BUILDING and sustaining a rich culture of Gaelic games in Belfast is essential for wider success in Antrim and a major step forward has been taken with St Mary’s CBGS set to recruit a full-time Coaching and Games Development Officer (GDO).

The Glen Road institution has always had a rich history in hurling and football as it continues to lead the roll of honour for Mageean Cups with 28, while with the big ball, the All-Ireland Hogan Cup was annexed in 1971 and its last MacRory triumph occurred in 1986.

Success at the top level of Ulster Colleges competition has dipped in recent years, but there are green shoots with hurling’s McNamee, Leonard and Gallagher Cups collected in recent years, yet there is no intention of resting on laurels.

A GDO may be a unique appointment for Antrim schools, but it is far from the case elsewhere with St Patrick’s, Maghera - winners of the Hogan Cup on St Patrick’s Day - and Abbey CBS seeing such appointments bear fruit.

Upon his appointment as school principal for the start of this academic year, Brendan McComb had a vision to work alongside with Antrim GAA to install a full-time employee whose mantra will be to help grow Gaelic games within the school and upskill those already with a background in hurling and football, whether pupils, coaches or teachers.

And so it has come to be, with St Mary’s ready to make a leap which ties in with Antrim GAA’s five-year Strategic Plan, Le Chéile le hAghaidh 2030, which was launched back in December.

“One thing I want is for St Mary’s to become a centre of excellence for the GAA in West Belfast,” said McComb.

“The school has an incredible tradition of success in Ulster Colleges competitions and we want to build upon that.

“We probably haven’t been competing at the level we want in football in recent years. In hurling, we had a good year last year, but there had been a bit of a drought and we want to be consistently competing at the top end of Ulster Colleges.

“A lot of schools outside Antrim have had this set up for a number of years, so we want to be the first school in Antrim and Belfast to pioneer this and have a full-time Games Development Coordinator who is totally committed to growing the games within our school and community. 

“If hurling and football is going well within the school, that will benefit the clubs and in turn, benefit the county.”

Five key priorities

McComb outlined five core priorities for the new role: Grow and sustain participation in Gaelic games; Improve performance, including a tailored Strength & Conditioning programme; Build links with feeder primary schools to develop talent early; Support teachers and coaches by relieving them of administrative burdens; Foster greater alignment between school, club and county, ensuring fixtures don’t clash and players don’t burn out.

The school has set a target of 24 active coaches for its 12 teams. The GDO will coordinate development efforts and lead in upskilling staff while ensuring access to upgraded facilities such as the S&C gym, already undergoing redevelopment.

In terms of potential, Belfast remains a greatly untapped resource with the scope to dramatically increase participation and a greater playing pool, steeped in Gaelic games, will benefit clubs and county teams.

Alfie Hannaway, Head of Games at Antrim GAA, has worked closely with the school to make their vision a reality and already, steps have been taken to redevelop the strength and conditioning gym and the new GDO will ensure those players have access to the facility when needed, while also facilitating club players within the school to gain access.

“It’s amazing for us in Antrim to have a school take this leap and bring Gaelic Games into the fabric of a school,” said Hannaway.

“This will build on the work already going on and take the pressure off the teachers to organise logistics such as coaching courses and school teams. This person will help the teachers as their primary job is teaching and this provides massive support.

“Over the last number of years, the development of our strategy has led us to focus on post-primaries and with the help of Ulster Schools, we developed the Antrim Schools Cup for Year 8 and Year 10, football and hurling, and Year 9 Camogie and Ladies Football. It means that when kids arrive at school in September, they will be playing for the school teams right through until March, so we don’t clash with the club season. That ties in with our academy.

“There’s still work to be done in our post-primaries to get to a higher level and games give them opportunities to play against each other. A high tide lifts all boats and we are already seeing that some of our schools that were participating in D competitions and now up to C and B, while those at B are up into A - all within three years of the programme.

“St Mary’s is a big part of this, but you also have Cross & Passion (Ballycastle), St Louis (Ballymena), St Malachy’s, Coláiste Feirste, who have all increased where they enter in the Ulster Schools.”

Already, St Mary’s is working with primary schools like St Anne’s PS, running ball-wall sessions to build skills and spark early interest. This groundwork is key to establishing long-term culture change.

Community investment and alumni  support

The initiative is jointly funded by Antrim GAA and St Mary’s, with the school financing its share through alumni donations and sponsorship, including their annual AIB-sponsored golf day. Former pupils are being invited to support the initiative and play a role in shaping the next generation of county players.

2Gallery

“St Mary’s has produced county stars like Gerard Walsh, Paddy McBride, Stephen Rooney and Conor Johnston,” said St Mary’s principal, McComb.

“We want to increase that number and provide every pupil with the opportunity to represent their club, and one day, their county.”

The school already benefits from staff with elite experience, names like Tony Austin, Paddy Cunningham, Sean McGoldrick, Dermot McVeigh, Raymond Herron, Sean Kelly, Adrian Smith and Conor Hynds, and plans to expand that coaching base with help from the GDO.

Long-Term Vision

“Look at the pedigree of the people who have come through St Mary’s: Gerard Walsh, Paddy McBride, Stephen Rooney and Conor Johnston who is a classroom assistant in the school.

“We want our pupils to enjoy their hurling and football in St Mary’s, but also to represent their clubs and have the aspiration to go on and increase the county representation St Mary’s has, not just at juvenile and development squad level, but at senior.

“We will have someone employed full-time to develop our games internally to learn from past mistakes and look at what’s working for other schools, measuring progress and retention rates, plus driving this on and embedding a culture in the school.

“I have a real love for Gaelic games and participated with my own club, Lámh Dhearg, while playing at school and university, so I see the positive influence that gave me and I want that culture for our young people.

“This is a long-term plan, so we aren’t going to see dramatic success within one year. Until we embed this culture and those pupils get to Year 11 or 12, we’ll only see how much of a success this has been.”

From little acorns grow mighty oaks and that is the strategy within the county.

St Mary’s CBGS has taken a huge step towards driving Antrim forward, but the work of the Games Development Officer will be great, yet one they all hope will deliver its teams back to the very top and place the value of Gaelic games front and centre.