The changing landscape of the Harty Cup

By Liam Hogan

In Liam O Donnchu’s recently published history “The Dr Harty Cup 1918-2025” he features campaign from start to finish.

The roll of honour shows Cork schools have won a total of 42 Harty Cups with North Monastery enjoying pole position on twenty, their latest coming in 1993. Five other schools have shared the success including St. Colman’s Fermoy 9 (last in 2003) and the now defunct St Finbarr’s Farrnferris on 7. Midleton CBS, Colaiste Chriost Ri, and Colaiste Iognaid Ris have six titles between them.

Clare comes next with 24 wins backboned by the powerful St. Flannan’s College who have 22 titles. Both Ennis CBS and St. Joseph’s of Tulla have one each. It should be noted that St Flannan’s ceased been a boarding school in 2004 and have added just two Harty Cups, in 2005 and 2020.

Tipperary schools have nineteen with success well spread out among six schools, headed up by Thurles CBS with nine. Their golden era in the 1950’s kept North Mon and Flannans out of the limelight for a brief spell as the silverware arrived in 1950, 1951, & 1956. They were runners-up in 1954 and the period mirrored the tremendous success by Tipperary minors who were dominating the grade at the time. It was the foundation for senior success when Tipp won five senior All-Irelands and were runners-up in three more between 1958 and 1968. “The Harty” produced great names like Billy Quinn, Mick Craddock, Ray Reidy, and Jimmy Doyle.

The good times came an end and between 1966 and 1988, only one Harty Cup win arrived when Templemore CBS did the deed in 1978. The team had some more names that played for Tipp seniors in the 1980s and early 1990s such as Bobby Ryan and Pat McGrath not to mention Timmy Stapleton and Peter Brennan,

Up to 2004, both North Mon and St Flannan’s had won 42 titles between them but the landscape has changed over the last twenty years. Ten schools have collected the silverware, three of them, including Nenagh CBS winning their first in 2024 having failed in four previous deciders.

Harty Cup finals have brought better reading for Tipp schools in recent times. Between 1988 and 2025 no less than eighteen finals have involved Tipp schools with six victories coming to the premier with buds of greatness springing up much to the delight of Tipp followers as the list below reveals.

2009 - Thurles CBS comprehensively beat St Caimin’s of Shannon 3-15 to 0-9 at MacDonagh Park, Nenagh. Former Tipp defender James Barry (Upperchurch/Drombane and Skeheenarinky) captained the team but didn’t play that day due to injury on a squad that featured Denis Maher (Thurles Sarsfields), John Meagher (Loughmore/Castleiney), and Kieran Morris (Moycarkey/Borris).

2015 - Thurles CBS defeated Shane Kingston’s St Francis’ College Rochestown in a well contested final at Mallow to claim their eighth title. Goals by Niall Heffernan (Moycarkey/Borris), and Billy McCarthy (Thurles Sarsfields) helped secure the win in a team backboned by the late Dillon Quirke, Jack Skehan and Willie Tierney in goal. The Thurles Sarsfields man produced a match winning save to win 2-12 to 1-12

2017 - Our Lady’s Templemore scored a mammoth 2-22 to 1-6 win over St Colman’s of Fermoy at the Gaelic Grounds. A team littered with talent with Brian McGrath, Andrew Ormonde, Ray McCormack, Gearoid O’Connor and Lyndon Fairbrother on show.

2023 - Cashel Community School rewrote post primary school history when the defeated favourites Thurles CBS to win their first Harty Cup at Semple Stadium in front of almost 8,000 people.

The final score was 0-12 to 0-11 with Eanna Ormond scoring the winner in a team littered with up and coming stars recently involved in the Under 20 All-Ireland success with Ben Currivan (Golden Kilfeacle), Ger O’Dwyer (Boherlahan), Adam Daly (Knockavilla Kickhams) Ronan O’Donoghue and Oisin O’Donoghue who grabbed all the highlights in last year’s All-Ireland semi final win over Kilkenny.

2024 - Nenagh CBS needed a last gasp goal by wing back Andy Hoolan. Ciaran Foley was voted man of the match with team captain Darragh McCarthy scoring 0-7 in the 2-16 to 0-21 win over Ardscoil Ris.

2025 - It was title number nine for Thurles CBS after a one goal win over St Flannan’s, 1-13 to 0-13 at Mallow. Not alone was it their ninth but for the county of Tipperary – a three in a row of Harty Cup wins.

2026 - ??? Next Saturday’s final is another Tipperary v Clare clash. The work produced by both counties at underage is phenomenal at the moment and Nenagh CBS and St Flannan’s will carry on that tradition. The future looks bright.

A star Tipperary 15 that won Harty Cups 2015-2025: Eoin Collins (Our Lady’s Templemore); Enda Heffernan (Thurles CBS), Ger O’Dwyer (Cashel CS), Dillon Quirke (Thurles CBS); Mason Cawley (Nenagh CBS), Paddy Cadell (Our Lady’s Templemore), Ronan Connolly (Cashel CS); Brian McGrath (Our Lady’s Templemore), Billy McCarthy (Thurles CBS), Adam Daly (Cashel CS), Andrew Ormonde (Our Lady’s Templemore) Ben Currivan (Cashel CS); Darragh McCarthy (Nenagh CBS), Oisin O’Donoghue (Cashel CS), Ray McCormack (Our Lady’s Templemore).

Harty Cup Roll of Honour

22 - St. Flannan’s, Ennis

19 - North Mon, Cork

10 - Limerick CBS

9 - St. Colman’s, Fermoy, Thurles CBS

7 - St Finbarr’s, Farranferris

5 - Rockwell College, Ardscoil Rís Limerick

4 - Midleton CBS

2 - De La Salle Waterford; Colaiste na nDeise Waterford

1 - St. Munchin’s, Limerick; Mount Sion, Waterford; Templemore CBS, Abbey CBS, Tipperary Town; Rice College, Ennis; Coláiste Chríost Rí, Cork; Coláiste Iognaid Rís, Cork, Our Lady’s SS Templemore, St Joseph’s SS Tulla, Cashel CS, Nenagh CBS