Sacred Heart Sruleen overcame St Brigid’s, Palmerstown in the final of the Padraig Mac Giolla Bhearraigh Cup
Cumann na mBunscol Finals: All smiles for schools in Croker
THE second day of the Cumann na mBunscol championships took place on Tuesday and had plenty of local school teams involved.
The opening fixture of the day saw Gaelscoil Na Camogie from Clondalkin take on St Anne’s National School from Shankill in the final of the Mhic Phiarais cup.
It was an extremely competitive game between the two sides and Gaelscoil Na Camogie put in an extremely valiant performance as they unfortunately suffered a 2-6 to 1-4 defeat.
It had looked like Camogie were mounting a serious comeback towards the end of the game however they ran out of time before they could complete the endeavour.
The whole squad performed admirably with a number of individuals making key contributions.
Vice captain Olivia Ni Fhearaigh was an absolute rock in defence and prevented St Annes from establishing their lead any further while Siomha Ni Mhairtin, captain Hannah Nic Carlais and Lili Ni Raghallaigh commanded the middle of the pitch and conducted excellent link up play.
The school has benefitted hugely from Clondalkin Round Towers who have done huge work with the players over the summer, especially given that they have only returned to training with the school since September.
Gaelscoil Na Camogie suffered a 2-6 to 1-4 defeat to St Annes national school in the Mhic Phiarais cup
The second game of the day saw St Patrick’s GNS, Ballyroan take on Divine Word Marley Grange in the final of the Sean Mac An Breithimh Cup.
St Patrick’s would be defeated on the day.
It was a frustrating day for the school as they had beaten Divine Word in the group stages of the competition before losing by a single point in the final.
The game saw plenty of action with the teams neck and neck at various points of the match, penalties were awarded and goals were scored on both sides.
The school has been doing serious training for the competition with the students and staff coming in for 8am every Monday morning in order to train before classes start.
While the whole team performed amazingly throughout the competition there were a number of star performers on the day.
These include Julia Bennis, Emma Walsh and Aoife Shanahan.
Gaelscoil Na Camogie suffered a 2-6 to 1-4 defeat to St Annes national school in the Mhic Phiarais cup
The match after that saw Scoil Chronain take on Drimnagh Castle in the final of the Frank Cahill Cup.
It would be Drimnagh who would emerge victorious with a very narrow win.
The game was extremely entertaining with Drimnagh getting the win by just two points and both teams scoring five goals.
Drimagh were delighted to get the win in Croker with only a small handful of their players actively playing for a GAA club.
With the bulk of training done during school’s lunchtimes Drimnagh is primarily a soccer stronghold and Drimnagh Castle have been steadily expanding their GAA section over the last number of years.
Standout performers for the side include Parker Scott, Brody Mangan and Sonnie Robinson who also was lining up for Shamrock Rovers against the likes of Liverpool and PSG the weekend prior at a youth tournament.
Scoil Chronain were disappointed with the defeat but can take great pride in their performance.
The team played brilliantly throughout the tournament winning five matches in a row.
Reaching the semi finals last year the coaches were aiming to match that though were aware that it was going to be a tougher task given this team was much younger.
They went one better and made it to Croke Park, against the odds.
The school would like to thank both Commercials and St Marys Saggart GAA Clubs who helped provide training and facilities in preparation for the competition.
Scoil Chronain in Rathcoole lost out to Drimnagh Castle
Sacred Heart Sruleen Girls side took on St Brigids Palmerstown in the final of the Padraig Mac Giolla Bhearraigh Cup.
Sacred Heart managed to pick up a 3-08 to 1-05 victory with their immense pressure throughout the first half of the match proving to be too much for St Brigids.
Lacey Carlisle Halpin made her presence known, chipping in with four points, Ciara Lannon scored a goal and dangerous full forward Sadie Merrigan scored two goals and a point to make up the bulk of the scores for Sacred Heart.
Molly Fitzsimons was immense in defense, preventing St Brigids from getting scores on the board.
St Brigids themselves performed admirably with Sally McGowan, captain Millie Gargan, Georgia FitzGerald and Ciara Mullins playing big roles outfield for the team but the real star of the show was Erin Lee who made several key saves in goal to stop her side from going further behind and kept the team still in the game by making save after save.
The team thoroughly enjoyed the whole process of Cumann Na Mbunscol, in particular the home tie in the quarter final.
Managed by Denise Mullins alongside Liam Glynn and Ross McAuley with number one supporter and parent volunteer Sarah McGowan, the team represented their school proudly and left it all on the line.
Clonburris celebrate their Victory over Sacred Heart NS in Croke Park on Tuesday
St Damians Perrystown took on Francis Street CBS in the New Cup final.
Unfortunately after conceding two early goals they found themselves chasing the game and were unable to get their noses in front for a win.
Despite this the event was still memorable for the school with the appearance in Croke Park marking the first time in six years that the school has reached the finals of the competition.
The lads put it all on the line, gave 100% and represented their school with pride.
Standout performers include Conan Flanagan, Cian Collier, Jaxon Zambra and Jack Dollard.
Sacred Heart NS Sruleen in Clondalkin put in a brave show against Our Lady Queen of the Apostles Clonburris
Our Lady Queen of the Apostles Clonburris took on Sacred Heart NS Sruleen in the final match of the day.
Clonburris were too much to handle for Sacred Heart and enjoyed a well earned victory over the side with their goalscoring form being what would win them the contest on the day.
A cagey affair in the first half, saw the game totally open up in the second as Clonburris stepped into a commanding lead.
Igor Borzuchowski played brilliantly as did Cody Kehoe, Michael Skelly, Evan Walsh and Dylan Byrne.
The team preformed well early on in the year at a blitz organised by Round Towers which gave them belief they could go far in the competition this year.
Sacred Heart had good performers also including Fletcher O Connor, Alex McGuinness and Marcus McKenna.
