A great day’s football at St Paul’s High School for the Joe Canning Blitz
There was plenty of Gaelic football-fever around St Paul’s High School Bessbrook last week, as they hosted between 150 and 180 Year 8 pupils from all across the county of Armagh in the third annual Surefreight Post Primary Schools Joe Canning Blitz.
The day only got better whenever the host school went on to win the Cup trophy, with Lismore College winning the Shield and St Catherine’s College winning the Plate.
St Paul’s Head of PE Mr John Rafferty spoke about the origins of the blitz.
Joe ‘embodied everything that was good about the Association’
“Joe Canning was the Honorary President of Armagh GAA, and he passed away in 2021,” he said.
“Joe was a life-long devotee to volunteering for the GAA, and he embodied everything that was good about the Association. So, when he passed, Jimmy Smyth (President of Ulster Schools GAA) that it would be nice for him to be remembered.
“He was born and bred in Whitecross, which is in the catchment area of St Paul’s and we decided we would run this tournament, which is open to all eight Armagh Post Primary Schools.
“Today we have between 150 and 180 youngsters playing Gaelic football. They’re out of class which always a big bonus – maybe for some of the staff as well!
“But the biggest thing is that the kids are getting an opportunity before the end of their first half-term in Year 8 to represent the school playing Gaelic football.”
Learning life skills and making new friends
As John mentioned, the kids aren’t long in the door with the school, but getting to play Gaelic football and be part of a team helps them to integrate with their new classmates and make new friends.
“There will be kids here who they may have bumped into from other clubs and suddenly they pull on the St Paul’s jersey, a St Pat’s Armagh jersey, a St Ronan’s jersey and it’s a new set of friends and a new set of experiences for them.
“Playing in a blitz – you’re not going to win every game – so it’s about building resilience when things don’t go your way. Dust yourself down, think about where you can improve and go back out there again. They are learning life skills and making friends – that’s a bonus as well as getting the opportunity to run around.”
‘They’re football-mad’
What a summer it was for every child going into Year 8 in Armagh as they got to see their heroes lift the Sam Maguire trophy in Croke Park, and John agreed that football-fever is high within the county.
“They are football-mad, which is great,” he said.
“There are so many complications at this age. These lads are roughly 12 years of age, just before their teenage years and they’re going to face the complications of social media, mobile phones and all the pitfalls that comes with that.
“This is their distraction at the present time and what a wonderful distraction it is, because it is great for them.”