Queen’s announce Future Stars football team

LAST week was a busy but productive one for Ruairí Canavan.
The St Ciarán’s Ballygalway student hit six points as his school came from behind to snatch a 0-9 to 0-7 victory over St Colm’s Draperstown in the Danske Bank Arthurs Cup final on Wednesday evening.
The Errigal Ciarain club player then fitted in a final trial at the Dub for the Queen’s GAA 2019-20 Future Stars football team and the talented teenager has made the cut when the final 15 were announced at the dinner in Riddell Hall last night (MONDAY 16th DEC).
This is the fifth year of the Queen’s GAA Future Stars football programme, and Ruairí is following in his brother Darragh’s footsteps.
Darragh, now in the Tyrone senior panel, was corner-forward in the first team announced in December 2015. Ruairí also gets a corner forward slot in this year’s team.
Both are sons of All-star and All-Ireland winning captain Peter, who had further reason to celebrate with his nephew Sean O’Donnell, a student in Omagh CBS, also making the team, as did Callan Devlin at full-back, who plays for Peter in Holy Trinity College Cookstown.
Indeed the team is dominated by Tyrone under-age stars with St Patrick’s Academy Dungannon picking up three awards and Omagh CBS two while Ardboe’s Michael Forbes a student in St Pius X Magherafelt fills one of the midfield slots.
Goalie Niall Robinson, defender Adam Toner and the other corner-forward Cormac Devlin made the cut for the Academy and Conor McGillion represents Omagh along with Trillick clubman Sean O’Donnell.
St Michael’s Enniskillen had a good run in the Danske Bank Rannafast Cup this autumn and making the Queen’s team are two of their top performers, Fionan O’Brien and Diarmuid King, scorer of 2-7 in their semi-final defeat by St Mary’s Magherafelt.
Niall Rice is selected at centre-forward on the team and this is the first time that a student in Castleblayney College has been selected on a schools’ representative team of any description.
Meanwhile Mullaghbawn’s Fergal O’Brien was a winning captain for St Paul’s Bessbrook ten days ago, steering his team to a 2-10 to 1-6 win over Patrician Carrickmacross in the Danske Bank Rafferty Cup final. Patrician’s Cian Conlon is one of the midfielders.
Down legend Conor Deegan, who headed the selection panel, found it very difficult to whittle the more than 100 trialists down to just 15 players.
“The quality of player on show at this level was a testament to the fantastic work being undertaken throughout Ulster Schools’ competitions. There were outstanding candidates all over the field, especially in the final trial and there was plenty of evidence on show that Ulster Schools’ football is in a very strong place in 2019.”

The 2019 Queen’s University Future Stars Football team is :
1 Niall Robinson (St Patrick’s Academy Dungannon and Derrylaughan Kevin Barry’s)
2 Cathal Agnew (St Patrick’s Armagh and Armagh Harps)
3 Callan Devlin (Holy Trinity Cookstown and Fr Rock’s Coostown)
4 Adam Toner (St Patrick’s Academy Dungannon and Dungannon Thomas Clarke’s)
5 Sean O’Donnell (Omagh CBS and St Macartan’s Trillick)
6 Adam Garvey (Abbey CBS Newry and St Moninna’s Killeavy)
7 Fionan O’Brien (St Michael’s Enniskillen and Devenish St Mary’s)
8 Cian Conlon (Patrician Carrickmacross and Carrickmacross Emmet’s)
9 Michael Forbes (St Pius X Magherafelt and Ardboe O’Donovan Rossa)
10 Fergal O’Brien (St Paul’s Bessbrook and Mullaghbawn)
11 Niall Rice (Castleblayney College and Castleblayney Faughs)
12 Conor McGillion (Omagh CBS and Fintona Pearse’s)
13 Ruairi Canavan (St Ciaran’s Ballygawley and Errigal Ciaran)
14 Diarmuid King (St Michael’s Enniskillen and Newtownbutler First Fermanaghs)
15 Cormac Devlin (St Patrick’s Academy Dungannon and Ardboe O’Donovan Rossa)

Buíochas le Sean Paul McKillop Photography