The Abbey Grammar School
77a, Ashgrove Road
Newry
Co Down, BT34 1QN
N Ireland
+44 (0) 28 3026 3142
The Abbey Grammar School
77a, Ashgrove Road
Newry
Co Down, BT34 1QN
N Ireland
+44 (0) 28 3026 3142
Danske Bank MacRory Cup Final Replay
Abbey CBS 0-12 0-8 St Patrickβs Academy
Abbey CBS have secured the MacRory Cup for the time in twenty years. The Newry school accounting for St Patrickβs Academy in a replay which never reached the heights of Sundayβs thrilling final, but that wonβt worry Abbey who deservedly lifted the Cup.
Dungannon flew from the traps and Jonah Feeney had them in front within twelve seconds. Liam McGeary doubled the lead converting an advanced mark, which initially looked like being a goal chance.
Abbey settled into the contest with man of the match Diarmuid OβRourke kicking two points, the second from a free as little separated the sides.
Both sides had goal chances either side of OβRourke giving Abbey the lead. Daniel McKernan saw his well struck shot pushed around the post, and at the other end an Aodhan Quinn shot was smothered by McBennett.
OβRourke was on target again from a free before Daniel McKernan kicked a two pointer to extend the lead to four. The Academy were guilty of wasteful shooting and kicked six first half wides, as their potent forward line failed to cause the Abbey the same problem.
As the half closed Davin McKeown weaved through the Abbey rearguard his shot was saved, he picked up the rebound but calls for a penalty were waived away.
Trailing 6-2, at the interval Dungannon, once again started brightly, forcing a turnover, Eoin Long kicked the resultant free,Michael Hughes narrowed the gap after McKeownβs two point attempt came back off the upright. McKernan settled Abbey nerves with a mark, before OβRourke and Oisin Byrne put five between them. Abbey were again on top at midfield, as the Newry school successfully pressed the restarts.
The final quarter saw McGeary on target but scores from Charlie McGrath and a sixth from OβRourke left six between them with as many minutes remaining.
St Patrickβs did keep fighting and when Eoin Long and McGeary were on target four points was the deficit as the game entered additional time. A McKeown point left just a major between them, but the goal never looked likely as McKernan applied the finishing touches with the insurance score.
D OβRourke 0-6 (0-3f), D McKernan 0-4, (1m, 2pt), O Byrne, C McGrath 0-1 each
L McGeary 0-3 (1m), E Long 0-2, (2f), J Feeney, M Hughes, D McKeown 0-1 each
Ref J McQuillan
Published on Team Talk
MacRory Man of the Match, Diarmaid OβRourke 
Danske Bank Ulster Schools GAA Β· MacRory Cup Final Replay – Box-It Athletic Ground – Armagh – 13th February 2026
Abbey CBS Newry captain Diarmuid OβRourke presented with the man of the match trophy by Bernie Kerr from Danske Bank
St. Patrick’s Academy Dungannon v
Abbey CBS
Friday 13th February 2026
730pm
Athletic Grounds Armagh
Live on Ulster Schools GAA TV MacRory Cup Replay – Live Stream Information 
Ulster Schools GAA TV
Daniel Carr popped up with an injury-time equaliser to send a thrilling MacRory Cup final to a replay as Abbey CBS fought back for a 0-18 to 1-15 draw against St Patrick’s, Dungannon.
Leading by nine at half-time, the Tyrone school looked on course to make up for their disappointment at the final stage two years ago, but the Newry outfit flipped momentum in the second half as they live to fight another day.
The Newry side opened well with early scores from Diarmaid O’Rourke, but St Patrick’s roared into it with a sixth-minute goal when Eoin Long was picked out by Liam McGeary to race through and finish low to the net.
While the Abbey levelled and the sides then swapped points, St Patrick’s took over with the next nine points in a row.
Long began with the sequence with man of the match McGeary kicking five, Lorcan McMurray with a brace and Aodhan Quinn also in the act before the Abbey summoned a reply through Keelan McEntee.
Fergus Toale added another, but a two-pointer from St Patrick’s captain Davin McKeown pushed the gap back to nine and after a late exchange of scores, the Dungannon side held a 1-13 to 0-7 lead at the break with Abbey denied a goal late in the half with Ronan Donnelly saving from Michael O’Neill.
It seemed they were well on their way, but two early scores from O’Rourke gave the Abbey a glimmer early in the second half.
Still, with St Patrick’s scoring two of the next three that included McGeary’s sixth from play, there was no hint of the drama that was to follow as the Abbey mounted a charge in the final quarter.
Daniel McKernan’s followed up a fisted effort with a two-point free and when Keelan McEntee pointed, the gap was down to much more manageable four.
Abbey could have been closer, if not ahead, had some of their goal chances been converted with Fergus Toale firing wide and Daniel Carr was just off target from distance, but a McKernan score with five to go left three between them.
That gap ought to have been wiped out but for goal-line heroics by St Patrick’s Ruairi O’Neill who thwarted Charlie McGrath and Odhran Reel, but momentum was with the Newry outfit as McGrath and Jack O’Mahoney brought the gap to one and then Carr completed the comeback deep in added time to force a replay on Friday, 13 February.
By BBC Northern Ireland
Watch the game at Click Me
St. Patrick’s Academy Dungannon v Abbey CBS Sunday 8th February 2026 3pm Athletic Grounds, Armagh
All tickets must be purchased in advance using the link below 
MacRory Cup Final β Live Stream Information 
Please note: any links requiring payment are scams.Diarmaid OβRourke will bid to become the sixth Abbey CBS captain to hold aloft the Danske Bank MacRory Cup when they go head-to-head with St Patrickβs Academy, Dungannon at the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds on Sunday afternoon.
OβRourke is one of six Dromintee men in the starting line-up, including the entire half-back line with him in the centre, and there is no doubt having that many players from the one club is a help, especially when it is a side that have won numerous trophies over the years including the prestigious Ulster minor competition at St Paulβs in Belfast at Christmas.
And OβRourke is keen to add another piece of silverware to a successful season thus far.
βIt has been a great time alright and Iβm just trying to soak it all in and take all the wins that I can. Iβm sure it wonβt last forever, but itβs a brilliant time at the minute,β he said.
While the medals have flowed at club level, this group of players representing Abbey CBS have yet to get their hands on a colleges title and at their age there are misses, this weekend would be the ideal time to put that right.
βWe have competed well in our group from Corn na nΓg up, with Dungannon beating us in that final as well as the Oisin McGrath final following year,β said OβRourke.
βWe have been close and just come up short and for us itβs all about getting that one or two per cent more to enable us to take that one step further and get over the line. I think we have got better with each game this season and have a bit of momentum behind us.β
Through the group stages they improved and then in their first knock-out game they targeted Cavan as we knew they were a quality team and if we got past that we would have a shot at the holders Maghera in the quarter-final. It was tight but we just did enough to win it.
That Cavan game was a big test for the Abbey and it is fair to say they have had a tough path to the final, having beaten Maghera in the last eight before coming from four down in the second half of an Ulster semi-final to defeat Omagh CBS side last day out.
βThe Maghera game was huge as it was against the reigning Hogan champions and we had to travel to Celtic Park and that certainly didnβt make it any easier,β said OβRourke.
βWe knew that we had the potential to beat them, down the years we felt that we always had the potential to beat any side as long as we showed up on the day.
βUp until that Maghera game we maybe hadnβt put in a whole performance to win a big game like that and when we did it was a great confidence boost.
βNext up was an Omagh side who had beaten us well in the group stages and we discussed that game a lot in the build-up to the semi-final. The main thing against Omagh at Healy Park was our work-rate for each other β it just wasnβt there, it was nothing to do with our football.
βIt was all about working a bit harder for ourselves and we brought that more against them in Fintona, especially in the second half, as we won a lot more of our kick-outs and built on that.β
Another severe test awaits in the form of an Academy side who have won everything throughout their school careers but it all boils down to the 60-plus minutes at the Athletic Grounds.
There is no doubt OβRourke will have a key role to play, especially after notching 0-9 in that win over Omagh, his haul including three frees from outside the arc with either foot.
βDungannon will be favourites going into the game and we are going to have to live with that and try and nullify their key threats by working as hard as we can and do the simple things right and hopefully it leads to success,β he said.
βThatβs part of my game that I have worked on a lot, my long-distance shooting, as with the new rules two-pointers are a key factor as they can decide games. I really enjoy that new rule and try to take advantage of it as much as I can.β
Danske Bank MacRory Cup Semi Final
Omagh CBS 0-15 Abbey CBS 1-14
Abbey CBS produced a brilliant second-half comeback at Fintona last night to beat a fancied Omagh CBS side and qualify for their first MacRory Cup final since 2006.
Omagh led by 0-10 to 0-6 at the break but the winners went on the attack straight from the restart to win a penalty, which Charlie McGrath tucked away. That early score gave them serious belief with man-of-the-match Diarmaid OβRourke to the fore with a superb haul of 0-9.
It was a wonderful advert for schoolsβ football from the first whistle to the last. Omagh started well with a brace of two-pointers from Thomas Meenan, but Abbey responded with two orange flags from OβRourke.
There was little between the sides but as the interval approached Omagh tagged on points from James Maguire, Michael McNamee and Peter Colton free to give them that four-point cushion at the turnaround.
After the penalty, Harley Patton and Ryan OβHare swapped points before a two-pointer from a 40th-minute OβRourke free put Abbey ahead for the first time.
It was an advantage that they were never to lose, with Dan McKernan and OβRourke pushing that out to three by the three-quarter mark.
It was all Abbey at this stage and when McKernan converted a monster free off the ground they led by five and were well in control.
Diarmaid Martin and OβRourke swapped points before a two-pointer from the former gave Omagh hope.
Cathal Farley then left two between the sides, but despite having a couple of chances, a resolute Abbey defence held out to book a decider against St Patrickβs, Dungannon.
SCORERS
Omagh:
T Meenan 0-4 (2pt); D Martin 0-3 (1pt); M McNamee & C Farley 0-2 each;
R Baxter, J Maguire, P Colton (f) & H Patton 0-1
Abbey:
D OβRourke 0-9 (3tpt, 0-2f);
D McKernan 0-3 (1pt, 0-1m);
C McGrath 1-0;
K McEntee & R OβHare 0-1
By Kevin Kelly Published in the Irish News 26/01/26
MacRory Cup Semi-Finals | Fixture UpdateΒ 
The Danske Bank MacRory Cup Semi-Finals, originally scheduled for Thursday and Friday, have been postponed due to unplayable pitches and adverse weather conditions.
Following a meeting of the Ulster Schools GAA Executive Committee, it was agreed that a draw would take place to determine home venue allocation.
As a result, Abbey Vocational Donegal and CBS Omagh will host their respective fixtures.
Updated fixture details are as follows (venues TBC):
Β Abbey Vocational School β Donegal ETB vΒ St. Patrickβs Academy Dungannon
Β Sunday 25th January
Β 2pm
Β BallintraΒ Β Β Click For Directions
Β CBS Omagh vΒ 
Β Abbey CBS
Β Sunday 25th January
Β 7pm
Β Omagh Venue TBC
MacRory Campaign
Danske Bank MacRory Final Replay
Abbey CBS 0-12 V St. Patrick’s, Dungannon 0-8
Athletic Grounds Friday 13th February 7:30pm
Danske Bank MacRoryΒ Final
Abbey CBS 0-18 V St. Patrick’s, Dungannon 1-15
Athletic Grounds Sunday 8th February 3pm
Danske Bank MacRory Semi Final
Abbey CBS 1-14 V Omagh CBS 0-15
Sunday 25th January 2026, Fintona Β 7pm
Danske Bank MacRory Quarter Final
Abbey CBS 2-15 V St. Patrick’s, Maghera 0-12
Sunday 11th January 2026, Celtic Park 3:30pm
Danske Bank MacRory Cup Play Offs
Abbey CBSΒ 2-18 v St. Patrick’s, Cavan 2-16
Friday 12th December 2pm Mayobridge
Danske Bank MacRory Cup
Abbey CBSΒ 3-16 v St. Patrick’s, Armagh 0-5
Thursday 4th December 2025 6pm Burren
That Abbey CBS beat St Patrickβs, Armagh last night in Burren wasnβt totally surprising. That they sailed through to a comprehensive victory certainly was and it now means that Omagh CBS top Group B as a result of their head-to-head win over Abbey CBS with St Patrickβs in third spot.
Omagh will have a home tie in the last 16 play-off round next week against Patrician High, Carrickmacross, while Abbey also have home advantage against St Patrickβs, Cavan. Armagh though will make the short trip down the road to meet the other Newry side, St Colmanβs, while St Paulβs, Bessbrook will travel to Burren next Tuesday to face the holders St Patrickβs, Maghera.
Daniel Carr was the first half goalscorer in Burren last night, his three-pointer coming in the 21st minute.
However, it has to be said that his team were in control of the game well before his strike.
They led by five points before Armagh opened their account in the 14th minute through Ryan McQuade. Although Abbey didnβt score again until Carrβs goal, they took off once more with four points, including two from Diarmuid OβRourke, to lead by 1-8 to 0-3 at the break.
Armagh scored first in the second half with another point from McQuade but it was their only score until James Daly pointed in the 58th minute.
Abbey had a few early wides before OβRourke pointed a free and then they seemed to step up a gear.
The next score was a goal from Michael OβNeill, followed by six unanswered points, including three from OβRourke, and then a third goal from Conal Gallagher, in the 24th minute.
Meanwhile, in last nightβs Group A round three encounter, Southwest Donegal succumbed to a 1-11 to 1-6 defeat to St Michaelβs, Enniskillen.
The Donegal lads trailed by six at half-time and failed to make any significant inroads in the second half against the Fermanagh outfit.
Abbey CBS:Β D Carr 1-1, M OβNeill and D Gallagher 1-0 each, D OβRourke 0-5 (1f), R OβHare 0-3, C McGrath and F Toale 0-2 each, K McEntee, O Byrne and J Mahony 0-1 each.
St Patrickβs, Armagh:Β R McQuade 0-2 (1f), M Daly, C Hughes and A McGrane 0-1 each.
byΒ SEAMUS McALEENAN published in The Irish News
Photo by Brian Hamill
Danske Bank MacRory Cup
Abbey sides double up
OβRourke shines as CBS get back on track with comfortable victory
Danske Bank MacRory GROUP B
St Paulβs, Bessbrook 0-6
Abbey CBS 2-18
Abbey CBS bounced back from defeat last week in Omagh to register a very comfortable derby victory over St Paulβs, Bessbrook in Carrickcruppen yesterday afternoon.
After an indifferent first-half added time from Dan McKernan really shut the door on any chance of a Bessbrook comeback in the second half; Abbey led 1-12 to 0-4 at the break.
In reality, though, St Paulβs were chasing the game from early on, with Diarmuid OβRourke landing a two-pointer for the opening score and Charlie McGrath and Jack OβMahoney following up with points.
Eventually, Shea Loughran opened Bessbrookβs account in the seventh minute, but by the time C. McKeown hit their second score some minutes later, Abbey were on nine points with McKernan, OβRourke and MΓcheΓ‘l OβNeill all on target.
Mooney claimed another score for St Paulβs but McKernanβs goal right on the half-time whistle left Abbey very comfortable leaders.
Bessbrook worked harder in the second half and restricted the Abbey well but the Abbey goalkeeper Rian McKevitt was excellent, but he couldnβt prevent Charlie McGrathβs goal in the 53rd minute, while C. McKeownβs best-by-bye subs picked off points.
SCORERS
St Paulβs
C Mooney 3, S Loughran 0-2 each; S Herris & R McArtan 0-1 each
Abbey CBS
D OβRourke 0-8 (2f); D McKernan 1-3; C McGrath 1-2; K McEntee, J OβMahoney 0-1 each; M OβNeill, F Toale, D Carr 0-1 each
By SΓ©amus McAleenan published in The Irish News 26th November 2025
Abbey CBS 1-4 Omagh CBS 2-12
Abbey CBS Newry made the long run to Healy Park on Wednesday afternoon for their group clash with Omagh CBS. Β Both sides were hoping to point on a confidence boosting display as well as collecting the two league points on offer.
Omagh began well defensively as they turned Abbey over three times inside the opening six minutes while also opening the scoring with a fine Peter Colton point from play. However three unanswered points from an impressive Abbey front six had the Newry lads 0-3 to 0-1 ahead with Keelan McEntee, Diarmuid OβRourke and Charlie McGrath all on target.
Just when it appeared that Abbey were about to push on Omagh found their groove. Inspired by the drive of Thomas Meenan and Colton Omagh hit 1-6 without reply as they completely bossed the rest of the first half. A defensive mix up in the Abbey rearguard led to a goal following a superb run by Eoghan Donnelly. Omagh were now playing with confidence and self belief. Points from Thomas Meenan, Peter Colton and Michael Mc Namee knocked the confidence out of Abbey and Omagh reached the break leading 1-7 to 0-3. A fabulous defensive block by Jack Gartland denied Abbey a great chance of a goal and Omagh went in at the break leading by seven.
Last time out in Healy Park and Omagh allowed a large half time lead to disappear and St Pats Armagh to go on and win. This time there was no chance of that happening as Omagh tackled manfully all over the pitch and gave a master class in defending.
After the restart Michael Mc Namee and Peter Colton struck for early points before Colton struck for his teamβs second goal. Omagh were enjoying lots of possession and with a bit more accuracy could have been out of sight five minutes into the second half.
Diarmuid Martin and Harly Patton added points for the home side to make it 2-11 to 0-3 before Dan McKernan plundered a half chance over the line. Jack OβMahoney and Eoghan Donnelly swapped scores as the clocked ticked past thirty minutes and the snow started once more.
Final Score; Omagh CBS 2-12. Abbey CBS 1-4
Report published by teamtalkmag.com
Danske Bank MacRory Cup – Round 1
Abbey CBS 3-14 St. Ronan’s, Lurgan 0-9
Wednesday 12th November Burren 2pm
Our MacRory boys kicked off their second-round game with a confident win over St Ronanβs, Lurgan
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