MacRory Cup
The MacRory Cup is an inter-college Gaelic football tournament in Ulster at senior "A" grade. The MacLarnon Cup is the competition for schools at senior 'B' grade.
Players must be under nineteen at the start of the tournament. The winners advance to the semi-finals of the Hogan Cup, the All-Ireland colleges "A" senior football championship.
The competition and trophy are named after Joseph MacRory, then Bishop of Down and Connor, who donated the first cup in 1923.
The 2018–19 winners were St Michaels College, Enniskillen who beat Omagh CBS in the final on 18 March 2019.
The 2020 final, along with all other Gaelic game activity, between St. Colman's, Newry and St. Patrick's, Maghera was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ulster Colleges announced in June 2020 that they hoped to find a date in October to play the MacRory and McLarnon Cup finals.
The final is held every year on St. Patrick's Day and is televised live on BBC Northern Ireland along with the Ulster Rugby Schools Cup final. The venue for the last number of years has been the Athletic Grounds in Armagh. Previous finals have been held in Coalisland and Casement Park.
History
An inter-seminary football competition between St. Macartan's College, Monaghan and St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh had been started in 1902. This was a soccer competition until, in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising, a vote was taken to change over to Gaelic rules and St Patrick’s won the first Gaelic encounter in 1918 by 4-4 to 0-1.Bishop Joseph MacRory, the Bishop of Down and Connor at this time, “offered” to present a Cup for the winners of an Ulster Secondary schools’ competition. The “offer” was not honoured for another five seasons however and in the interim the matches between other seminaries and St Patrick’s Armagh are recorded as “challenges” until the arrival of the first MacRory Cup in late spring 1923.
Over the next five seasons the competition was played on a league basis until in 1928 an Ulster Colleges’ Committee was established and the MacRory Cup competition became the new body’s main competition. Participation in the MacRory Cup in its early years was confined to those who attended boarding schools. St. Patrick's Armagh were the first winners in 1923, and dominated the competition in its early years. First time victories by other challengers were recorded by St. Macartan's, St. Patrick's College, Cavan, and St. Colman's College, Newry.
The 1930s was notable for the affiliation of a number of Christian Brothers’ schools. These were ‘day schools’ which catered mainly for boys from humble backgrounds, but they did not yet have the prowess to compete with the established diocesan colleges, as was confirmed by comprehensive defeats for Monaghan CBS, and Abbey CBS, Newry.
1954 was a watershed year in that the triumph of Abbey CBS after a replay over St Patrick’s Cavan was the first MacRory Cup win by a ‘day school’; the Abbey CBS repeated this feat in 1959 and 1964, but no other day school made the breakthrough until St Mary’s CBS in 1971; next came Omagh CBS in 1974.
1976 marks another significant landmark in the history of the competition although that particular Final ended in defeat for St. Patrick's College, Maghera a. It ushered in an extraordinary sequence of 14 Final appearances by St. Patrick's College, Maghera in the following 15 years, 8 of which were won, including 4 consecutive victories 1982-85. Those 15 years witnessed a legendary rivalry between St. Patrick's College, Maghera and St. Colman's College, Newry when they faced one another in 10 Finals, including replays. These included the iconic 1989 Final, won by St. Patrick's College, Maghera on the scoreline 4-10 to 4-9, a game which is widely and rightly regarded as one of the greatest ever played at any level in Ulster. Those were the days when the blanket defence would have been regarded as a distasteful, unchivalrous, and unthinkable option.
The 1990s marked the arrival of St. Patrick's Academy, Dungannon and St. Michael's College, Enniskillen at centre stage, and accelerated change in the educational domain with the disappearance of the remaining boarding departments in schools, and an equalisation in standards across a greater range of schools.
The new millennium produced a victory in 2000 for the original kingpins, St. Patrick's Armagh, their first victory since 1953, and the next decade was marked by the emergence and appearance of Omagh CBS in 7 Finals.
The MacRory Cup, first donated by Bishop MacRory in 1923, is now fiercely contested by 10 schools annually, and a feature of each successive year is the number of genuine contenders and the unpredictability of the outcome. That original trophy was replaced in 1962, and that trophy, in turn, was retired and donated to the O’Fiaich Library in February 2012. A magnificent replacement trophy has been donated to Ulster Colleges by Cardinal Brady, thereby perpetuating the historic link between the Archdiocese of Armagh and this unique competition. The trophy won in March 2012 by St. Michael's, Enniskillen is therefore the 3rd Cup to bear the name of the original visionary, Cardinal MacRory.
Fifteen schools have their names on the MacRory Cup with St. Colman's College, Newry winning the first of their record 19 titles in 1949 and St. Patrick's College, Maghera, who are in second place with 15 crowns, won their first in 1977.
St. Colman's College, Newry and St. Patrick's College, Maghera also lead the way in terms of Hogan Cup titles won by Ulster schools with eight and five respectively.
Competition format
Current FormatThe format introduced at the start of the 2017-18 season continues. Sixteen teams compete in four groups of four teams. After the group rounds, all matches are knock-out. The four group winners are given byes to the quarter-finals. The four teams who finished third play the four teams who finished fourth in playoff round 1 with the winners playing the four group runners-up in playoff round 2 for the four remaining quarter-final places.
2016-17 Format
The format was changed for the 2016-17 season. Fourteen teams competed in three groups - Groups A and B had five teams and Group C had four teams. The three group winners and the best group runner-up advanced to the quarter-finals. The fifth-placed teams in groups A and B were eliminated. The remaining eight teams played-off in four matches with the four winners completing the quarter-final line-up. From the quarter-finals onwards all matches were knock-out.
Previous Format
The competition began with a round-robin tournament consisting of two groups of six teams. The top two teams from each group advanced to the knockout stages. Four playoff matches were held between the bottom four teams of Group A and Group B to complete the quarter final lineup.
List of titles by college
List of finals by year
- Until 1935 the MacRory Cup was played on a league basis with the league winners claiming the title.
- The number in brackets is the number of the title win e.g. is that school's 15th title
- Teams in bold went on to win the Hogan Cup in the same year
- The Iggy Jones Man of the Match trophy was first awarded in 1993
| Year | Winner | Score | Score | Opponent | Venue | Match Report | Winning Captain | Man Of The Match |
| 2020 | Armagh | |||||||
| 2019 | St. Michael's College, Enniskillen | 0-16 | 2-06 | Omagh CBS | Armagh | Brandon Horan | Darragh McBrien St. Michael's College | |
| 2018 | St. Ronan's College, Lurgan | 1-09 | 1-07 | St. Mary's Grammar School, Magherafelt | Armagh | Jamie Haughey | Rioghan Meehan St. Ronan's College | |
| 2017 | St. Mary's Grammar School, Magherafelt | 0-19 | 0-13 | St Colman's College, Newry | Armagh | Declan Cassidy | Declan Cassidy St Mary's M'Felt | |
| 2016 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | 5-07 | 1-09 | St. Paul's High School, Bessbrook | Armagh | Conor Glass | Patrick Kearney St. Patrick's Maghera | |
| 2015 | St. Patrick's College, Cavan | 2-12 | 0-08 | St. Patrick's Academy, Dungannon | Armagh | Cian McManus Pierce Smith | Thomas Galligan St. Patrick's Cavan | |
| 2014 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | 1-12 | 1-08 | Omagh CBS | Armagh | Peter Hagan | Danny Tallon St. Patrick's Maghera | |
| 2013 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | 2-05 | 0-10 | St. Paul's High School, Bessbrook | Armagh | Conor Carville | Cormac O'Doherty St. Patrick's Maghera | |
| 2012 | St. Michael's College, Enniskillen | 0-09 | 1-04 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | Armagh | Rory Brennan | Eddie Courtney St. Michael's College | |
| 2011 | St Colman's College, Newry | 2-09 | 2-08 | St. Patrick's Academy, Dungannon | Armagh | Connor Gough | Niall Donnelly St Colman's Newry | |
| 2010 | St Colman's College, Newry | 1-14 | 1-08 | Omagh CBS | Casement Park | Niall McParland | Connor Gough St Colman's Newry | |
| 2009 | St. Patrick's Academy, Dungannon | 2-07 | 1-09 | Omagh CBS | Omagh | David Lavery | Niall McKenna St Patrick's Academy | |
| 2008 | St. Patrick's Academy, Dungannon | 0-13 | 1-09 | St. Michael's College, Enniskillen | Omagh | Ryan Pickering | Gavin Teague St Patrick's Academy | |
| 2007 | Omagh CBS | 0-10 | 1-06 | St. Macartan's College, Monaghan | Casement Park | Gareth Haughey | Colm Greenan St. Macartan's | |
| 2006 | Abbey CBS, Newry | 2-04 | 0-09 | St Louis, Kilkeel | Casement Park | Kevin McKernan | Martin Clarke St Louis | |
| 2005 Replay | Omagh CBS | 2-07 2-09 | 0-13 0-11 | St Louis, Kilkeel | Casement Park Casement Park | Ronan McRory | Joe Ireland St Louis | |
| 2004 | St. Patrick's Academy, Dungannon | 0-08 | 0-06 | St. Macartan's College, Monaghan | Casement Park | Ciaran Donnelly | Martin Murray St Patrick's Academy | |
| 2003 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | 1-09 | 1-04 | St. Mary's, Magherafelt | Casement Park | Gerard O'Kane | Mark Lynch St. Patrick's Maghera | |
| 2002 | St. Michael's College, Enniskillen | 1-12 | 1-05 | Omagh CBS | Casement Park | Ryan Keenan | Shaun Doherty St. Michael's College | |
| 2001 | St. Michael's College, Enniskillen Omagh CBS | 1-11 | 2-08 | Casement Park | Ciaran O'Reilly St. Michael's College | |||
| 2000 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | 3-06 | 1-09 | St. Michael's College, Enniskillen | Casement Park | Kevin Beagan | Liam O'Hare St. Patrick's Armagh | |
| 1999 | St. Michael's College, Enniskillen | 4-11 | 0-12 | St Colman's College, Newry | Casement Park | Ciaran Smyth | Colm Bradley St. Michael's College | |
| 1998 | St Colman's College, Newry | 2-14 | 2-07 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | Casement Park | Declan Morgan | Aidan Fegan St Colman's Newry | |
| 1997 | St. Patrick's Academy, Dungannon | 2-09 | 1-10 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | Casement Park | Paul McGurk | Martin Earley St Patrick's Academy | |
| 1996 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | 0-12 | 1-06 | St. Mary's, Magherafelt | Coalisland | John Heaney | Niall Farren St. Patrick's Maghera | |
| 1995 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | 1-15 | 0-05 | St Colman's College, Newry | Clones | Sean Martin Lockhart | Adrian McGuckin St. Patrick's Maghera | |
| 1994 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | 0-11 | 0-07 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | Armagh | Ronan McGuckin | Sean McGuckin St. Patrick's Maghera | |
| 1993 | St Colman's College, Newry | 0-10 | 1-05 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | Coalisland | Ronan Hamill | Ronan Hamill St Colman's Newry | |
| 1992 | St. Michael's College, Enniskillen | 1-08 | 0-09 | St. Patrick's Academy, Dungannon | Coalisland | Declan O'Brien | - | |
| 1991 | St. Patrick's Academy, Dungannon | 2-07 | 1-09 | St Colman's College, Newry | Coalisland | - | ||
| 1990 Replay | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | 0-06 3-06 | 0-06 1-05 | St Colman's College, Newry | Coalisland Coalisland | Patrick McAllister | - | |
| 1989 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | 4-10 | 4-09 | St Colman's College, Newry | Coalisland | Terry Bradley | - | |
| 1988 Replay | St Colman's College, Newry | 0-06 2-07 3-05 | 0-06 2-07 1-09 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | Ballybay Omagh Dungannon | Ollie Reel | - | |
| 1987 | Abbey CBS, Newry | 2-06 | 0-08 | St Colman's College, Newry | Lurgan | - | ||
| 1986 | St. Mary's CBS, Belfast | 2-06 | 0-08 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | Omagh | Conal Heatley | - | |
| 1985 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | 2-09 | 1-01 | St. Michael's, Lurgan | Omagh | Danny Quinn | - | |
| 1984 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | 1-09 | 0-06 | St. Mary's CBS, Belfast | Casement Park | Dermot McNicholl | - | |
| 1983 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | 2-10 | 0-08 | Abbey CBS, Newry | Casement Park | Dermot McNicholl | - | |
| 1982 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | 1-07 | 1-06 | Abbey CBS, Newry | Casement Park | Martin Tully | - | |
| 1981 | St Colman's College, Newry | 1-03 | 0-05 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | Casement Park | Greg Blaney | - | |
| 1980 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | 3-09 | 3-06 | Abbey CBS, Newry | Casement Park | Patrick Mackle | - | |
| 1979 | St Colman's College, Newry | 0-07 | 0-05 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | Casement Park | Peter Donnan | - | |
| 1978 | St Colman's College, Newry | 1-10 | 1-03 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | Casement Park | - | ||
| 1977 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | 1-07 | 1-08 | Abbey CBS, Newry | Casement Park | Terence Laverty | - | |
| 1976 | St Colman's College, Newry | 1-04 | 0-04 | St. Patrick's College, Maghera | Dungannon | - | ||
| 1975 | St Colman's College, Newry | 2-07 | 1-08 | St Patrick's College, Cavan | Omagh | Declan Rodgers | - | |
| 1974 | Omagh CBS | 0-06 1-11 | 0-06 0-12 | St. Michael's, Enniskillen | Dungannon Lisnaskea | Colm McAleer | - | |
| 1973 | St. Michael's, Enniskillen | 1-10 | 0-10 | Omagh CBS | Dungannon | Hugh O'Neill | - | |
| 1972 | St Patrick's College, Cavan | 1-10 | 2-05 | Abbey CBS, Newry | Dundalk | - | ||
| 1971 | St. Mary's CBS, Belfast | 1-11 | 1-07 | Abbey CBS | Lurgan | Gerry McHugh | - | |
| 1970 | St. Malachy's, Belfast | 2-06 | 0-06 | St. Michael's, Enniskillen | Coalisland | - | ||
| 1969 | St Colman's College, Newry | 1-09 | 1-06 | St. Michael's, Enniskillen | Coalisland | - | ||
| 1968 | St Colman's College, Newry | 6-04 | 1-03 | St. Michael's, Enniskillen | Dungannon | - | ||
| 1967 | St Colman's College, Newry | 2-10 | 1-04 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | Dundalk | Noel Moore | - | |
| 1966 | St. Columb's, Derry | 3-05 | 3-03 | St. Patrick's, Downpatrick | Dungannon | - | ||
| 1965 | St. Columb's, Derry | 1-03 | 0-04 | St. Michael's, Enniskillen | Dungannon | Paddy McCotter | - | |
| 1964 | Abbey CBS | 3-08 | 2-05 | St Patrick's College, Cavan | Carrickmacross | - | ||
| 1963 | St Colman's College, Newry | 2-08 | 0-02 | St Patrick's College, Cavan | Ballybay | L Powell | - | |
| 1962 | St Patrick's College, Cavan | 2-11 | 2-07 | Abbey CBS | Ballybay | - | ||
| 1961 | St Patrick's College, Cavan | 1-13 | 0-05 | St Eunan's, Letterkenny | Irvinestown | - | ||
| 1960 | St Colman's College, Newry | 2-06 | 0-04 | St Patrick's College, Cavan | Castleblaney | - | ||
| 1959 | Abbey CBS | 3-07 | 1-03 | St Eunan's, Letterkenny | Omagh | - | ||
| 1958 | St Colman's College, Newry | 4-11 | 1-01 | St Patrick's College, Cavan | Castleblaney | - | ||
| 1957 | St Colman's College, Newry | 0-08 | 1-02 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | Lurgan | - | ||
| 1956 | St. Macartan's College, Monaghan | 2-07 | 2-06 | St Eunan's, Letterkenny | Omagh | - | ||
| 1955 | St Patrick's College, Cavan | 2-08 | 0-02 | St. Malachy's, Belfast | Armagh | - | ||
| 1954 | Abbey CBS | St Patrick's College, Cavan | Gerry Butterfield | - | ||||
| 1953 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | 2-10 | 0-06 | St. Macartan's College, Monaghan | Ballybay | Patsy Kieran | - | |
| 1952 | St. Macartan's College, Monaghan | 2-08 | 1-04 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | Ballybay | - | ||
| 1951 | St Patrick's College, Cavan | 1-11 | 2-02 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | Ballybay | - | ||
| 1950 | St Colman's College, Newry | 2-11 | 3-07 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | Lurgan | Sean Blaney | - | |
| 1949 | St Colman's College, Newry | 5-11 | 0-07 | St. Malachy's, Belfast | Lurgan | Sean Blaney | - | |
| 1948 | St Patrick's College, Cavan | 7-08 | 1-07 | St. Malachy's, Belfast | Breffni Park | - | ||
| 1947 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | 5-11 | 0-02 | Abbey CBS | Newry | - | ||
| 1946 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | 4-09 | 0-03 | St Mary's College, Dundalk | Armagh | - | ||
| 1945 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | 4-09 | 0-12 | St Colman's College, Newry | Newry | - | ||
| 1944 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | 5-11 | 0-02 | Abbey CBS | Newry | - | ||
| 1943 | St Patrick's College, Cavan | 2-13 | 1-03 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | Armagh | - | ||
| 1942 | St. Macartan's College, Monaghan | 3-05 | 2-05 | St Patrick's College, Cavan | Monaghan Inniskeen | - | ||
| 1941 | St Mary's College, Dundalk | 7-06 | 3-05 | St Patrick's College, Cavan | Dundalk | - | ||
| 1940 | St. Macartan's College, Monaghan | 3-05 | 2-05 | St Mary's College, Dundalk | Inniskeen | - | ||
| 1939 | St Patrick's College, Cavan | 2-07 | 1-01 | St Mary's College, Dundalk | Breffni Park | - | ||
| 1938 | St Mary's College, Dundalk | 4-06 | 0-04 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | Dundalk | - | ||
| 1937 | St Patrick's College, Cavan | 2-06 | 1-06 | St Mary's College, Dundalk | Breffni Park | - | ||
| 1936 | St Patrick's College, Cavan | 3-03 | 1-07 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | Monaghan | - | ||
| 1935 | St Patrick's College, Cavan | 7-11 | 0-00 | Monaghan CBS | Breffni Park | T Canning | - | |
| 1934 | St. Macartan's College, Monaghan | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1933 | St. Macartan's College, Monaghan | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1932 | St. Macartan's College, Monaghan | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1931 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1930 | St. Macartan's College, Monaghan | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1929 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1928 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1927 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1926 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1925 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh St. Macartan's College, Monaghan St. Malachy's, Belfast | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1924 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1923 | St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
- The Iggy Jones Man of the Match trophy has only been awarded to players on the losing side on three occasions. Martin Clarke and Joe Ireland for St Louis, Kilkeel in consecutive finals, and Colm Greenan for St Macartan's Monaghan.
- St. Patrick's College, Maghera made their final debut in 1976, and then went on to feature in every final until 1986. They won 6 and lost 5 of those finals.
- St Colman's College, Newry and St. Patrick's College, Maghera dominated the competition between 1975 and 1991, with at least one of the schools featuring in the final. The schools won 14 titles in 17 years, including every title between 1975 and 1985.
- St. Patrick's College, Maghera didn't win a final against their illustrious rivals until 1989. St Colman's College, Newry won the first 5 finals between the two sides.
- Between 1988 and 1990 St. Patrick's College, Maghera and St Colman's College, Newry played 6 MacRory finals. The 1988 final went to a second replay and the 1990 final went to a replay
- The MacRory Cup had first time winners in 2017 St. Mary's Grammar School, Magherafelt and 2018 St Ronan's Lurgan. Prior to that the competition did not have a first time winner since St. Patrick's Academy, Dungannon's victory in 1991
- St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh, St. Michael's, Enniskillen and St Colman's College, Newry are the only schools to have lost 3 consecutive finals.
Longest winning streaks
- St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh won 7 consecutive MacRory Cups, when the winners were decided on a league basis.
| Team | Streak | Years |
| St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh | 4 | 1944–1947 |
| St. Patrick's College, Maghera | 4 | 1982–1985 |
| St. Patrick's College, Cavan | 3 | 1935–1937 |
| St Colman's College, Newry | 3 | 1967–1969 |
| St. Patrick's College, Maghera | 3 | 1994–1996 |
Most Common Finals
Longest Gap Between Title Victories
Noted footballers / College All Stars
In 2000 a Millennium team was selected by the participating schools as a best team 1988-2000.1. Jonathon Kelly
2. Paddy McGuinness
3. Sean Martin Lockhart - Won consecutive MacRory Cups with St. Patrick's College, Maghera
4. Fergal P. McCusker
5. Tony McEntee
6. Kieran McGeeney
7. Karl Diamond - Won consecutive MacRory & Hogan Cups with St. Patrick's College, Maghera
8. Paul Brewster
9. Paul McGrane
10. Eamonn Burns - Won consecutive MacRory & Hogan Cups with St. Patrick's College, Maghera
11. John Duffy
12. Paddy McKeever
13. Raymond Gallagher
14. James McCartan - Won MacRory and Hogan Cups with St. Colman's College, Newry
15. Oisin McConville played for St Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh.
Other notable players include:
- Dermot McNicholl played in five MacRory Cup finals in the early 1980s with St. Patrick's College, Maghera. Winning four titles and was twice the victorious captain.
- Martin Clarke produced a number of memorable displays in 2005 and captained his school St Louis, Kilkeel in 2006.
- Michael Murphy played for St Eunan's College, reaching the 2008 semi-final.