Connacht Schools Junior Cup
The Connacht Schools Junior Challenge Cup is an under-age rugby union competition for schools affiliated to the Connacht Branch of the IRFU.
Competition is confined to students under the age of 16. The final is held in March each year in the Galway Sportsgrounds. It is usually seen as a good forecast as who will win the Connacht Schools Senior Cup in the following years.
Garbally College have been the most successful school in the competition lifting the cup 42 times. They are followed by St Josephs College Galway, Sligo Grammar School, Colaiste Iognaid, Marist College and Ranelagh College and Calasanctius College Oranmore
Marist College, Athlone have been the most successful team since the turn of the millennium winning the Junior cup seven times.
2010 Competition
Calasanctius completed a junior league and cup double after winning their 2nd cup title by 17 points to 5 after facing a strong Rice College team in search of their 1st ever title who played their 2nd final this year after losing the Development Cup final to Clifden CS earlier this season.The format of the competition is different in 2010 than it was in 2009. In 2009 every team played in the Junior Cup with the teams who lost their first game playing in the Development Cup. In 2010 16 play in the Development Cup with the two finalists playing in the Junior Cup along with six other teams.
The ages for the Junior Cup have also changed for the 2009 competition a player must have been under 15 on 1 July. From this year onwards a player must be Under 16 on 1 January.
Development Cup:
Round 1:
- Athlone Community College 17 St Marys Ballygar 8
- Rice College 7 Holy Rosary 0
- St Raphaels Loughrea 0 Pres Athenry 7
- Gallen CS 7 St Jarlaths College 0
- Clifden CS 57 St Muredach's 14
- Scoil Chuinsiteach Chiarain 0 Colaiste Iognaid 7
- St Endas Galway 7 St Geralds Castlebar 0
- St Aloysius College 0 Athenry VS 7
- Athlone Community College 0 Rice College 17
- Gallen CS 7 Pres Athenry 0
- Clifden CS 8 Colaiste Iognaid 7
- St Endas Galway 3 Athenry VS 7.
- Rice College 36 Gallen CS 10
- Clifden CS 7 Athenry VS 0.
- Rice College 7 Clifden CS 13
Quarter Finals:
- Calasanctius College Oranmore 3 Sligo Grammar School 0
- Clifden CS 9 Summerhill College 15
- Garbally College 12 St Josephs College Galway 15
- Rice College 13 Marist College 7.
- Calasanctius College Oranmore 3 Summerhill College 0
- St Josephs College Galway 8 Rice College 10.
- Calasanctius College Oranmore 17 Rice College 5
2011 Competition
The Bish are current favorites even at this early stage as they won the 2010 Under 15 Connacht blitz, beating Garbally College, Calasanctius College Oranmore, Marist College, Athlone, St. Geralds College Castlebar and Colaiste Iognaid and they have also topped their group in the league.
Development Cup
Round 1
- St. Geralds, Castlebar 19 Summerhill College, Sligo 10
- Gallen CS v St. Marys, Ballygar
- Athenry VS 17 Sligo Grammar School 36
- Athlone Community College 7 Presentation College, Athenry 0
- St. Geralds Castlebar 78 v St. Raphaels, Loughrea 0
- St. Endas, Galway 16 Clifden CS 12
- Gallen CS 6 Sligo Grammar School 27
- St. Aloysius College, Athlone 17 Athlone Community College 32
- St. Geralds, Castlebar 21 St. Endas 8
- Sligo Grammar School 7 Athlone Community College 0
- St. Geralds, Castlebar 5 Sligo Grammar School 10
Quarter-Finals
- Sligo Grammar School 11 Calasanctius, Oranmore 14
- St. Geralds, Castlebar 11 Marist College, Athlone 11
- Coláiste Iognáid 5 St. Josephs College, Galway 13
- Rice College, Westport 24 Garbally College 17
- Marist College, Athlone v St. Geralds, Castlebar
- Calasanctius, Oranmore 15 Marist College, Athlone 7
- St. Josephs College, Galway 13 Rice College, Westport 17
- Calasanctius, Oranmore v Rice College, Westport
Performance by School
+2 Only counting wins and losing finals since 1989
- Last Updated 20/03/2018
Results
1910s
- 1915 Galway Grammar School
- 1916 Garbally College
- 1917 Ranelagh, Athlone
- 1918 Colaiste Iognaid
- 1919 Ranelagh, Athlone
1920s
- 1920 Suspended
- 1921 Suspended
- 1922 Suspended
- 1923 Suspended
- 1924 St. Joseph's College, Galway
- 1925 Garbally College
- 1926 Ranelagh, Athlone
- 1927 Garbally College
- 1928 St. Joseph's College, Galway
- 1929 Ranelagh, Athlone
1930s
- 1930 St. Joseph's College, Galway
- 1931 Garbally College
- 1932 Suspended
- 1933 Suspended
- 1934 Garbally College
- 1935 Sligo Grammar School
- 1936 Suspended
- 1937 Garbally College
- 1938 Garbally College
- 1939 Garbally College
1940s
- 1940 Garbally College
- 1941 Garbally College
- 1942 Suspended
- 1943 Suspended
- 1944 Suspended
- 1945 Suspended
- 1946 Suspended
- 1947 Suspended
- 1948 Suspended
- 1949 Garbally College
1950s
- 1950 Garbally College
- 1951 Garbally College
- 1952 Garbally College
- 1953 Garbally College
- 1954 Garbally College
- 1955 Garbally College
- 1956 Garbally College
- 1957 Garbally College
- 1958 Galway Grammar School
- 1959 Sligo Grammar School
1960s
- 1960 St. Joseph's College, Galway
- 1961 Sligo Grammar School/St. Joseph's College, Galway
- 1962 Sligo Grammar School
- 1963 St. Joseph's College, Galway
- 1964 St. Joseph's College, Galway
- 1965 Suspended
- 1966 Sligo Grammar School
- 1967 Suspended
- 1968 Suspended
- 1969 Galway Vocational School
1970s
- 1970 Garbally College
- 1971 Garbally College
- 1972 Garbally College
- 1973 Garbally College
- 1974 Garbally College
- 1975 St. Joseph's College, Galway
- 1976 Clifden Community School
- 1977 Garbally College
- 1978 Colaiste Iognaid
- 1979 Garbally College
1980s
- 1980 Garbally College
- 1981 Colaiste Iognaid
- 1982 Garbally College
- 1983 Garbally College
- 1984 Garbally College
- 1985 Garbally College
- 1986 St. Joseph's College, Galway
- 1987 Colaiste Iognaid
- 1988 Garbally College
- 1989 Sligo Grammar School beat Colaiste Iognaid
1990s
- 1990 St. Joseph's College, Galway beat Garbally College
- 1991 St. Joseph's College, Galway
- 1992 Garbally College
- 1993 Garbally College
- 1994 Garbally College
- 1995 Garbally College beat Marist College, Athlone
- 1996 Garbally College beat St. Josephs College, Galway
- 1997 Portumna Community School beat St Muredach's College
- 1998 Garbally College beat Portumna Community School
- 1999 Garbally College beat Colaiste Iognaid
2000s
- 2000 Marist College, Athlone beat Garbally College
- 2001 Portumna Community School beat Sligo Grammar School
- 2002 Marist College, Athlone beat Garbally College
- 2003 Sligo Grammar School beat Garbally College
- 2004 Garbally College beat Marist College, Athlone
- 2005 Marist College, Athlone beat Summerhill College, Sligo
- 2006 Garbally College beat Colaiste Iognaid by 20-12
- 2007 Marist College, Athlone beat Garbally College by 10 - 6
- 2008 Sligo Grammar School beat Marist College, Athlone by 8 - 5
- 2009 Calasanctius College, Oranmore beat Summerhill College, Sligo by 20 - 15
2010s
- 2010 Calasanctius College, Oranmore beat Rice College by 17-5
- 2011 Rice College, Westport beat Calasanctius College, Oranmore by 26-18
- 2012 Rice College, Westport beat Sligo Grammar School by 6 - 3
- 2013 Marist College, Athlone beat Sligo Grammar School by 22 - 8
- 2014 St. Gerald's College, Castlebar beat CBS Roscommon 36 - 22
- 2015 CBS Roscommon beat Coláiste Iognáid, Galway 36 - 0
- 2016 Marist College, Athlone beat Garbally College by 25 - 0
- 2017 Garbally College, Ballinasloe beat Colaiste Iognaid by 17-13
- 2018 Marist College, Athlone beat Garbally College by 20-17
- 2019 Garbally College, Ballinasloe beat Colaiste Iognaid by 22 – 15.
2020s
- 2020 CBS Roscommon beat St Muredach's College, Ballina by 12-5
Other Cup Competitions
Junior Development Cup
- 2010 Clifden CS beat Rice College by 13-7
- 2011 Sligo Grammar School beat St. Geralds College, Castlebar by 10-5
- 2012 Marist College, Athlone beat Roscommon CBS by 17-5
- 2013 Gallen Community School, Ferbane beat Coláiste Iognáid, Galway by 13-7
- 2014 Gallen Community School, Ferbane beat Gortnor Abbey by 32-3
- 2015
- 2016
- 2017 Calasanctius College beat Coláiste Bhaile Chláir, Claregalway by 19-16
- 2018 Presentation College, Athenry beat St. Jarlath’s College, Tuam by 30-5
- 2019 St. Jarlath's College, Tuam beat Presentation College, Athenry by 22-15
Junior Emerging Cup
- 2008 St Josephs College, Galway beat Coláiste Iognáid
- 2009 Calasanctius College, Oranmore beat Coláiste Iognáid, Galway By 7-5
- 2010 Calasanctius College, Oranmore beat Coláiste Iognáid, Galway By 8-6
- 2011 Coláiste Iognáid, Galway beat St Josephs College, Galway
- 2012 St Josephs College, Galway beat St Endas College
- 2013 St Josephs College, Galway beat St Endas College
- 2014
- 2015 St. Jarlath’s College, Tuam beat St Tiernan's College, Crossmolina by 19-14
- 2016
- 2017 Abbey Community College beat St Joseph’s, Foxford by 24-18
- 2018 Abbey Community College beat St Joseph’s, Foxford by 8-5
- 2019 Athlone Community College beat Scoil Chuimsiteach Chiarain, Carraroe by 28-0
Other Competitions
Junior League
- 2005 Garbally College beat Coláiste Iognáid, Galway by 15-13
- 2006
- 2007 Shared between Marist College, Athlone and Cilfden C.S
- 2008
- 2009 Calasanctius College, Oranmore beat Sligo Grammar School by 7-0
- 2010 The Bish beat Marist College, Athlone
- 2011 Sligo Grammar School
- 2017 Garbally College beat Marist College, Athlone by 32-05
- 2018 Garbally College beat Marist College, Athlone by 31-17
- 2019 CBS Roscommon beat Garbally College, Ballinasloe by 15-7