Pearse Og GAA club have launched Brother Laurence Ennis Memorial Cup in memory of their former football manager.
Brother Ennis took the side in 1984 and came with a fine track record of championship success with senior titles garnered at both Omagh and St Theresa’s Belfast.
He blended in many of the three-in-a-row County Minor Champions of ‘81-‘83 to his senior team. They won the Centenary Cup and the Division One League title in ’84.
The setback of an unexpected semi-final Championship exit to Keady spurned him on to reorganise and train harder for the following year.
The Armagh club went on to compete in the next two Senior Championship finals in 1985 and 1986.
They won their first ever title under Brother Ennis in 1985, but Crossmaglen stood in their way the following year and denied the Ogs back-to-back glory.
Ogs Hero
To say that Brother Larry had become an Ógs hero was an understatement and his place in the club history books assured for ever.
In 1988, the Ogs were back on top and went all the way to the Ulster final. But the mighty Burren team of the time proved too strong.
They picked up another Division One league title in 1999, while Brother Ennis also managed the Armagh minor team.
This was to be his club swan song, but he had left enough in the tank that they came back in ‘92 to win their third Co Championship. All a legacy of the hard work that he had put in with that group of players.
The memorial cup kicks off on Friday evening, in the Box-It Athletic Grounds, as Pearse Og take on Rostrevor.
Edendork and Bredagh are the other two teams involved and all four will play against each other over the next couple of weeks.
