On behalf of the Connacht Schools committee it is my great pleasure to welcome everyone to Dexcom Stadium today for the 2025/26 Connacht Schools’ Cup finals. The number of Boys' and Girls' schools teams playing rugby in Connacht continues to grow each year.
I wish to express my appreciation to all the principals, teachers, coaches, and staff in our schools for their continued support of the game. Your hard work has not gone unrecognised. I also wish to thank the members of the Connacht Rugby Schools Committee for their work and help over the past year.
If I may, a brief word to those who will be proudly donning their school jersey for the final during this season: this is only the start of a new journey. Join a local club or university team next year. The camaraderie and friendships forged through rugby will endure long after you have hung up your boots.
I would like to thank the Association of Referees Connacht Branch for their dedication in providing referees and other officials, without whom, we would not have any games. Therefore, I urge anyone who loves rugby to consider further contributing to the game by taking up the whistle.
I know that today’s finals will provide an exciting conclusion to the league and, regardless of the results, I hope everyone thoroughly enjoys the day, creating magic memories to last a lifetime.
Ádh mór oraibh go léir,
Jean McConnell
Connacht Rugby Chair of Schools
Match Preview
This Wednesday, 11th March sees the second day of Finals back in Dexcom Stadium post-holidays with the Boys' Senior Development and Junior A Schools Cup Finals. The Senior Development Schools Cup Final will take place at 12:00 PM followed by the Junior A Boys’ Schools Cup Final at 2:00 PM.
The first final of a thrilling double-header is the Senior Development Boys' Schools Cup Final which will see first time finalists Carrick-on-Shannon Community School take on St. Paul's Secondary School Oughterard in what is sure to be a great contest.
The two sides are no strangers to each other, having faced off twice this season so far in the League campaign. Both matches saw incredibly tight results with the first clash in round 1 of the Senior Development Cup campaign where Carrick-on-Shannon Community School came out with a 27-26 win over the Galway side. Their previous meeting was in the Senior Development League Semi-Final where it was St. Paul's Secondary School that knocked Carrick out of a place in the final with a 29-24 win.
Carrick CS boasted a clean record in their Cup campaign seeing them through to the final after a thrilling 26-21 win over St. Louis CS in their home Semi-Final meaning the school were in their first ever Senior Cup final. St. Paul's Oughterard's only loss of the cup was that 1-point difference in their Cup pool match against Carrick CS. They went on to face Castlerea CS in their away Semi-Final and after a great 42-33 win, St. Paul's had clinched their spot in the Final to face off yet again against Carrick CS.
Both sides will be looking to capitalise on their past two meetings and take home the trophy. Sure to be an electric final not to be missed, the Senior Development Boys' Schools Cup Final is at 12:00 PM on Wed, 11th March in Dexcom Stadium.
A word from Head of Club and Community, Joe Gorham
Finals Days are the pinnacle of our Club and School players’ ambitions. It is a day of celebration for the whole of Connacht Rugby. It is truly a memorable occasion for all concerned which, undoubtedly, will be a source of conversation with your teammates in the many years ahead.
The sport of rugby allows for all our players to realise the limits of their ambitions, it allows us to create lifelong memories, however, most importantly, it is the maker of lifelong friendships.
There is no better feeling than to lift a Cup, Plate or Bowl alongside your teammates while representing your club or school. It is all about People and Place.
Sport also reflects life, in that, with every cup final there must be a winner and a loser. Regardless of winning or losing, the hope is that everyone involved on Finals Days will have a quality experience on their big day.
The advent of the new pitch at Dexcom Stadium has allowed Club and Community the opportunity to host additional Cup and League Finals (male and female/Club & School) this season. In fact, we are hugely excited to host over 40 Club & School finals over the course of the next few months.
On Finals Days, we must never forget the huge amount of work and personal sacrifice put in by all the Volunteers, Coaches and Managers to get you to this day. Volunteers are the life-blood of our sport and it would be remiss of me, on this day of celebration, not to say a huge thank you to each and every Club & School Volunteer for the magical work you put in day in and day out for the cause that is rugby in Connacht.
Finally, we at Club & Community rugby wish all our finalists and their loyal supporters the very best of luck on the day.
Connacht Abú.
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Carrick-on-Shannon CS Management: Coach Coach Backroom Backroom Backroom
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St. Paul's Oughterard Management: Coach Coach Assistant Coach Assistant Coach
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Senior Development Boys Schools Cup Final
Referee: Aaron O'Connor | AR1: Jamie Coyle | AR2: Tiarnan Neville | 4th Official: Peter Gaughan |
Carrick-on-Shannon Community School
St. Paul's Secondary School Oughterard
Carrick-on-Shannon Community School Substitutes
St. Paul's Secondary School Oughterard Substitutes
Carrick-on-Shannon Community School Message of Support
On behalf of the Whole School Community at Carrick-on-Shannon Community School the teachers, students, staff and senior management would like to wish our Senior Boys Rugby Team, Ms. McNulty and Sam Atumonyogo the very best of luck in the Senior Boys Connacht Rugby Final. All your hard work and training have paid off. Go out and enjoy the experience and more importantly enjoy the game.
-Catríona Sexton (Principal, Acting)
St. Paul's Secondary School Message of Support
On behalf of our whole school community we wish our senior rugby players the very best of luck in this Senior Development Rugby Final.
We are incredibly proud of their determination and efforts, and congratulate them on the fine achievement of reaching this final.
Both individually and collectively these sportsmen have made decisions that have brought them the honour of representing our school and our staff, parents and pupils offer support as they take on today’s challenge.
Special mention and thanks goes to Joshua Hays and James Kelly for the coaching and guidance they have offered school rugby all year, and to the families who have invested so much in the boys’ love of their sport over the years. We are also grateful to Norman Tierney and Martin Irons for the generosity they have shown on our school's journey to today's final.
