Ballinasloe nursery’s supply line to Connacht rugby continues

By John Fallon

THE most successful rugby school in the province is continuing to lead the way in providing players for Connacht with six former pupils of Garbally College featuring in Friday’s ‘A’ inter-pro clash with Munster at the Sportsground.

The six players are at various stages of their careers. Tiernan O’Halloran, who will be 30 next week, is the longest serving player in the Connacht senior squad, with 187 appearances since the Clifden native made his debut as a teenager in 2009.

Prop Conor Kenny from Ferbane is a former Irish U20 who has made ten senior appearances for Connacht, while scrum-half Colm Reilly made his debut for Andy Friend’s side this season.

A son of former Garbally College principal Stephen, Reilly shared the No. 9 duties with current Irish senior panelist Craig Casey when they won a Six Nations U20 Grand Slam two years ago.

Another Ballinasloe native Matthew Devine, whose dad Mike is a former Garbally and Connacht player and is currently on the coaching team in the school, is another promising scrum-half. He was a key member of the Garbally side which completed a three-in-a-row a year ago in the only provincial schools cup final played just days before the Covid lockdown.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App

Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.

Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite  HERE.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.