Early Years:

Oriel began slowly and in truth where one of the whipping boys up until season 1998/1999 when the Men’s Zone team reached the semi-finals losing to Armagh. That season the Junior Zone team lost in the overall final to Western by 1 shot. The Ladies also struggled and never got a run up until 2000 when they eventually won the plate. The juniors where Oriel’s shining light, as they won the Bellbowl Junior Zone in 2001/2002 and remarkably held on to the tile the following season also.

 

2004-2008

The Men eventually became a force in 2003/2004 when they went onto to reach the final eventually losing in the final to Armagh. The following season, in 2004/2005, the men finally lifted the illustrious prize of the Boomer Cup. They did this the hard by beating Mid Ulster, Armagh and in one of the closest finals of all time beat Mid Tyrone. This victory entitled the men to go onto England and where they won the Team Challenge. The juniors once again won the Bellbowl Junior Zone in 2004/2005 which made an incredible double for 6 of the juniors who had also been part of the men’s team.

In 2006/2007 the ladies showed that they didn’t want to be left out, by winning their first McIlroy cup in beating East Antrim in the final of the Ladies Zone by a massive 30 shots. They also knocked out South Tyrone and a very strong Foyle in the semis. The men also won the Men’s plate that season and now Oriel became the first side to win all of the Zone titles; The Juniors, the Men’s Cup and Plate and the Ladies Cup and plate!

2009- Present

Oriel Zone was on the brink of something remarkable in 2009/2010. At the semi-final stage we were within touching distance of claiming an unprecedented treble the Men, the Women and the Junior Zone titles. Unfortunately the Men let the Zone down but the Ladies ended up reclaiming the Zone title they had last won in 06-07 by beating South Tyrone in the final in an extremely close final.

That same season the juniors however created history, as they went through the whole campaign without losing a single mat. The 2010/2011 failed to live up to previous seasons for the men and women however the juniors created history by winning the Junior Zone for a record 5th time.