Donnelly ‘disappointed’ at loss of Ulster Schools competitions

OMAGH CBS teacher and coach Kieran Donnelly says his heart goes out to the Year 14 pupils whose MacRory Cup-winning dreams have been dashed after a recent decision by Ulster Schools GAA.

The governing body said it had no choice other than taking the unfortunate step of pulling the pin on all its formal competitions due to the ongoing lockdown situation.

It’s the second year running that Ulster Schools competitions have been hit hard by the pandemic, and it’s a decision that’s particularly sore on final year pupils at the Kevin Road school, according to a disappointed Donnelly.

“It’s very disappointing that there will be no schools football because I know in our school that the boys live for sport.

“I particularly sympathise with the Year 14 footballers, who will have aspired to represent the school at MacRory Cup level since they were first years.

“I was resigned to the fact that it wasn’t going to happen, although there was a glimmer of hope eight months ago that it might go ahead – obviously that didn’t turn out to be feasible.”

The announcement means that all competitions, including the flagship MacRory and Mageean Cups, MacLarnon Cup and Corn na nOg competitions have been postponed for the season.

Omagh CBS have regularly featured at the high end of the MacRory competition, making developments all the more disappointing.

“It is a shame, there’s great satisfaction in players progressing through the ranks at school and playing MacRory football is a highlight of a lot of players’ careers, not just winning but being part of a professional environment and playing with really good players.

“That opportunity has been taken away from them so it’s disappointing.”

The PE teacher also says that they’re doing their best to ensure students are staying active at the moment, and they’re also availing of technology to ensure that the teaching of BTECH students continues to run smoothly.

“We had a MacRory Cup group and I was posting sessions for lads to carry out – I know clubs are probably doing that as well, but it was important to help give them a focus, for their mental health as much as anything else.

The PE department as a whole are setting out challenges, and there’s an online bulletin that goes out with different challenges.”

“We’re BTEC level two and three at theory level, so the lads are continuing to do their coursework, that side of thing hasn’t stopped. We’ve tried to maintain the balance between theory and practice, so we’re keeping in touch with the pupils as best we can, and Microsoft Teams has been a great help with that.”