Bishop Galvin NS beat Scoil San Treasa to claim the Tom Fitzpatrick Cup in Croke Park
Cumann na mBunscol Finals: Joy for Bishop Galvin boys
THE first match of the second day of Cumann na mBunscol contested the Herald Cup and would see St Mary’s BNS, Rathfarnham take on Scoil Mhuire BNS from Marino.
The match would be an incredibly close affair finishing 0-06 to 0-04 in favour of St. Mary’s BNS.
We spoke to manager Don O’Neill to hear his reaction after the game.
“It was a really tight game, really tight pitch. The tackling was brilliant. Brilliant tackling by both teams.
‘There wasn’t much space. Both defences were on top the whole game and it was just a really high standard of hurling. It was the Division 1 final so as you can imagine it really was a high standard.”
St Mary’s were led to the cup by a gallant performance from their captain Charlie Fox. Situated in at centre back Fox marshalled his defence and found redemption after being on the losing end of the same final last year.
Cuan McEntee, Matthew Keogh, Shane Sweeney and Fionn O’Brien all pitched in with scores also.
Winner Sean Perkins is a nephew to former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley who also used to play for St. Mary’s.
Shay Sweeney and George Spain are sons of former Ballyboden St. Endas and Dublin Footballers Tim Sweeney and Darragh Spain.
Their cousin Rian Meany won a cup with the school in 2018 while Shay’s brother Rossa won in 2023.
Liam Hennessy’s father Tadhg won a Herald Cup with St. Mary’s back in 1995, Cian O’ Neil’s father Darren in 1997 and Cuan McEntee’s brother Finn in 2023.
St Mary’s BNS, Rathfarnham beat Scoil Mhuire BNS from Marino in the Herald Cup
The next game on day two saw Bishop Galvin NS come up against Scoil San Treasa for the Tom Fitz Cup.
Bishop Galvin would come out on top on the day winning 2-14 to 1-10.
We spoke to coach Kevin Edge “For us we won the double this year, we won Division 1 football back at halloween and now we’ve won Division 2 hurling so it would have been the first time we’ve done the football hurling double.”
Darragh Quigley captained the side and led them throughout the tournament, generaling the team from the midfield.
The main attacking threat in the team came from Aaron Mulligan. Picking up 1-08 on the day and was the top scorer for Bishop Galvin NS for the majority of the tournament.
Perhaps the most impressive performance of all came from Reuben Naughton.
Naughton suffered an extensive illness last year and was forced to relearn how to walk. He came on in the final and made an impact on the game, the only St Anne’s representative on the team.
The next match of the day saw Scoil Mhuire NS, Woodview play Scoil Chronain, Rath Cuil for the Nua Cup. Scoil Mhuire had just enough on the day to edge out Scoil Chronain and bring the trophy home.
Standout performances for Mhuire include Molly Gallagher who scored a goal in the final, Beth Shiels in goal, Aoibheann Burke, captain Saorise Buckley and Amy Farrell.
Coach Eileen Shanahan was delighted with the performance on the day and the experience as a whole.
“The school sent us off in style at around 11 and then everyone from 2nd to 6th class all travelled via bus so we had a huge cohort cheering us on, probably one of the biggest there today so it was just amazing for the girls. A once in a lifetime thing for a lot of the girls.”
Their opponents Scoil Chronain had similar feelings on the day as a whole. Coach Aoileann spoke glowingly of the day.
“It was unbelievably exciting for them, this year was just incredible, incredible for the children, amazing experience, super excited. It was a wonderful show of support for the children and we’re really happy coming home on the bus. Even to have participated in playing in Croke Park was enough for them, it was a win for them. We’re so grateful for Cumann na mBunscol to organise these games.”
Scoil Mhuire NS, Woodview in Lucan celebrate their win over Scoil Chronain, Rath Cuil in the Nua Cup
The final match of the day was between Scoil Naomh Aine, Clondalkin and Lucan Educate Together.
It would be Lucan who would come out on top after a strong second half saw them pull away from Scoil Naomh Aine winning 4-00 to 1-00 and take home the INTO shield. We spoke to Scoil Naomh Aine coach Triona McBride.
“We’re very proud of the girls, they put everything into it.
‘They would always go to training and it showed on the pitch as well. Great attitude shown by all.
‘It was our first time entering Cumann na mBunscol in Camoige so getting to the shield final was excellent. It was a super experience”.
There were some great performances by Naomh Aine players including but not limited to captain Caragh Pluck in defence, goalkeeper Charlie Doyle who made great runs from in goal outfield as well as excellent distribution.
Lucan Educate Together claimed victory over Scoil Naomh Aine in the final game of the day
The girls were led by James McCabe, Triona McBride, Ciara O’Doherty and Audrey Doyle.
We also got to chat to Lucan head coach Seamus Lynam.
“It was very tightly contested, a lot of battling in the first half. Very spirited performance from both teams. It’s absolutely fantastic because some of the kids wouldn’t be from typical hurling backgrounds they’d be from very diverse backgrounds as well so it was great for them to experience it.”
Ruby Mae Hayes was an excellent performer for Lucan who managed a hat-trick of goals. Other standout performances also include Ila McMahon, Aoibh McSweeney and Amy Whelan.
