We love a good reunion in Scoil – a chance to catch up with old friends and reminisce on some of Scoil’s many glory days. It was great to see, John (Johnny) O Rourke at the Junior Hurling Championship game on Sunday 8 Apr v St Sylvesters as he visited Ireland for a few days. Johnny, who played in the Club for a number of years was a member of the 1958 Junior Hurling Championship winning team (Team picture is on display in the overflow room of the Clubhouse). Johnny also played hurling for Dublin before he emigrated to the UK. Unfortunately, the result did not go our way in Malahide but Johnny was delighted to see the great spirit of the team. Another highlight on the day was the fact that the famous Scoil striped jersey was still being worn – the same jersey that he wore in his time playing for the Club!

Then last Thursday night, Johnny called to the Club to meet some of his old team mates including Club President Dick Murphy, Seamus Bohan, Brian Bohan, John O’Regan, Joe Blake, Larry Mc Veigh and Seamus (Spud) Murphy. Spud brought along the first medal that was ever won by the Club in 1951.

It was lovely to see all the boys together, pictured with Gerry Rowley, reminiscing about their playing careers over 60 years ago!

Great to see you Johnny!

MEET MICK O’LEARY

How long have you been involved in Scoil Uí Chonaill?
20 years

Do you have any nicknames? How do you like to be addressed?
Mick.

Where do you hail from?
Wexford.

How did you come to be involved in Scoil?
Padraig Egan went to Scoil Neasain and my son joined Scoil.

Briefly describe your Scoil career as a player / mentor / contributor, if any.
I helped out with underage teams, boys and girls for about 15 years

What was the funniest thing that has happened to you in Scoil?
Being in the company of Brian Kirwan when he has a few pints taken

What would you say you are most known for within Scoil?
Playing cards on Thursday nights.

What has been your greatest Scoil moment / achievement?
Winning Feile division 2. Watching Scoil return to senior status.

If Scoil was a country, what would it be? Why?
Jamaica because scoil knows how to party

What is your profession / field of study / passion?
School Principal

What are your favourite hobbies outside of GAA?
All sport.

What is your favourite sporting moment / sportsperson?
1996 All Ireland Hurling Final.

What is your favourite Scoil ‘quirk’?
Sitting in the clubhouse mid winter wearing overcoat and gloves because heating on the blink.

If you could make one addition to Scoil in any way, what would it be?
Put the phone back in the bar.

WANT TO FEATURE IN THE STAG’S VOICE?

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 Meet the Member’s Questionnaire!

OTHER NEWS

Scoil Summer Camps: Mon 16th – Fri 20th July: Cúl Camps (6-12yrs) & Tues 24th – Thurs 26th: Advanced Camp (12-16yrs). Save the Date!
Scoil Walking Club will head to Howth for their next outing on Saturday 28th April meeting at Kilester Dart Station @1:30pm. All welcome.
Our Club President, Dick Murphy was delighted to attend the re-opening of the O’Connell Tower, Glasnevin Cemetry along with Br. Pat Madigan and representatives from O’Connells Schools. Deputy Principal, Lynn Kidney introduced the time capsule created by pupils in the school which will stay in the crypt at the bottom of the tower. The tower, which was closed for 45 years, was officially opened by Minister for Finanace, Paschal Donohoe.
Workshops introducing corporate governance for sports club run in conjunction with the NEIC are being on Wed 25th April @ 6:30pm – 9pm Marris Football Club, Richmond Rd & Thurs 10th May @ 6:30pm- 9pm Laurence O’Tooles Recreational Centre. Email scoil.pro.eoc@gmail.com for more information.

TEAM NEWS

The Boys Hurling Féile is set to take place this Saturday 21st April in St Vincent’s Grounds. First game against Cuala begins at 11:30am, followed by games at 12:45, 14:45 and 16:00. All support during the day is greatly appreciated.
A great win for our first Adult Football team in the Championship against St Marks.
Well done to our third Adult Football team on a good Championship win against St James Gaels.
Adult Hurlers draw against Vincents in the first round of the Intermediate Championship on Tuesday evening.
Due to the recent wet weather, the girls AIG Féile was called off last Saturday but has been rescheduled to take place on the weekend of 19th & 20th May
Nursery continue to train in Scoil every Saturday morning from 9:30am – 11am. All newcomers welcome as always!

Nursery POTW 19-4.jpg

A c u11.jpg

Congratulations to the Nursery Players of the Week -Rory, Oisín, Joannus.
Wishing Alex Culligan a speedy recovery after breaking his finger in the Under 11s win against Craobh Ciarán last Saturday.

LADIES DIVISION 3

v Raheny 11/04/2018

Raheny 2-14 Scoil 0-8

A very misleading scoreline, as it was a 3 point game until about 10 minutes from the end.
On a gloomy, cold evening, the St.Annes pitch passed a late pitch inspection from the referee. There was very little between these teams last year and the first half indicated another close game with the lead changing hands a number of times. Towards the end of the half, some fine interplay between the forwards, produced excellent points from Hannah Leahy, Lucy Murphy and Anna Power to give Scoil a halftime lead of 0-8 to 0-6.

The lead could have been greater, but the team missed a number of well worked scoring opportunities. The wastefulness continued in the second half as several scoreable frees and a penalty were spurned. Our regular free-takers were sadly missed on this occasion. These misses proved vital as Raheny grabbed 2 goals in 2 minutes to seal the victory. There were excellent displays despite defeat by Laura O’Reilly in goal, Molly Power, Kathy Delaney and the resident gazelle Hannah Leahy.

Next up is a Cup game away to O’Dwyers while the second team look to get their season up and running against Robert Emmets in Scoil on Wednesday, both at 7.15pm.

#UpScoil

UNDER 11 BOYS

Stop/start to the season so far for Scoil Uí Chonaill U11’s with the weather playing havoc with only x5 weekends of game time.

Story so far.

Scoil v Saggart – F/B (Scoil Loss/ Scoil Win).
Lucan Sarsfields v Scoil – Hurling (Scoil Win / Scoil Draw).
Setanta v Scoil – Hurling (Setanta Win – one game )
St Brendans v Scoil – F/B (Scoil Win – one game).
Scoil v Craomh Ciarans – Hurling (Scoil Loss/Scoil Win).

It’s been a long time since our A Team experienced losses in both hurling & football but it will stand to them in the long run. Some excellent matches played to date with strong performances/good attitude from some of the lads. Unfortunately some of our lads took a few bad knocks away to Setanta & home to Craomh, resulting in unplanned visits to temple street (Jack & Alex J). The latter being most unfortunate, as he was only returning to play yesterday – Hope operation goes well and great to hear you can’t wait to get back (or so your mum said). Was great to see Jack back in action after his knock, which didn’t stop him putting in an excellent showing on Saturday. Hopefully the weather will improve and we can get our weekly matches back on track – Very frustrating for kids/coaches/parents alike.

#UpScoil

UNDER 10 GIRLS FOOTBALL

v Clanna Gael 14/4/2018

The U’10’s girls made the short journey to Clanna Gael on Saturday, fielding two teams on the day.
Team Dave/Sinead played extremely well in the first game, particularly in the second half. Abigail’s 3 classy points from play in the second half was a real highlight. Aoibhinn played her best game for Scoil to date, battling hard in mid field, winning regular possession and distributing it well. Caoimhe made sure the defence was solid with some robust tackling. Eabha was calm on the ball and brought other players into the game. Orlaith and Millie competed well throughout the game while Abbey and Cliodhna also stood up to the challenge.
In the second game, the girls ran out of steam to some extent and it’s clear that the disrupted training has held them back a bit. However overall it was a very positive display.

Team Sean/Aidan had a good outing and showed plenty of determination and skills in their 2 matches. After a slow start for all our team we began to find our flow. Niamh, Aishat, Nessa and Andrea covered great ground during the day especially when playing at midfield, while Sadhbh played well in defence. Aoife, Martha, Laura and Aibhilin contributed well from all positions. Once we can start well and keep it going this group will be hard to beat.

#UpScoil

UNDER 9 GIRLS FOOTBALL

On a very difficult morning for football with rain falling from the start of the match till the final whistle, our under 9 team showed great grit and commitment. With a large panel we were able to give those who hadn’t played Saturday some more game time. Joya and Priya took well to the wet conditions and linked up with other players in all positions. One of our newest players, Alice made a great contribution throughout the match as did Aifric, Aisling and Sarah. Alex, Ella and Taiya made some great tackles and helped swing the momentum to Scoil. All in all a great performance for such difficult conditions.

Next weekend it’s is back to Camogie so check out Heja for further details

#UpScoil

UNDER 9 BOYS

v Fingallains 14/4/2018

We got a chance to test ourselves against one of the stronger teams in the hurling league when Fingallians came to Clontarf Roadon Saturday morning. The coaches were really pleased with the strong performances of all our teams, especially the use of the new skills that we have practiced in training. The only slight difference, if any, between Scoil and Fingallians was their confidence at air hurling. The coaches have asked all players to practice their jab lift at home this week. By quickly mastering air hurling skills, the future could be very bright for this group of players.

Maroon Team: Jake did a hook exactly the way we have practiced by moving into the ‘lunge’ position while stretching his hurley out to block his opponent’s swing. We hope that his uncle Alan was watching as he could learn a few lessons on defending from Jake. Sean did some super long clearances by keeping his head down and following through with his swing. He took several knocks, but bravely kept coming back stronger and stronger. Our goal keeper Eoin always looked up to find players in space and delivered long, accurate puc outs that put us on the attack. Jamie grew into the game and in the second half was organising his defence and getting close to his opponents to prevent them from lifting the ball.

Amber Team: Ben showed that he has been paying attention to his coaches by cleverly moving behind an opponent to take him by surprise with a perfect hook. Cian H showed his skills by repeatedly doubling on moving ball – on the ground and in the air. This is a really difficult skill to master and shows that he has been practicing at home. Darragh prevented his opponent from striking by using into the lunge position and ‘building a wall’ to block his opponent. We hear that Stephen O’Keefe is worried about the competition from Rian whose enormous puc outs set up many attacks for us.

Blue Team: James did some excellent striking on both left and right sides and following through with his swing to drive the sliotar long distance. In his first ever hurling match, Brodie put in a strong performance got close to opponents to prevent them from lifting and striking. Jeaic also had a super game and kept getting close to his opponents to tackle and clash.

All-in-all, this was a great game with really encouraging performances. We look forward to continued progress against Beann Eadair on Sat 21 April.

#UpScoil