He also took time to speak to our players and provide advice. He first explained that better players practice their skills at home and develop faster than those who only rely on training once a week. He told us that he used to practice with a tennis ball at home (as he discovered that it returns faster than a sliotar), and used to walk to school with his hurley in his hand.

He then explained to the players that coaches are volunteers who give up their own time to help players have fun and improve their skills. He concluded by asking the players to listen to and follow their coaches.

To round off a great evening, as Danny is a Cúl Camps’ GAA ambassador, our players were presented with Cúl Camps gear. A huge thanks to coach Catriona for organising such a memorable and fun evening.

Picture courtesy of Bryan Meade.

HITTING HEADLINES

Did you spot Aodh Taylor from our Under 9s on the front page of the Sunday Times last weekend? Our striking new Adidas gear took centre stage in a guide to the best kids Summer camps. Summer holidays are fast approaching and what better way to spend our school-free days than pucking sliotars and kicking balls in Scoil.

Save the Date!
Scoil Summer Camps:
Mon 16th – Fri 20th July: Cúl Camps (6-12yrs)
Tues 24th – Thurs 26th: Advanced Camp (12-16yrs).

MEET KATE WALLEY

How long have you been involved in Scoil Uí Chonaill?
16 years or so

Where do you hail from?
Raheny, Dublin

How did you come to be involved in Scoil?
I was in school with Grainne and Kate Egan and Kathy asked my Dad to get involved with coaching a team…I’ve been a member ever since!

Briefly describe your Scoil career as a player / mentor / contributor, if any.
I’ve played in the ladies section since I was 8 years old and did a brief stint mentoring the nursery when I was in 4th year.

What would you say you are most known for within Scoil?
Probably for being Dave Walley’s daughter. Or chatting to my marker during matches…

What is your profession / field of study / passion?
I work as an Associate Wealth Manager in Goodbody Stockbrokers

What are your favourite hobbies outside of GAA?
I love to play traditional Irish Music, and travelling when I can manage to save up enough annual leave!

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

Best of luck to our Under 14 boys who are taking part in the Football Féile this Saturday 5th May in Drimigh. First game is set to start at 10:15 against Beann Éadair, followed by games at 11:30, 12:45 & 16:00. All support during the day greatly appreciated.
A special thanks to Dave McKay for putting up the monkey bars outside our equipment storage container in Scoil. Perfect for hanging out after training and matches!

TEAM NEWS

Congratulations to our second ladies team who beat Na Fianna last Wednesday evening after a superb performance. More great things are expected from our newest team in the Club!
A great performance from our under 16 girls against St Mary’s despite a three point loss.
Great win for our under 13 hurlers against Na Fianna last Sunday.
The Nursery continues to train in Scoil every Saturday morning from 9:30am – 11am. All newcomers welcome as always!

Hanah L.jpg

Congratulations to Hannah Leahy and the Minor Dubs who won the Leinster Minor Championship Final last Sunday. Hannah was awarded Player of the Match. A super achievement!
Congratulations to the Nursery Players of the Week – Simon, Lucy and Cillian.

UNDER 16 GIRLS

v St Marys Saggart, 29/4/2018

Obviously the Ladies Board did not know we had so many musicians amongst our team who would be at the Fleadh Ceol this weekend. We arrived in Saggart on a glorious day for football with fourteen players plus brave Sorcha Mulligan who plays with the under 13’s. It didn’t start well with Saggart getting a goal and a point very early on. A great save by Isabelle at the beginning settled nerves and soon we were level . However in the second half Saggart brought on their five extra players while our girls were wilting because of the huge pitch and the long grass and no subs available. The girls fought bravely though A lovely pass from Siofra M to Sorcha ended in the net to our delight. Holly was disappointed when a lovely point she took was disallowed. Everyone present agreed that it was a great match although we were beaten by three points the final score being 3-7 to 1-10.

The points came quick and fast from Siofra, Catherine Ella and Holly. Meibhin was stalwart in defence and Jody’s cleared ball after ball. Eve fought like a tiger and Lia and Abby seemed to be everywhere on the pitch while Meadhbh K seemed to make the sideline her own. Sophia has proven to be a great new addition to the team while Meadhbh O tried hard for every ball. Catherine has improved greatly this year as was evidenced by her play on Sunday. Our thanks to Sorcha for togging out with us. We may not have won the match but we were delighted to hear our own Sadhbh P is now the under fifteen fiddle champion of Dublin. Well done Sadhbh.

#UpScoil

UNDER 11 BOYS FOOTBALL

v St Patricks, 28/4/2018

Scoil started brightly and dominated the game from start to finish with some excellent football over the fifty minutes. A strong half back line of Calvin, Conor and Addi were well supported by Luke and Alan in midfield with Adam at centre forward and Jack at full forward. Scoil were on top in all areas of the pitch which was very pleasing with a number of lads missing due to Scoil Neasain choir duties, fleadh competition and weekends away. It was great to see Oran out for the Under 11s and he made a big contribution to the team effort. Liam, Fahad and Ronan had strong second halfs to keep Scoil performance on track after wholesale positional changes at half-time to give all the kids a chance to play in all areas of the pitch. Keep an eye on this team who are developing into a good team.

#UpScoil

UNDER 10 CAMOGIE

v Trinity Gaels, 28/4/2018

On Saturday the girls took on Trinity Gaels at a sunny Clontarf Road. A good week of training really paid off as the girls were up for the challenge, their ground striking was much improved and it was great to see the girls attempting to rise the ball when they had the opportunity. The kids were rewarded for their efforts with 4 wins from 4.

Team Dave/Aidan:Overall this was a great team performance with all players playing a part. Stand out performance of the day came from Aoife who worked her socks off chasing down every ball and was rewarded with some great goals. Abbey also played very well scoring a brilliant goal from distance in the second game.

Team Sean/Sinead:This team had a slow & sleepy start to the first half, but a big team talk and recapping on skills and tackling we had practiced at training paid off in the second half. Many put in very strong performances. Aibhlinn lifting and striking long balls down the field and Sadhbh and Aisling tackling hard and striking long.

#UpScoil

UNDER 9 CAMOGIE

v Peregrines/ Fingallians, 29/4/2018

On Sunday the girls turned out in great numbers for the trip to Peregrines. Scoil fielded 3 teams given our numbers as Fingallians had only one team on the day. Many thanks to all parents for their commitment.

Team Dave: The girls battled really hard against the strongest opposition on the day. Nessa put in an excellent performance showing a range of skills particularly her ability to strike the ball from hand while on the run. Afric impressed with a great attitude and got in some great blocking.

Team Sinead/Sean. The long wet grass wasn’t the nicest for ground hurling but all players worked hard putting in one of their best performances to date. All players tackling and blocking well and many players trying out new skills and putting into practice all their training. Orlaith put in a strong performance in midfield lifting and striking for the first time in a match situation. Aibhlinn was excellent, covering lots of ground as striking well. While alex showed real determination playing well in all games.

#UpScoil