Schools GAA: Ardscoil Rís walking the line between gaelic and rugby

There’s a big challenge ahead for the GAA in Limerick city, one that Ardscoil Rís have been tackling head-on within the parameters of one small rugby pitch.

Last year the inner city school won the Harty Cup as well as reaching only their second Munster rugby Senior Cup final, and remarkably there were no dual players on either panel.

The manager of this year’s Harty Cup squad is Limerick hurler Niall Moran, and despite the competition he’s more than happy with the school’s multi-sport ethos, which is clearly benefiting all concerned parties.

“The first thing we do, especially with our first years, is encourage lads to play all sports as there’s a crossover with a lot of the skillsets at times. But you’d find that even by second year lads are starting to make a choice and by senior it’s very rare that they play both (codes).

“Last year there was no crossover because – it’s not that we don’t allow lads to play both sports, but it’s just not feasible for lads in Leaving Cert year to commit to both with the volume of training and the physical requirements.”

Preferred sport

While most Ardscoil Rís students have already decided upon their preferred sport by the time they are eligible for senior selection, every year one of the teams tends to lose out on “one or two”.

Last year it was the hurlers who drew the short straw.

“There were two guys who would have been central to us last year, Stephen Fitzgerald who played at fullback for the senior cup and is currently involved with Munster academy. He had been centre-back on the Harty Cup team in 2012 and he was still eligible for two more years and would’ve been a big loss.

“Likewise, David O’Mahony probably would’ve been integral to the Harty Cup team, so unfortunately we lost two major players.

“When you compare that to a St Kieran’s or a Thurles CBS squad, they don’t really have to compete with other sports, so despite hurling being prominent here in recent years we have to battle to keep the interest of players given the obvious proximity to Munster rugby in Limerick city.”

It’s not just rugby and hurling that command rich traditions in the school, though.

“Traditionally, if you’re talking about a sports-mad school, we’ve gone through periods where soccer was the dominant sport, or basketball in the 90s. But rugby and hurling have always maintained a presence throughout and that’s a testament to that multi-sport culture that’s in the school.

“Even if you look at someone like John Galvin, he started his basketball career in Ardscoil, and he would have played hurling here as well, yet he obviously had a great gaelic football career for Limerick then going onwards.”

Lure of rugby

However, the lure of a professional rugby career has led to competition for the hearts and minds of hurling enthusiasts in Ardscoil Rís.

“There’s no split in Limerick city [between GAA and rugby], that’s where people are mistaken. Limerick people are fanatical sports people and the hurling would be very supportive of the rugby, and likewise in the school.

“You’d find a lot of hurlers will play a bit of rugby in the off-season and the rugby lads love to get back involved in the GAA. There’s no animosity between the codes but you do battle for the hearts and minds of the kids at times.

“Last year was a first rugby senior cup in 18 years but whether they have a strong team or not doesn’t change much – a lot of the lads would aspire to playing rugby for Munster and it would be very hard for amateur sports to compete for kids who would like to have a professional sports career. Ultimately it’s going to be a challenge within Limerick city and it obviously is within the school.

“It’s not an issue in Kilkenny, they don’t aspire to playing professional soccer on their doorstep, or to playing basketball in Kerry.”

A Limerick hurler for 11 years, an Ardscoil past pupil and a teacher of seven years, Moran may be fully behind the popularity of Munster in the city yet he does question some tactics used by the sport.

“A lot of guys are in these academies and sub-academies and you’ve got to acknowledge that rugby has a hold over a lot of players without, in some cases, directly investing a whole pile into them.”

One key aspect of the tight relationship between the two competing codes in Ardscoil Rís is the limited facilities within the schools, making last year’s success all the more remarkable.

“We’re not patting ourselves on the back but one of the most fascinating things about this school is that we operate off the back of one pitch, and that pitch is primarily a small-sized rugby one. So what would happen is that rugby would get it for two days and we would get it for two days every week.

“You could have on one pitch 40 Harty Cup players, 40 more Dean Ryan players and up to 70 first years, all doing proper sessions. We’re trying to keep going and build a proper hurling reputation here rather than a periodic one.”

So far, against all the odds, it seems to be working.

See The Irish Times this Friday for our full schools rugby and GAA magazine