Bantry trailblazers will make history with first Munster Schools Senior Cup appearance

COLÁISTE Pobail Bheanntraí will make history this Friday when the school competes in the Pinergy Munster Schools Senior Cup for the first time.

This is another breakthrough moment for rugby in the Bantry school. In the 2019/20 season they qualified for the Munster Schools Junior Cup for the first time and now they have taken another huge step forward.

The Bantry team takes on Castletroy College in the first round of the senior cup on the Thomond Park back-pitch this Friday (1.30pm).

‘This is a huge achievement. We made history in 2019 when the school broke into the junior cup and this is an even bigger step as we are now into the senior cup. It’s a follow-on achievement,’ says teacher and coach Peter Cawley.

Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí’s impressive 17-14 win against High School CBS Clonmel in a senior cup qualifier in December saw them advance to the first round for the first time.

Michael O’Donovan and Rory Fitzgerald scored first-half tries, with Dylan Hicks accurate with his kicking, as the Bantry school led 17-7 at half time. They had to withstand pressure from Clonmel in the second half and how Bantry rallied to repel the Tipperary team showed the character of the West Cork side. Their reward is a place in the Munster Schools Senior Cup.

‘We have to acknowledge the role of the local club, Bantry Bay, and all the great work they are doing. We collaborate a lot with them and a lot of the success we have in the school is based on most of the players playing together with the club,’ Cawley explains.

‘We are still a B school and we play in the Mungret League and the Mungret Cup, and now we will be up against A schools in the senior cup. We need to bridge that gap between A and B schools but you can’t ask for any more from our group. They have been fantastic this season and they will give it everything again this Friday.’

Bantry’s form in the Mungret League has been impressive. They scored six tries as they defeated Coláiste Choilm Ballincollig 35-7. Then they beat Villiers School 27-5 ahead of the crucial win against Clonmel last month.

Now they need to raise their game again – and they are ready for their biggest challenge yet.

The Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí U19 senior squad includes Dara Kingston, Joey O’Sullivan, Rory Fitzgerald, Dylan Hicks, Darragh O’Brien, Michael O’Donovan, Paddy Cronin, Ciarán O’Sullivan, Oran Wiseman, Ruairi O’Shea, Conor Cronin, Owen O’Neill, Cillian O’Brien, Cameron Murnane, Bryan Tooher, Padraig O’Sullivan, Tadgh Cronin, Tadgh O’Sullivan, Liam Harrington, Jack O’Donoghue, Fionn Barry, Dean Cotter, Dara McSweeney and Jack Ward.