Iconic school on Offaly-Tipperary border sets sight on rare hurling success

Pictured above are: Offaly players on the Cistercian College squad that is preparing for the Leinster Colleges Senior “B” Hurling Championship final next weekend. Front Row: Aodhan Carroll (Seir Kieran), Odhrán Fletcher (Kilcormac Killoughey), Oisin Carroll (Kilcormac Killoughey), Conor Mahon (Carrig- Riverstown), Tomas Murray (Birr) Mark Mahon (Carrig/ Riverstown). Back row: Tiarnan Fay (Kinnity), James Sullivan (Shinrone), Ruairc Fay (Kinnity).

LOCATED on the Offaly side but straddling the Tipperary border, intrinsically associated with the nearby town of Roscrea and steeped in history and tradition, Cistercian College, Roscrea is abuzz with excitement this week as the countdown begins to next Sunday's Leinster Colleges Senior “B” Hurling Championship final against Coláiste Abhainn Rí of Callan.

For most people, the first mention of the name Cistercian College conjures up images of oval balls, heave-hos, and rugby, not sliotars, hurls and hurlers.

Pride of place in their great story is the side that won the holy grail of schools' rugby, the Leinster Senior Cup in 2015 but their hurling history is way more powerful and profound than many observers realise.

That fantastic 2015 triumph was their only win in that breeding ground for some of the country's greatest rugby players and it was the fulfilment of a dream for all who went through the hallowed doors of Cistercian College.

The school's genesis was sown in 1878 when Mount St Joseph's Abbey was founded by the Cistercian Monks. Their land, known as Mount Heaton Demesne, was purchased for them by a Catholic MP, Arthur J Moore of Tipperary. Later a Papal Count, he paid £10,000 for the land with the new community getting a mortgage for the remaining £5,000.

The name Mount Heaton is pivotal to the school story. The Cistercian Monks founded a boarding school for boys in 1905, calling it Mount St Joseph's, and its location a couple of miles across the Offaly border meant that they competed in Leinster rather than Munster competitions in various sports and other extra curricular activity.

In GAA terms, it is in the Ballyskenach area and one of their predecessors as a club was called Mount Heaton, winning an Offaly junior hurling title in 1927. Mount Heaton GAA Club lapsed some time after that, reforming as Ballyskenach in 1942 but competing in Tipperary. They won junior titles in North Tipp and were competing happily there when a bye-law change left them facing extinction and they returned to Offaly in 1961 – it is a fascinating story but for another day and another forum.

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As most of the locals in the surrounds of the very attractive demesne headed automatically for hurling fields, rugby dominated life in Mount St Joseph's/Cistercian College. A Catholic boarding school, administered by a Board of Management, on behalf of its Trustees, the Abbot and Community of Mount Saint Joseph, Cistercian Abbey, Roscrea, they are one of the few schools competing in the Leinster Senior and Junior Schools Cup, outside of the Dublin 4/Kildare heartland and have fielded ten rugby teams each year.

That 2015 Leinster Senior Cup win came after a sequence of near misses. They lost five finals from 2005 to 2015, a period when they were the third largest provider of Irish underage internationals with 22 capped.

There is something very special about Cistercian College, a magical feeling around the whole place. Its buildings are full of character and you could just imagine the tales that would be told if the walls could speak. It is a real old style religious stone house, with a nice drive way in – a very attractive building, it is the type that has been let fall into ruin in other places but is so important to preserve for future generations to be able to feel the way things once were.

In the case of Cistercian College, preservation should not be an issue and it is now a living breathing building following a flirtation with obliteration just a short few years ago. With boarding numbers declining, things reached crisis point with the prospect of closure looming large. Some of its much vaunted alumni were among the various groups who came to the rescue, making donations and supporting a campaign to keep the school open.

The decision was taken to open it up to day pupils in 2018/2019 and now the school's future is secure.

It would have been an absolute tragedy if things had went the other direction, and they could have.

Cistercian College list of past pupils is like a who's who of Irish politics. Two of Offaly's most revered politicians, former Taoiseach Brian Cowen and his younger brother and successor as Fianna Fail TD for the constituency, now an MEP, Barry Cowen boarded there. Before them, their uncle Vincent Cowen went there – Vincent later became a priest and was the goalkeeper on one of Offaly's most important GAA teams, the 1947 Leinster minor football champions.

Former Tanaiste Dick Spring and TDs, Birr man Tom Enright, David Andrews and Jim Glennon were there. Its list of past pupils includes Conor Brady, former editor of the Irish Times; former rugby international Donal Spring (Dick Spring also played rugby for Ireland).

Rugby oozes out of its vein – Dick Spring and Jim Glennon played international rugby, as did Tiernan O'Halloran – a son of Offaly 1982 All-Ireland senior football medal winner, Aidan O'Halloran, Tiernan grew up in Galway but boarded in Cistercian. Ireland's latest international, Crinkill man Michael Milne made the short trip to complete his secondary level education there.

There were several others who played internationally, along with many prominent business men. Portraits of some of the many past pupils who played international rugby for Ireland occupy a prominent place on their corridors but a tour of the building quickly brings home the importance of hurling: Past pupils who won All-Ireland senior hurling medals with Tipperary are given equal prominence – this impressive list is mainly Tipperary men, including Paddy and John O'Brien from nearby Toomevara, However, it also attracted in hurlers from other counties, including: Kilkenny's Conor Phelan and Wexford's Redmond Barry.

For all the emphasis on rugby, the school features prominently on the roll of honour for the Leinster Colleges Senior “A” Hurling Championship with five titles won in 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924 and 1947. These were all under the Mount St Joseph's name while it was as Cistercian College that they won the All-Ireland B senior colleges title in 2015, along with a number of other titles. They field hurling teams in all grades and have two hurling pitches as well as a floodlit 4g hurling alley

You might be stretching it to suggest that hurling occupies equal billing with rugby in the school – the statistic that there is four rugby pitches compared to two hurling tells its own story - but it is not far off and they occupy a similar ball park. They have five players juggling rugby and hurling commitments this year, a near 50-50 mix between day pupils and boarders on their hurling side.

Head of sport in the school, Brendan McKeogh admitted that rugby was king there but pointed out that hurling is very important there, reflected by the recruitment of former Tipperary star Tommy Dunne as coach.

“The whole purpose of bringing Tommy in was to give lads the experience. That regardless of win, lose or draw, they were going to be a well prepared team. That they got a good school of hurling experience.”

Last week, Cistercian hurlers had two pitch sessions and a video analysis meeting ahead of their big final and they will train twice a week from September to May, irrespective of whether they are in or out of competition.

Managing their rugby and hurling commitments does represent a delicate balancing act for their dual players. Cistercian had a great win over the Cian Healy coached Belvedere in the first round of the Leinster Senior Cup and will face St Michael's this Wednesday, just a few days ahead of Sunday's hurling final.

As Director of sport, Brendan McKeogh liaises with hurling and rugby fixture makers to try and avoid clashes, create gaps between games.

“It is difficult but most schools are fairly accommodating. Traditionally the rugby games pre Christmas are on a Wednesday but when it gets to this time of year, it can be any day from Monday to Friday. It is difficult, sometimes, some schools try to take advantage of it. In general, most schools are very sporting.

As a school which values both games, they just have to get on with it and accept that injuries may be par for the course.

The Ballina, Tipperary man said “You always have the risk of injury but that is the make up of the school and it is definitely a positive experience for the lads who are involved in both. They get a great experience and obviously, there are pros and cons to every situation. That is one of the potential consequences. We just have to live with it.”

The 2018/2019 decision to welcome in day pupils was a huge one, a seismic change in ethos for the school – another big Rubicon will be crossed next September when the process of becoming co-educational and welcoming in girls will begin.

It will be a very different school then but the dynamic in Irish education is changing. Brendan McKeogh reflected on the initial decision to switch from a boarding only school:

“It is necessary. I think in general, there is a trend across the country. I think there will always be some sort of a market for boarders. If you look at it, there is Roscrea, Glenstal (Abbey), Rockwell (College) in a small area and they all taking both.

“The boarding is hugely important to the school because you get lads from all around the country. You get good athletes from all around. It is very important for us but both are probably necessary “You can go around to most towns around the country now and there is good schools who play a wide variety of sports. That has probably changed from when I was young, that wasn't the case. For example Nenagh CBS now play a big of rugby, Thurles CBS play rugby and Cistercian Roscrea play hurling. There is definitely more choice out there now.”

There is a lot to the sporting scene at Cistercian. As you walk through the school, the sight of a heated indoor swimming pool comes as a surprise. They also have an indoor Trackman golf simulator and putting area, an international spec basketball court, gyms, a rest and recovery room, video analysis lab and games room!

The big field games of rugby and hurling, however, capture sporting imagination in a way that no other can do in school life and this will be a huge week for the student and teaching bodies with two big games on.