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Tue 23rd Feb 2010
Ciara Mageean and Brónagh Heggarty were the stand-out names yesterday when the seventh annual Ulster Colleges’ All-star camogie team was announced.
The final trial for the All-stars was held just three days after Irish International athlete Ciara smashed the Irish Junior record for 800m with a winning time of 2:07.82.
The City of Lisburn athlete is hot on both the track and in cross-country at present. She also holds the Irish Junior 1500m, as well as taking the European Youth Olympics 1500m title in a championship best time. She is the World under 17 800m silver medallist and a 3 time National Senior Indoor champion.
Ciara’s camogie talents however were under scrutiny with the All-star selectors and the Assumption Ballinahinch and Portaferry club player did enough to pick up her first camogie provincial accolade.
She equalls the achievement of older sister Maire who made the cut for the provincial Colleges’ side in 2008.
And on that side with Maire two seasons ago was Ruairi Óg Cushendall player Brónagh Heggarty.
She, now with three successive awards, joins an elite group of players that includes Derry’s Aisling Diamond who went on to collect a rare national Senior All-star for Ulster.
Brónagh is joined in the selection by no fewer than three of her St MacNissi’s College Garron Tower team-mates – Colleen Patterson, Alex McLaughlin and two-time award winner Ashling Ward.
All told there are six players from last year’s selection picking up another award – Garron Tower pair, Heggarty and Ward, Una McNaughton from St Louis Ballymena, Rachel Kelly from St Mary’s Magherafelt as well as St Patrick’s Maghera pair Karen Kielt and Grainne McNicholl.
Maghera top the returns for a single school with five awards, the others being Jolene Bradley, Siobhan McKaigue and Éílís Ní Chaiside, some consolation for the Ulster champions’ narrow 3-11 to 4-9 defeat in the All-Ireland semi-final to champions Loreto Kilkenny at the beginning of the month.
There are first ever awards for St Colm’s Draperstown – Mary Jo McCullagh and Charlene Scullion – marking the south Derry school’s recent emergence to challenge neighbours Maghera and Magherafelt for the top honours in Colleges’ camogie.
There are also first awards for two Down schools – Sacred Heart Newry’s Orlagh Kearns getting the nod along with Laura Hughes from Our Lady & St Patrick’s Knock.
In total 12 schools from across four counties have made the team with 10 awards going to Derry players and a further 9 to Antrim with some of these players already featuring for their county senior squads.
There are two each from Down and Armagh clubs, the Armagh players representing St Patrick’s Dungannon and Sacred Heart Newry.
Ulster Colleges’ Secretary Sr Mairead Ní Fhearáin congratulated the 23 players selected and wished them and their mentors every success in the upcoming inter-provincial.
"To achieve an Ulster Colleges’ All Star Award is to rightly earn a place in camogie’s hall of fame. Although the scheme is just 7 years in operation, already we have seen one of our girls go on to earn a National All-star and several others play at full inter-provincial level for Ulster.”
“This year our team has a wide base in terms of schools and the overall standard of player at the trials really challenged our selectors. It reflects well on the coaching these young girls have encountered at all levels in their formative years.”
“I particularly welcome first awards for three schools – St Colm’s Draperstown, Our Lady and St Patrick’s Knock and Sacred Heart Newry. May they inspire greater effort from their team-mates and lead to further honours for their schools in the years to come.”
The 23 player panel will attend their first collective training session very soon in preparation for the Inter-provincial competition in Dublin on March 31st.
Ulster Colleges’ All-stars 2010
Jolene Bradley, Karen Kielt, Siobhán McKaigue, Éilis Ní Chaiside and Grainne McNicholl (St Patrick's Maghera)
Brónagh Heggarty, Colleen Patterson, Alex McLaughlin and Ashling Ward (St MacNissi's College Garron Tower)
Rachel Kelly, Sarah Maguire and Ruby Marie Rice (St Mary's Magherafelt)
Mary Jo McCullagh and Charlene Scullion (St Colm’s Draperstown) Noreen Graham and Una McNaughton (St Louis Ballymena)
Laura Hughes (Our Lady & St Patrick’s Knock)
Orlagh Kearns (Sacred Heart Newry)
Niamh O’Neill (St Louise’s Belfast) Dania Donnelly (St Pius X Magherafelt) Ciara Mageean (Assumption Ballynahinch) Maria Mooney (Loreto Coleraine) Brid O’Hagan (St Patrick’s Dungannon)
Submitted by: Seamus McAleenan
