St. Michael’s Enniskillen will be hosting a launch evening for the ‘The MacRory Cup - The Story of Ulster Colleges Senior Football’ in the assembly hall next Thursday night at 7pm.

The night promises to be a great evening of nostalgia and memorabilia when an extensive range of photographs and videos of past matches will be on display while Canon Macartan McQuaid, who was President of St Michael’s College from 1978 to 1994, will be the Guest Speaker on the night.

St. Michael’s extend a warm invitation to all past pupils, especially those who have played MacRory Cup football and they hope that many of them will come along on the evening for what is sure to be an enjoyable event with plenty of football chat.

The Enniskillen school have a proud MacRory Cup history, winning the Blue Riband of Ulster Colleges football on six occasions; 1973, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2012, and it is hopes that representatives of all those past victorious teams will be in attendance.

The book’s author, J.A. Walshe, will also be there on the night and it should provide a trip down memory lane for many former players and followers.

The MacRory Cup was first contested in 1924, and the inaugural winners were St Patrick’s College, Armagh. It emerged from an annual inter-seminary soccer game between St Patrick’s and St Macartan’s Monaghan which, in the years after 1916, was played under GAA Rules.

Now in its 93rd Year, the MacRory Cup has since grown to become the most prestigious and keenly contested provincial schools GAA title in Ireland, and is an integral part of the GAA calendar in Ulster.

This book, for the first time, chronicles the history of a competition which has captivated the minds of generations of students, produced so many memorable contests and rivalries, thrilled thousands of spectators annually, and has been the springboard for the emergence of so many future inter-county stars.

J.A. Walshe’s exhaustive research has produced much hitherto hidden detail which has enabled him to weave a riveting tale of the annual pursuit of this much prized title, and of its leading personalities.

He also traces the progress of each year’s winners in the All Ireland series (the Hogan Cup), and, for the very first time, tells the story of the Colleges’ Interprovincial Championship which illuminated the period 1927-1956.

This will be a must-have addition to the bookshelves of all GAA stalwarts, and particularly for all those former students who have known and experienced the exhilaration and intensity of a MacRory Cup campaign.