Contents:

• Champo Semi Double…STILL!

• Minor Girls Final

• Oneness in (a lot of!) Pics

• Scoil Spotlight….

• Other News

• Team News

• Fixtures

Don’t forget to Save the Date for Dinner Dance 2019!

Intermediate Championship Semi Double

No you’re not reading last week’s Stag’s Voice! We’re still looking at two weeks of semi-finals as our Hurlers drew after extra time in their thriller of a semi-final vs St. Mark’s on Saturday in O’Toole Park. With a final score of Scoil 0-21 to St Mark’s 1-18, it’ll take another day out to separate these two.

Replay fixed for 4pm on Saturday October 20th in Trinity Gaels GAA.

See below pictures from the game

The Football will be hoping for a less dramatic route to the final in their bid to overcome Round Towers Lusk in the Championship semi-final — throw-in @4.30pm on Saturday October 13th in Balgriffin.

All support encouraged for both of these huge games!

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Minor Girls Final

The Minor Girls showed the lads how it’s done on Saturday, as they booked their place in the Championship Final (without messing around with the likes of extra time and replays!) in their 3-14 to 1-4 win over St Brigids.

Congrats to the Girls on a fantastic win and best of luck in the final vs Erin’s Isle on Oct 20/21 (TBC). More details to follow.

Let’s have a massive crowd out to support the Girls in this huge match for the Club!

Oneness in (a lot!) of Pics

Much credit to photographer for the proceedings Jackie Jasperson as she did a great job of capturing what was a monumental occasion in our history. See the pics below

Scoil Spotlight: Junior Trad Sessions

We’ve decided to change tact on our ‘getting to know Scoil’ approach and instead start focussing on different groups throughout the Club.

The work that’s being done week in, week out is immense and we’d like to give everyone an opportunity to get to know all the different groups in the Club in a fun format.

And this especially includes some of the more unusual groups and activities happening under the radar!

First up, the Junior Trad Sessions!

By Ruari Colbert

Which group in Scoil Uí Chonaill are you shining the spotlight on?
Scoil Junior Trad Session

Please provide a brief synopsis of this group.
A group of young (Age 4 – 12) traditional Irish musician have a monthly music session in the club house. It has been going on since Sept 2017.

How often (and when) does the group meet?
It takes place on the on the 1st Friday of every month from 7-8pm in the Clubhouse

What is the goal / purpose of the group / activity?
To give young musicians an opportunity to play together in a friendly encouraging environment.

What drew you to this group, or what do you think is it’s biggest selling point?
The promotion of another aspect of our Irish culture similar to the GAA.

Imagine the Club is a family, and your group is a family member – where does this group fit in to the family tree?
As a sibling to the GAA.

Please describe any particular characters in the group worthy of a mention.
Aoife Colbert aka Aoife McDermott – she leads the session with her gra for traditional Irish music. It wouldn’t happen without Aoife…. Ciara Leahy who promotes our session at every opportunity as well as all aspects of Scoil

What is your favourite memory of the group / activity?
One of the five year olds performing the brush dance much to the delight of the audience

What is the funniest thing that has happened within the group?
Three of the youngest musicians pretending to play the tin whistle along with a tune….fake it till you make it…

What is the group’s greatest achievement?
The greatest achievement to date is how musicians who don’t know each other interact so easily, with music as the common language…

If the group was a person, how would you describe their personality?
Energetic

If other Club members could do one thing to help your group thrive, what would it be?
Come and see us and spread the word. All are welcome.

What is the beyond-your-wildest-dreams ambition for this group? 
Instill love for session playing and that they will look back with fondness on these years. Maybe one of the junior musicians will be leading a similar session in Scoil in the future

Describe the group in 3 words.
Talented, enthusiastic and inclusive

Is the group seeking new members? If so, please let readers know how they can get involved.
All are welcome. Contact Ruairi or Aoife on 0867712848 or email ruairicolbert@hotmail.com. Details are always in the Stag the week before the session.

Want your group to feature next?

As a Club, we really pride ourselves on the close-knit community that we have at Scoil Uí Chonaill – help us in our effort in getting to know all of our members by filling out the below questionnaire on behalf of your group or team!

Other News

• Sam Maguire will be making an appearance in Scoil on Saturday, 20th October, from 2pm til 6pm.

• The Christmas Shoebox Appeal is fast approaching – members interesting in contributing should know the Club will arrange a collection on November 9th.

Team News

Full reports (where available) below

• The Adult Footballers & Hurlers are both (still!) in the semi-finals of their respective Intermediate Championships,

  • First up will be the Football semi-final vs Round Towers Lusk — throw-in @4.30pm on Saturday October 13th in Balgriffin.

  • Next will be the the Intermediate Hurling Championship semi-final replay vs St. Mark’s — throw-in @4pm on Saturday October 20th in Trinity Gaels GAA.

• Minor Girls book their place in C’ship final vs Erin’s Isle on Oct 20/21.

• Na Fianna spoil the party twice for u15 & u16 Girls

• Pick-up in numbers sees u10s back to two team strength!

• U9s Boys Hurlers make sure it’s not St. Patrick’s Day!

• Less tippy tappy sees Nursery up their striking game!

U15 & U16 GIRLS FOOTBALL

Under 15 girls v Na Fianna shield semi final 6/10/2018

This is a game we would all like to forget.  It was a very lacklustre performance to say the least. Despite some great saves by Isabelle it was only in the second half that the girls seemed to wake up and start scoring.  By then Na Fianna were well ahead. We managed a final score of 3.2. to Na Fianna’s 5.10.

Scorers on the day were Liadán Aoibheann and Caoimhe.

Next game tomorrow with the under 16’s.

Under 16 girls v Na Fianna championship semi final Sunday 7th October 2018

 Many of the same girls play up with the under 16’s but sickness and injuries hit us so that we only had one sub on the day who had to go on when Abby Donnelly got injured.  However the girls played a very determined match this time and although Na Fianna kept scoring Scoil kept playing their hardest. Two missed goals in the first half though left us trailing at half time. However the girls tried even harder in the second half and started adding points but still the goals eluded them. The final score was Na Fianna 2.14 to Scoil 14 p. The girls left the field beaten but unbowed.

 Scorers on the day were Ela Eve Sadhbh P Holly Eve.

That’s it for the season but Paul is on the lookout for some challenge games

U10 BOYS HURLING

The boys played an away game on Saturday against Faughs in Tymon Park. With a pick up in numbers recently we have been able to field two teams in games which is great to see.

Team Brendan consisted of Eoghan Og, Paddy, Ruairi, Calum, Sean, Evan, Richie, Rys and Temi. 

The lads played a good competitive game with Eoghan Og controlling midfield for long parts of the game. What was particular great to see is the ability to run with the ball on the hurl after winning it and getting space to hit the ball. New recruit Richie was in top goal poaching form bagging 4 goals. Our other new recruit Rys did a great job in goal pucking out the ball a good distance. All the kids are really competing well on the pitch and are putting into practice the stuff they are learning in training. They are not afraid to get stuck in shouldering the opposition off the ball and not afraid to get get a blocks in when the opposition are looking to shoot or pass. The game itself probably ended in a narrow win for Faughs but regardless of the result there is real progress being made by the team.

Team Alan consisted of Cillian, Jake, Luke, Isaac, Michael, Senan, Joe, Conor M.

We played a good game, and competed particularly well in the 1st half.  

With Luke and Michael keeping pressure on from the front and taking their opportunities well, we were well in it, at 1/2 time: 1-3 to 2-2. Michael took a bang to the hand but came back bravely to finish the game strongly.  Jake continuing on from previous weeks to lead in the midfield with high energy and making it difficult for the opposition to play through.  In defense Isaac had a fabulous game. And it’s great to to see the skills of all the kids coming along Cillian was solid as always in goals. Unfortunately we lost our way in the last quarter and got pinned back, but it was a good outing and lots to build on.  

U9 BOYS HURLING

It wasn’t St Patrick’s Day on Saturday

The under 9’s had a chance to measure the progress made over the course of this year when St Pat’s came to Clontarf Rd on Saturday. We had found the going tough against the same opposition in our first match of the season back on 24th Feb. However, on Saturday all three teams turned in fantastic performances and were highly competitive. Coaches, parents – and most especially – players can be very proud of the way our skills have developed since the start of the year.

Two of our younger players turned in wonderful performances for the Red team. Aodh had a splendid game and showed great determination and commitment to put his opponents under pressure. Cian has been working hard on his skills at home and did some wonderful striking on both sides. Jake had another first for this team by catching a high ball directly from a puc out.  Jumping up to catch high balls (with fingers pointing upwards) is a new skill that the players have practiced hard in training over the past few weeks. It was really super to see Jake using this new skill in the match. Brody generously agreed to play for St Pat’s as they were short of players and had a fine game playing against his team mates.

The Ambers started like a train and there was some great wristy ground action on show. Scoil produced a hat full of chances in the first half but lacked the killer instinct to take them. The second half saw Pat’s pull ahead with run of scores thanks to some sharper lifting and striking from the hand. Scoil were undaunted though and got a couple of scores of our own in response. The determination of the team was shown with not one, not two, but three hurley breaks from Conall  (2) and Darragh. Conall’s hurl features autographs from Henry Shefflin and the majority of the all Ireland winning Limerick team so no doubt will find it’s way into a frame. There were plenty of fine performances. Matthew was a torment up front getting first to countless balls in space while Tadhg scored a superb goal pulling first time across a Pat’s clearance. Danny continued to show his ability to lift the sliotar and once he gets the confidence to take his steps and strike he’ll be a force to be reckoned with. A special word must go to Riain who made 3 spectacular saves in the first half accompanied by superb puc outs to the wings or straight up to the forwards.

The blue team put in an excellent performance against an understrength St Pat’s side. James lead the scoring charts with 4 fine goals including a spectacularly long strike from the half way line. Dennis had a super game playing at centre back for St Pat’s and made a number of brilliant clearances. Orson had one of his best games of the year with some excellent tackling while Fionnan was rock solid in defence and showed that he has been practicing his skills at home with his new hurley.

This week, the coaches have concentrated on jab lifting on-the-run as this was one area with room for improvement during Saturday’s matches. Mastering this key skill will further raise our performance levels. Hence, Parents are asked to encourage their child to practice this skill as often as possible at home, in the park etc.

NURSERY

U7s vs Whitehall – Saturday Oct 6th

Scoil Ui Chonaill under 7s (Nursery blues) visited Whitehall GAA on Saturday morning for friendly hurling matches. It was a fresh October morning but the parents were the only ones feeling the cold as the children gave it their all throughout the matches. We had three teams of boys and girls and each team played against three teams from Whitehall. Patrick, Aidan and Alan each  managed a team.The teams were well matched and this lead to lots of close encounter with plenty of tackling and striking. From the Scoil children it was great to see some children striking the slitor from both sides. There were also lots of long accurate strikes with less ‘tippy tappy’ strikes in evident which was great to see. 

Back to Scoil next Saturday for training. More friendly matches to follow before Christmas.

Fixtures