ground will be broken later this week when Our Lady & St Patrick's Knock open their BT Mageean Cup campaign with a game against a combined Down team.

Not only is the county select the first of its kind to enter the Mageean Cup, but it is drawn from schools within both the Colleges and Vocational sectors.

County Board secretary Sean og McAteer claims that the county is prepared to put money and resources into this initiative.

"It is a revolutionary idea alright, but our schools have responded positively and the County Board will be providing the transport to and from training and the matches, as well as the kit and equipment needed."

"The three full-time Coaching Officers in the county – Michael McCullagh, Karol Keating and Liam Hardy – will take charge of the team."

However the long-serving official is also aware that there will be plenty of teething problems.

"Without doubt, there will be! The coaches have been asked to field a team after just two training sessions.  The time-frame for the Mageean is also very tight."

It finishes at Halloween.

"Players from St Patrick's Downpatrick and St Colman's Newry are also expected to play in the second tier competition (BT Casement Cup) and there will inevitably be clashes at club level as well."

Nevertheless the Down Board believes that the initiative can raise the standard of under-age hurling in the county.

"The last time the County won the Ulster minor title was 1994.  10 years ago, Dublin overcame a lot of obstacles to field a combined Colleges' side and it proved to be a successful move.  They won Leinster and All-Ireland titles and we have seen the profile of Dublin inter-county hurling rise."

McAteer acknowledges the part played by the Ulster Colleges' Council in allowing the initiative to happen.

"Last year Donegal county Board supported an initiative for a combined team from Inis Eoghain schools to play in the under-age Grade A football competitions and I suppose that broke the ice."

Colleges' secretary Seamus Woods is looking forward to the experiment.

"This is going to help develop hurling in Down, but it will also boost the Mageean Cup for us, as we will now have 6 competitive teams."

"This competition has produced 2 All-Ireland titles each for Maghera and Ballycastle during the last 5 years.  So the standard is high."

The Tyrone and Armagh Boards are also backing combination hurling teams at a lower level.  A West Tyrone team will contest the Casement Cup, bringing the number of teams up to 15.

"A decade ago we had just 6 or 7 teams in Colleges' senior hurling," said Woods.  "We introduced the Casement Cup and since that the teams playing senior hurling have trebled."

The West Tyrone initiative is trimmed to a combined team from Sacred Heart and Omagh CBS contesting 4 under-age Grade C competitions, while a combination of north Armagh schools have also come in at under-age C level.

With County Board backing each combined team stands a fair chance of surviving – but, as Seán óg McAteer suggested, each will have many obstacles to overcome before their particular ash tree will start to blossom.

[duvet dave]

BT Rannafast Cup League Tables - 2011-12

Section A
St. Mary's Grammar, Magherafelt
Omagh CBS, Omagh
St. Patrick's Grammar, Armagh
St. Macartan's, Monaghan
Coláistí Inis Eoghain, Buncrana

Section B
St. Patrick's Grammar, Dungannon
St. Eunan's College, Letterkenny
St. Patrick's College, Cavan
St. Patrick's College, Maghera

Section C
Abbey CBS Grammar, Newry
Our Lady and St. Patrick's College, Knock
St. Michael's College, Enniskillen
St. Colman's College, Newry

[duvet dave]

McGreevy Cup Round-up

Group C of the Ulster Colleges u13 ½ McGreevy Cup produced an exhilarating  day's hurling at MUSA on Thursday 22nd September when 8 teams came together to contest the two available Quarter- Final places. St. Patrick's Armagh, St. Louis Ballymena (who fielded two teams), Loreto Coleraine and St. Patrick's Academy Dungannon  were joined by 3 schools from the Vocationals sector who had asked to participate viz St Patrick's Dungiven, St Colm's Ballinascreen, and a Buncrana schools select.

After 14 keenly contested games expertly refereed by Leon Reynolds (Portadown) and Aidan Mc Alynn (Loup), it was St Patrick's Armagh (coached by Paul Mc Cormack) and Ballinascreen (coached by Ciaran Meenagh) who won through to the quarter final stages.  The latter, therefore, have broken new ground and become the first every Vocational affiliated school to win through to the knock-out stages of an Ulster Colleges competition. Full marks to all who participated particularly the Buncrana lads(coached by Donegal hurling stalwart, Donal McLaughlin) who set off at 8.15am for a 10.30am start in Cookstown.

Groups A and B (each comprising of 4 teams, and each producing two quarter finalists) of this competition were played at Woodlands and St. Genevieve's in Belfast on Wednesday 21st September, meaning that 16 teams have participated thus far. The remaining two Quarter-Final places will be filled by the two winners from the 'C' school blitzes to be played on Wednesday 5th October. By that stage over 30 schools and teams will have contested the eight available knock-out stage places in this widely supported U 13 ½ 'B' competition.

[duvet dave]

Competition   Round   Team 1   Score      Score   Team 2   
                     
Fri 23rd Sep 2011                     
Rannafast      Inis Eoghain   3.5      2.8   St Macartans   
Faul      Bearnageeha   1.1      4.7   Glen Road   

Thu 22nd Sep 2011                     
Ulster Herald   St Malachy's   3.15      5.11   Downpatrick   
                     
Tue 20th Sep 2011                     
Rannafast      Abbey                    3.2      1.7   Knock   
Mageean      St Killian's                    2.7      5.9   Cross & Passion   
                     
Mon 19th Sep 2011                     
Ulster Herald   Ballyshannon    2.7      1.1   Crossmaglen   
Ulster Herald   Rathmore                    4.9      1.6   Castleblaney   

[Mid Down Gael]

Abbey on top in Newry derby
Sat 22nd Oct 2011

BT MacRory Cup

St Patrick's Armagh 3-9 St Mary's Magherafelt 0-6

St Colman's Newry 1-8 Abbey CBS 3-7

A goal at the very start of each half knocked St Colman's off their perch as kings of Newry as Abbey picked up their second victory in the BT MacRory Cup at Páirc Esler on Saturday morning.

Right from the throw-in, Conal Gallagher raced down the field to plant the ball in the St Colman's net.  However the champions used their experience to steady the ship and were level by the 19th minute at 1-3 each when Dara Noonan scored a goal for them.

Although Shane Lundy edged them ahead, Brendan McKernan, brother of International Rules' player Kevin, fired over an equaliser right on half-time.

1-2 on the re-start however left St Colman's chasing the game once more.  Gallagher and Callum Comiskey pointed and Roan Turley reacted quickest when the ball came off the cross-bar and he stabbed home from close-range.

This time Abbey held their shape and kept the Violet Hill side in check, with substitute Conor Martin killing them off 10 minutes from time with his side's third goal.

Meanwhile, St Patrick's Armagh got off to a flier with a 3-9 to 0-6 victory over St Mary's Magherafelt at MUSA.

Adrian Trainor scored a first half goal and that opened a 1-4 to 0-3 interval lead.  The decisive score arrived early in the second half with Michael Carson despatching a penalty.

After Armagh had tacked on a few points, Magherafelt hit three in a row, but Adrian Trainor, following a goal-mouth scramble, ended their resistance with a third Armagh major.

Abbey CBS : Conal Gallagher 1-2, Roan Turley 1-0, Conor Martin 1-0, Callum Comiskey 0-3, Brendan McKernan 0-2.

St Colman's : Dara Noonan 1-0, Shane Lundy 0-2, Ryan Johnstone 0-2, Keelin Rice 0-1, Aaron Morgan 0-1, Tomás Mulholland 0-1, Patrick O'Hagan 0-1.

[naka]

Great result for abbey
Hopefully not a false Dawn

[KIDDO 4]

OmaghCBS defeated StMarys Belfast  this afternoon 1.8 to 0.1, at HealyPark  to qualify for the Mc Cormack cup final.

[spuds]

Abbey on top in Newry derby
Sat 22nd Oct 2011

BT MacRory Cup

St Patrick's Armagh 3-9 St Mary's Magherafelt 0-6

St Colman's Newry 1-8 Abbey CBS 3-7

A goal at the very start of each half knocked St Colman's off their perch as kings of Newry as Abbey picked up their second victory in the BT MacRory Cup at Páirc Esler on Saturday morning.

Right from the throw-in, Conal Gallagher raced down the field to plant the ball in the St Colman's net.  However the champions used their experience to steady the ship and were level by the 19th minute at 1-3 each when Dara Noonan scored a goal for them.

Although Shane Lundy edged them ahead, Brendan McKernan, brother of International Rules' player Kevin, fired over an equaliser right on half-time.

1-2 on the re-start however left St Colman's chasing the game once more.  Gallagher and Callum Comiskey pointed and Roan Turley reacted quickest when the ball came off the cross-bar and he stabbed home from close-range.

This time Abbey held their shape and kept the Violet Hill side in check, with substitute Conor Martin killing them off 10 minutes from time with his side's third goal.

Meanwhile, St Patrick's Armagh got off to a flier with a 3-9 to 0-6 victory over St Mary's Magherafelt at MUSA.

Adrian Trainor scored a first half goal and that opened a 1-4 to 0-3 interval lead.  The decisive score arrived early in the second half with Michael Carson despatching a penalty.

After Armagh had tacked on a few points, Magherafelt hit three in a row, but Adrian Trainor, following a goal-mouth scramble, ended their resistance with a third Armagh major.

Abbey CBS : Conal Gallagher 1-2, Roan Turley 1-0, Conor Martin 1-0, Callum Comiskey 0-3, Brendan McKernan 0-2.

St Colman's : Dara Noonan 1-0, Shane Lundy 0-2, Ryan Johnstone 0-2, Keelin Rice 0-1, Aaron Morgan 0-1, Tomás Mulholland 0-1, Patrick O'Hagan 0-1.

Which team is protestor and which catflick ? Great to see both sides playing bogball

[duvet dave]

BT MacRory Cup quarter-final draws

The draws have been made for the BT MacRory Cup quarter-finals.

"We can look forward to some superb matches in the coming months - these teams are at the top of their game and BT is proud to support GAA and be associated with the Ulster Colleges Cups," said Peter Morris, Consumer Director.

"Over the past year we have worked hard to encourage sporting excellence through the launch of the 'BT Genius Bursary', where each year five players are awarded an educational bursary based on personal demonstration of inspiration and positive attitude. BT has also used its expertise and innovation to refurbish the Ulster Colleges website."

Seamus Meehan, Chairman of the Ulster Colleges' Council, said: "Now in its 89th year, the MacRory Cup continues to produce games of outstanding quality, endeavor, and sportsmanship which generate and attract enormous interest in, and far beyond, our affiliated schools. The same levels of excellence also pertain in the MacLarnon Cup, our premier 'B' competition, which is now in its 52nd year.

"BT has been a hugely supportive partner of Ulster Colleges since 2001, and that support has boosted our expansion and increased profile in the interim. BT has further demonstrated its commitment to sporting excellence through the 'BT Genius Bursary' which is awarded to 5 of our students annually as they progress to 3rd Level education, and via our refurbished website www.ulstercolleges.gaa.ie."


BT MacRory Cup quarter-finals

First weekend of February :

St Patrick's Dungannon v St Patrick's Armagh

St Patrick's Maghera v Abbey CBS


Second weekend of February:

St Michael's Enniskillen v Omagh CBS

St Colman's Newry v St Mary's Belfast.


BT MacLarnon Cup Quarter Finals

Weekend of 11th February:

St Columb's Derry v St Patrick's Cavan

Holy Cross College Strabane v St Patrick's Downpatrick

St Paul's Bessbrook v Patrician High Carrickmacross

Our Lady's Castleblaney v St Louis Ballymena


BT O'Doherty Cup

Preliminary Rounds weekend of 11th February:

La Salle Belfast v St Malachy's Belfast (A)

Our Lady's & St Patrick's Knock v CC Ballyshannon (B)


Quarter Finals weekend of 18th February

Winners of A v St Eunan's Letterkenny

Winners of B v St Michael's Lurgan

St Patrick's High Keady v St Louis Kilkeel

St Pius X Magherafelt v Rathmore Belfast

[Norf Tyrone]

First ever MacLarnon QF for Holy Cross.

[saffron sam2]

Maghera - Abbey matched scheduled for tonight has been postponed, due to the pitch being a bit hard.