Football All Stars 2024

Danske Bank Ulster schools’ football team 2023-24

This is the 36^th Ulster Schools’ All-star selection. The scheme was begun in 1988 and only missed out one year (2020-21 due to Covid).

Players are selected on their performance across challenge games. They are nominated by their schools for the preliminary trials and from those initial trials a final trial takes place from which a team of 15 players is selected. A player who has received a red card at any time during the school year is not permitted to receive an All-star

Below are the 15 players selected for the 2023-24 Danske Bank All-star football team

 

Jamie Mooney, Our Lady’s Castleblayney

Conan Devlin, Holy Trinity Cookstown

Packie Burke Doogan, Patrician High Carrickmacross

Fionn McEldowney, St Patrick’s Maghera

Finbarr Roarty, St Columba’s Glenties

Tiernan McCormack, St Patrick’s Maghera

Éamon Young, St Mary’s Magherafelt

Senán Carr, Abbey Vocational Donegal

Bobby McCaul, Our Lady’s Castleblayney

Joshua Shehu, St Patrick’s Cavan

Kevin Muldoon, Abbey Vocational Donegal

Liam Blaney, Our Lady’s & St Patrick’s Knock

Max McGinnity, Our Lady’s Castleblayney

Oisín Doherty, St Pius X Magherafelt

Seán óg McIlwaine, St Macartan’s Monaghan

 

Fionn McEldowney becomes just the third person to win FOUR Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ All-stars. Yesterday the St Patrick’s Maghera defender picked up his second hurling All-star and today he doubled up in football. Only former Antrim dual-star CJ McGourty and Monaghan’s Bernard O’Brien have managed to collect four awards, both of them doing it two decades ago.

McEldowney has captained Derry minor footballers to Ulster and All-Ireland titles

Éamon Young (St Mary’s Magherafelt) and Oisín Doherty (St Pius X) were also members of that Derry All-Ireland minor team.

Oisín Doherty is a younger brother of current Derry senior players, Conor and Mark

Last year Finbarr Roarty was the first player from his school, St Columba’s Glenties, to win a schools’ All-star. He has now won a second award, the Naomh Conaill player once again slotting in at right half back.

Current Monaghan under 20 goal-keeper Jamie Mooney retains his position for a second award. His older brother Stephen is on the Monaghan senior squad

Mooney is one of three Our Lady’s Castleblayney to make the cut, the others being Bobby McCaul and Max McGinnity.

Max McGinnity’s father Steven was on the very first football All-star team announced in 1988 and went on to serve his county for a decade at senior level. Max was top-scorer in both the Ulster and All-Ireland minor championships last year in a Monaghan team beaten by Derry in both finals.

There are five Monaghan players in total in the All-star team, three from Castleblayney, plus Seán óg McIlwaine from St Macartan’s and Patrician full-back Packie Burke Doogan.

Abbey Vocational from Donegal town won the Danske Bank MacLarnon and Paddy Drummond All-Ireland titles this season. They have two players in the team, both members of the Four Masters club, Kevin Muldoon and Senán Carr

Prior to this year current Donegal senior player Peadar Mogan was the only Abbey player to receive an All-star (2017)

Moneyglass clubman Tiernan McCormack, a student in St Patrick’s Maghera, has represented Antrim at under-age level and his father Darren played for the Ireland under 17s schools’ team against an Australian Rules team in 1991

Liam Blaney is a nephew of double All-Ireland winner Greg and son of Michael who represented Down in hurling

The team is broken down into five players from Monaghan, three each from Derry and Donegal and one each from Tyrone, Cavan, Antrim and Down.