Alumni
Notable Alumni in the history of Cookstown High School
Rev Thomas Millar Junior (1819 – 1858); missionary & minister of 2nd Presbyterian Church, Lurgan
Augustine Henry (1852-1930); chair of Forestry at the Royal College of Science, Dublin.
Ernest Walton (1903–1995); Nobel Prize in Physics (1951); known for his part in "splitting the atom"
Jimmy Kennedy OBE (1902–1984); songwriter & lyricist.
Sir Allen McClay (1932-2010); Businessman & Philanthropist.
Denis Orme Shaw (b. 1944). Internationally renowned artist. Mr Orme Shaw continued his education at Belfast college of Art from 1962-67. He has been exhibiting since the 1970s and has shown his work extensively across Ireland. He has won several awards for his work including silver medals at RUAA and RUA exhibitions.
His paintings are included in collections of the Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, Ford Foundation, New York and the Doyle hotel Group. His work also features in private collections across the world.
Stuart Dallas, winger, attacking midfielder for Brentford and Northern Ireland football teams.
Aaron Hughes, Fulham FC and Northern Ireland central defender and captain.
Lt Col Mark Hudson left school in 1986 and joined the Reserves in 1997. He completed a year in the ranks before being commissioned into the 4th/5th Battalion Royal Irish Rangers in 1999.....
Alan Turkington, RADA trained actor, specialising in theatre.
William McKeown, painter.
Nick Laird, novelist.
Rev. William McCrea Esq. MP. Member of Parliament for Mid Ulster (1983-1997) and South Antrim (2005-present).
Maud Kells OBE, Missionary in Congo. Maud was a pupil at the High School from 1951 until 1956. Following training as a midwife and missionary in Belfast and Edinburgh she travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1968 to work with the missionary organisation WEC. Throughout her missionary service she worked in midwifery, teaching, overseeing construction projects and speaking at church services.
In January 2015 Maud was shot during a raid on her home. She made a full recovery and returned to DR Congo in March 2016 to help secure the release of three men whom she believed had been unjustly accused of involvement in the attack.
Maud was the Belfast Telegraph Woman of the Year and the Belfast Telegraph Inspiring woman of the Year in 2015. She awarded the OBE in the New Year’s Honours List 2015.
Ian Sloan, International Hockey Player & Olympian (Team GB Hockey, Rio de Janero 2016)
David Ames, International Hockey Player & Olympian (Team GB Hockey, Rio de Janero 2016)