St Pius Magherafelt step up to MacLaranon
September 11, 2025
St Pius Magherafelt amongst St Patrick’s Keady’s opposition as they make step up to MacLarnon Cup
The draw was made today in Garvaghy was for the group stages of the Danske Bank MacLarnon Cup. This year there will be 13 teams jockeying for position in the knockout stages around Christmas.
Last year’s winners Patrician Carrickmacross, who beat Dean Maguirc College Carrickmore in a replayed final, have moved up to the MacRory Cup with Holy Trinity Cookstown moving in the opposite direction.
Markey Cup champions St Patrick’s Keady move up a grade as do St Malachy’s Belfast.
That all means that there are no fewer than five schools from the Belfast area in contention –and three of those came out of the Cup in Group C along with Lecale Trinity, the new Downpatrick school now in it’s second year.
Joining Lecale Trinity are St Mary’s CBGS, Our Lady’s & St Patrick’s Knock and St Malachy’s.
Rathmore Grammar are in Group B along with the other St Malachy’s school (Castlewellan), St Louis Ballymena and last year’s beaten finalists Carrickmore.
Group A looks fairly formidable, not least because there are five schools involved. The fifth Belfast school, Aquinas Grammar, will face into games against Cookstown, Keady, St Pius X Magherafelt and St Eunan’s Letterkenny.
As with the MacRory Cup, the group stages begin just before Halloween with all games wrapped up by December 3rd.
The bottom team in Group A will be eliminated at this stage, with preliminary quarter-finals to take place before Christmas. Then the quarter-finals and semi-finals follow in January with the final scheduled for Sunday 5th February.
Danske Bank MacLarnon Cup draw
Group A
Aquinas Grammar Belfast
Holy Trinity Cookstown
St Patrick’s Keady
St Pius X Magherafelt
St Eunan’s Letterkenny
Group B
St Louis Ballymena
St Malachy’s Castlewallan
Rathmore Grammar
Dean Maguirc Carrickmore
Group C
St Mary’s CBGS Belfast
Our Lady’s & St Patrick’s Knock
St Malachy’s Belfast
Lecale Trinity
By Séamas McAleenan published in The Irish News September 10, 2025
