DANSKE BANK ULSTER COLLEGES GAA

Red High review of the sporting year.

July 8, 2013

2012-2013 has been another very successful sporting year for St. Patrick’s Grammar School, Downpatrick.   Whilst competing in dual competitions throughout the year, the Red High continue to provided the young men of East Down with Hurling and Football competition at a very high level.

Pride of place this year must go to our Casement Cup Hurlers who performed heroics in winning the Casement Cup in the Autumn term.  Indeed it was the school’s first ever Senior Hurling title and the team blazed a path throughout the tournament and served up their best performance of the year in the final against a very good Rathmore side.   Captain Eoghan Sands gratefully received the cup in the main stand of Pairc Esler to spark wild scenes of celebration.   Further success on the Hurling front came in the Red High players joining the An Dún Mageean cup team which reached the final before narrowly losing out to St. Mary’s, Belfast.   The senior Hurlers were not finished there however and a number of the lads went on to represent Ulster in the combined College’s team later in the year.  Our junior school Hurler’s also performed very well this year and were unlucky to lose out in the Year 8 blitz final, but did secure silverware in the Keenan Cup blitz defeating La Salle, Belfast in the final.

On the Football front, it was the Year 8 team who secured another Ulster title by retaining the McQuillan Cup in June.  The team had convincing wins over Knock, Rathmore and La Salle to reach the final and they accounted for a very good St. Louis’, Ballymena side in the final.  Indeed the team came agonisingly close to winning the County Down Ben Dearg Competition,  after defeating St. Colman’s, Newry in a dramatic semi final they narrowly lost out to the Abbey CBS in a very close final.  The Year 8 “B” team also had a very good year winning the Kevin Smith Shield but losing out to St. Louis’, Kilkeel in the County Down Yr 8 “B” final.   As always, the Football teams were very competitive cross all competitions with the MacLarnon squad making the semi final’s for the third time in four seasons, narrowly losing out in the all County Down semi final to Kilkeel and the Corn Colmcille team losing out to eventual winners Carrickmacross by an injury time goal.

On the College’s All Star front, the Red High was represented in both codes with 3 Hurling All Stars and 1 in Football.  Eoghan Sands, Conor O’Neill and Danieal Doran were the Hurling recipients and Ruairi Wells selected on the Football team.

The sporting year in the Red High was rounded off in late June with the dedication of sporting facilities and opening of our new indoor 1 wall Handball walls, to go alongside the Floodlight 3g pitch, 2 full size grass pitches, Indoor Halls and Fitness suite.