DANSKE BANK MacLarnon Cup

St Ciaran’s Ballygawley join race for MacRory Cup

July 5, 2013

Colleges’ Football 2013-4

St Ciaran’s Ballygawley have been accepted as a late entry into the Danske Bank Ulster Colleges’ MacRory Cup at the Council’s fixtures’ meeting at the weekend.

Their inclusion along with the announcement in June that last season’s Rannafast Cup winners St Patrick’s Cavan and MacLarnon champions St Michael’s Lurgan has expanded the MacRory Cup competition to 13 schools – the largest ever entry.

St Ciaran’s addition to Group B along with St Paul’s Bessbrook, the other two Tyrone schools (Omagh CBS and St Patrick’s Academy), Lurgan, St Macartan’s and St Mary’s Magherafelt means that the bottom team in this group after the league section in the autumn term will be the only team eliminated pre-Christmas.

The top two teams from each group will automatically qualify for the quarter-final draw, while the rest of the finishing positions will trigger 4 play-offs – A3 v B6, A4 v B5, A5 v B4 and A6 v B3.

St Ciaran’s head coach Martin McElkennon admitted that the new arrangements for second level schools’ GAA announced at the start of June had prompted their move from Vocationals’ Markey Cup into the MacRory.

“Obviously the Vocational Schools’ system has served us very well over the years.  We have been able through the under-age competitions and Markey Cup to provide our students with a good standard of football and the opportunity to play in regional, provincial and national finals.”

“However following the re-organisation at All-Ireland level and the implications for Ulster schools in general, we have decided that the Colleges’ system now offers us the best vehicle for developing our teams this year.”

Under the new structure, the Markey Cup winners will have to play the MacLarnon champions to reach the All-Ireland B series.

“We feel that the Colleges’ system allows us to bed down better within the new structure.  We have entered Grade B competitions at all the other age-groups, but we aspire to play at Grade A level through the age-groups and can move up where and when we feel our players will benefit.”

Another Tyrone Vocational school, last season’s Markey Cup champions and All-Ireland Vocational schools’ finalists Holy Trinity Cookstown, has also opted to compete in Ulster Colleges’ competitions – but at B level right through the age-groups.

Head coach Peter Canavan feels that their MacLarnon Cup draw is almost as tough as the MacRory programme.

“We have drawn St Eunan’s Letterkenny, St Pius X and St Mary’s CBGS Belfast.  That is a very strong group of schools that all move regularly between the A and B competitions.”

There are 4 groups of 4 teams in the Danske Bank MacLarnon Cup with the top team in each group going through to the quarter-finals and the second and third placed teams in each facing play-off games to provide the other 4 quarter-finalists.

“There is a huge challenge awaiting us just to make it through to the quarter-finals,” claims Canavan, who has only “8 or 9” of the Markey Cup squad back next season.

“We will need to work very hard in preparation for each of the 4 games in the autumn term and then see where that takes us.”

Holy Trinity’s first game under the Colleges’ umbrella is due during the second week of the new term when they play St Joseph’s Crossmaglen in the Danske Bank Herald Cup while St Ciaran’s are in action a week later in the same competition against St Patrick’s Downpatrick.

Fixtures for all Ulster Colleges’ fixtures can be found on the organisation’s facebook page.