St. Michael's MacRory Cup captain Brandon Horan is hoping that the Enniskillen school can make their mark on the Ulster Colleges Blue Ribband competition this season.

St. Michael's begin their campaign next Wednesday against St Colman's Newry in Dunmoyle at 2pm and Horan is targeting a positive start to the group stage.

"St. Colman's is a tough test to start with, they are a good side but you have to beat the best to be the best. It is a difficult group but our aim will be to try and top it although we know that it is going to take a lot of hard work," said the Enniskillen Gaels player.

The St. Michael's squad will be a mix of Year 14s along with a large number of last year's Rannafast Cup side who were beaten in the final of that competition.

"There is a lot of last year's Rannafast team who got to the final and lost narrowly and we got to the semi-final of our Rannafast a couple of years ago so hopefully when you combine the two it will be a good team.

"We have a lot of pace so we would feel that we have a good chance this year. Hopefully with the commitment of the players and the hard work that we are putting in during training, we can repay the work that Dom has put in with us."

This will be Horan's third year involved with the MacRory squad and he feels he learnt a lot from last year when he was a starter at midfield.

"I was on the panel the last two years but last year I was playing midfield and it was a good test. You get to play against good teams like Maghera and those are the type of teams that you want to be playing against and who you learn from" he added.

And he was also a key component of the Enniskillen Gaels side that lifted the Ulster Minor Club title on New Year's Day.

"The Ulster has been the highlight for me so far. It taught me a lot, it was a very good team that we had and I suppose you want to bring what you have learnt into the school."

Now he will lead St. Michael's into the MacRory Cup and he is delighted to have been named captain.

"When you look back at previous captains there is a lot of great names, you have the likes of Lee Brennan, and it's an honour to have been named captain," he stated.