Antrim Schools Cup shows the power of innovation

By John Harrington

The Antrim Schools Cup is a great example of how a well thought out Coaching and Games Development initiative can make a very big impact in a short period of time.

It’s an annual Gaelic games competition for post-primary schools in county Antrim for Year 8, 9, and 10 pupils that has gone from strength to strength in the last four years.

When it began in the 2022/2023 school year, 1,123 participants from 42 schools teams played over 240 games.

By 2024/25 those numbers had grown to 2,520 participants from 84 school teams playing 420 games and this year’s (2025/26) competition will be bigger again.

The success of the competition goes far beyond those impressive statistics. Its ripple effects are having a hugely positive impact on schools and clubs alike in Belfast in particular as the Gaelic games resurgence in the country’s second city gathers pace.

“We’re over the moon with how the Antrim Schools Cup has grown over the last four years,” says Antrim GAA Games Development Manager, Alfie Hannaway.

“We knew it would make a difference because you're providing game opportunities where there was none, but I honestly didn't think it would have the impact that it has had, the knock-on effects it's having are huge.

“Through our benchmarking and analysis, we had found there was a gap we could exploit in post-primary games provision. We targeted games for Year 8, Year 9, Year 10. So, the first year we ran the Antrim Schools Cup as a pilot for Year 8 and Year 10 boys, football and hurling.

“As soon as the pupils came into the school year in Year 8 they were training and then we'd run football and hurling blitzes in alternate weeks.

“We were told that before the Antrim Schools Cup, schools were training their teams two to three weeks out from a competition, but not really being able to have focused training for them throughout the year as they had no games to prepare for. We found now that thanks to the Antrim Schools Cup, the commitment of the school personnel, they're training most of the year round, so they're training from September all the way through to finals, which are in March and April and helping Antrim pupils to fill the gap in the off season.

“And that's Year 8 and Year 10, football and hurling for the boys. In the second year of the program, we brought in LGFA and Camogie and we ran Year 9 for the girls in coordination with the LGFA and Camogie.

“There has been massive growth within the program. We have some schools within Belfast that had GAA teams and others that previously never had GAA in their schools now taking part.

“There's a growth now in integrated schools within Antrim. We went from having no integrated schools taking part in the programme to five as of last year and they're taking part in Football, Hurling, LGFA and Camogie.

“The big thing for our schools is that over the course of the last four years some of them have gone from competing in Ulster schools in C and D competitions up to A and B and they’re getting to semi-finals and finals rather than being knocked out in the group stages.

“This is the fourth year of the programme and our schools are seeing the massive benefits of the programme. It’s increased the pupil’s physical activity, they're joining clubs, they're accessing more games, the abilities of players attending Talent ID has grown significantly and coaches are supported in the schools through Antrim GAA and Gaelfast Coach education programme.

“We're making sure that as a minimum the Coaches have their ICGG (Introduction to Gaelic Games) Award and we are offering the coaches the opportunity to be upskilled and take the next step in the Coach Education Pathway. When we're running our academy squad sessions, we're inviting school coaches to attend, so they're coming along seeing other coaches and seeing how they're delivering to similar age groups and so it's a bit of cross pollination, they're working off each other. We didn't really have enough of that before the Antrim Schools Cup.”

There's a great collective effort behind the Antrim Schools Cup. Antrim GAA Staff work closely with and get great support from school principals and staff, while the competition's sponsors, the Saffron Business Forum, have also backed it to the hilt.

A partnership with Belfast City Council, the Department of Communities, and the IFA through the SCBI programme has also been important.

An innovative approach has been key to the competition's success. Antrim GAA Coaching and Games development staff actively assist schools to ensure players from Cumann na mBunscol teams are continuing to play in school and go on to represent their Post Primary School.

Before the knock-out rounds the blitzes are non-competitive and the first couple are designed to see what level each school is at so they can then be grouped together relative to their level to ensure competitive matches.

By the end of the fourth blitz every school is seeded for Cup and Shield competitions and the finals day itself takes place under floodlights in Belfast or Dunsilly to make an occasion of it.

Antrim GAA has also developed positive partnerships with the University of Ulster, St. Mary’s University College, and Stranmillis to run and promote the competition.

Students help out with match officiating and some have gone back to their old schools to help coach the teams.

“That’s a great bit of legacy building which we didn’t envisage when we started the programme,” says Hannaway.

“We’ve also had university students help out throughout the programme and on the finals day by doing challenges for the people that come to watch the games. Things like a toe tap challenge, a kicking challenge, a roll lift challenge, a striking challenge.

“We’ve had youth workers from the local area also coming in and doing stuff on mental health and healthy eating. Again, that was totally unintended. It came out of a youth worker who was a classroom assistant in a school asking could he bring along some youth leaders so they could get hands on experience talking to big crowds.

“This year will also have two of our GDCs linking in with two of our schools to tie the Antrim Schools Cup into the Future Leaders program so that’s another new development to look forward to.”

Rivalry is the lifeblood of sport and the Antrim Schools Cup has brought a buzz back to Post Primary level schools’ Gaelic games in Antrim and Belfast by raising standards in schools, supporting teachers and school staff, and reigniting historic school rivalries and bragging rights.

In urban areas where there are many other sporting options the battle for hearts and minds is also important, and the profile of the Antrim Schools Cup has been raised further by its All-Stars Awards scheme that recognises the competition’s outstanding players.

“We have an awards night in St. Mary's University and the parents come along and have a bit of a celebration for the kids,” says Hannaway.

“We would bring along our county minor and U20 management teams and some county players to speak on the night and they would impress upon the All-Stars that they’re now on a great pathway.

“You’re asking them by the time you get the upper sixth can you get a college All-Star? Are you going to be a minor player for the county? Are you going to be a top player for your club?

“You’re trying to spread this positive message that they’re doing really well and now the challenge is to keep those standards up. Can you complete the Holy Trinity and play for your school, your club, and your county?”

Thanks to the success of the Antrim Schools Cup, more and more young boys and girls in the county are making that an ambition they’re determined to realise.