Schools GAA: Galway hurling schools ready to punch their full weight under new system

The new post-primary hurling championship gives Connacht schools an improved chance of competing for national glory, according to former Galway hurler Rory Gantley.

The Athenry Vocational School teacher says that for years Galway’s strongest hurling schools have been their vocational schools – partly explaining the county’s dominance of the national vocational competition in comparison to the sole Dr Croke Cup success of St Raphael’s Loughrea in 1995.

Starting in 2014 the new post- primary school competition has allowed both colleges and vocational schools to compete in the one championship, incorporating the very best of the province into a senior ‘A’ round robin series.

“I think the new system is excellent,” says the former All-Ireland-winning minor who hurled senior with Galway for seven years. “I suppose it’s new and only time will tell if it’ll bring success but the challenge is now there to compete for All-Irelands.

“St Brigid’s of Loughrea were a point last year off the All-Ireland champions and they came from the vocational schools.

“The likes of St Brigid’s and Athenry no doubt would have won and been competitive for a lot of All-Irelands down the years if they could have played, as they were the best schools in Galway.

“It is hard to understand how only one Galway school has won it and the county have had so many minor and underage successes but it’s a very hard competition to win.

“The only big boarding school in Galway hurling for a long time was Garbally which was big in rugby and then you have two schools in Loughrea, two in Athenry and a lot in the city so it would be a lot stronger if there was just the one like in other counties.”

Unlike the intercounty scene, where the Galway senior team are already competing in the Leinster championship due to the absence of competition in the province, and at underage level where the county have made public their desire to follow suit; there are absolutely no intentions to move the Galway schools anywhere according to the Connacht council.

“It would be an awful lot more difficult to organise schools travelling to Leinster – logistically I couldn’t see it being feasible. County level is different, it’s just bringing the one team around the country,” said Gantley.