1. Easter Camps

2. Team News

3. Féile Fundraiser

4. Fixtures

5. Other News

Easter Camps

Easter Camps return to Scoil Uí Chonaill!

WHERE: Scoil Uí Chonaill GAA Club, 95 Clontarf Road, Dublin 3

BRING: Gumshield, packed lunch, drink, suitable clothing.

REGISTRATION: If you register before Saturday 9th March 2019, your name will be entered into a draw TO WIN A FREE PLACE AT THE CAMPS.

CONTACT: Thomas on 085 113 7728 to book a place.

Team News

Senior Football: Senior footballers were beaten by Kilmacud Crokes in AFL2 on Sunday morning. On a wet morning, the early stages of the game were played in a competitive manner. Scoil saw themselves up by 4 points at half time. Crokes rallied in the second half and, with a slight breeze, took advantage. They came out victors by 4 points. Full time score: Scoil 0-10 Crokes: 1-11

Junior Football: Junior footballers had a super win against Kimacud Crokes on Sunday afternoon. Again, a wet pitch played a role. However, a full panel helped. Players were afforded a lot of space in the forward line and took advantage. Full time score: Scoil 0-11 Crokes: 0-08.

U12’s: Scoil 5-21 v Tarf 4-8

Our very first local derby and thankfully Scoil prevailed.

Clontarf certainly came today full of verve & purpose and it showed in a hotly contested 1st half. Playing against the wind, Scoil had to pull back a 5 point deficit at one stage to carry a narrow 2-10 v 2-7 lead into half time.

Thankfully the Scoil lads, despite losing their shape/positioning at times, pulled away in the 2nd half.

In fairness to Tarf lads, they pushed Scoil hard but the strong winds proved their undoing, along with some excellent defensive play & counter scores from Scoil.

All our substitutes were excellent today and proved very effective in front of goal also.
I was absolutely delighted to see the team reaction when Tadhg (New) grabbed his goal.

I think the quick movement of likes of Liam, Ronan & Aurelian completely caught opposition by surprise.

U12 Management Team still have a lot to work/talk through with the team on a number of areas (e.g. defensive responsibilities/positional duties/passing accuracy & no computer games late at night/early morning etc) but we’ll get there

Well done to both teams for a very entertaining game and their parents for such passionate support.

Regards Jp / Liam / Ronan

U10’s: U10 Football Vs St Peregrines

The U10 boys had their first away trip of the season away to Peregrines. Facing a physically bigger side in difficult weather conditions, we knew that we would have a difficult task on our hands. However, by doing their best and never giving up, we more than held our own. The coaches and supporters were very proud of the hard work and determination of the boys. For Team John, Cian had his best ever game and tackled hard throughout. This determination was rewarded with a free in the first half which he took himself and stuck the ball in the net. A few minutes later, Cian set up a point for Conall with fine catch and a smart handpass. Conall and Paddy struck up a good partnership in midfield and drove us on for the entire game. Conall showed some great soloing skills and scored a number of super points on the run. On one of these runs, he brilliantly used the sidestep and hand-off skills that we have practiced before popping the ball over the bar.Paddy continued his wonderful scoring record. In the first half, he scored a wonderful goal from a long distance which was the result of hard work and strong tackling. He added on a long range point to help us remain competitive in the second half. In defence, Darragh showed great determined and tackled hard throughout the match. He made one fantastic block down to prevent his opponent from scoring. All in all, this was a super day’s work for this team. The message for parents and players is “keep practising”!

Team Cormac faced a very talented Peregrines team who sprayed the ball from one side of the pitch to the other with great accuracy. To the lads’ credit, our more efficient finishing had us very close at half time. A purple patch for Peregrins mid-way through the second half though, put the game beyond reach. There were some fine individual performances for Scoil. Matthew continues to improve in every game and showed great anticipation to intercept passes on several occasions and to set up scoring chances. After a quiet first half, Jamie really stepped up in the second half, being more aggressive in the tackle. James put in his hardest working shift for the team too and if he continues to work this hard he’ll be a force to be reckoned with. A special mention to Conán today who covered acres of ground, harassing and harrying Peregrins into multiple turnovers.Our guys can’t be faulted for character but one simple thing that all parents could work on withtheir kids is catching. We passed up multiple great scoring opportunities as we struggled to collect longer foot passes. This is a skill that’s very easy to practice in the park, in the garden or even in the kitchen, once the counter has been cleared!

U9’s: Congratulations to the U9 team who have won the first 4 matches of the season. Great performances from all members of the team with great team work.

A huge thank you to IPB Insurance for their very generous contribution, this combined with the money raised from the cake sale allowed us to purchase new jerseys for U9 and U10. 

U8’s: The under 8s were in Trinity Gaels last Saturday morning on a fresh March morning with the aeroplanes above for company. Fortunately they didn’t provide too much distraction and after warming up, the Scoil players continued to show their ability to tackle and score as the opportunities arose. The three teams all held their own. Team 1- Tyler played out of his skin and wasn’t afraid to go for any ball. Rory played great upfront and made some great contributions to the Scoil scoreboard. On team 2, Ryan and Orla Kelly played well in mid field and Ryan won some frees after some zealous tackling from the opposition. Senan did well in defence and some great kick outs from the goals. Liam also got a great score for Scoil. On team 3 Great play from Orla Sherlock, Eoghan Healy and Malick was noted which kept the team in toe with the opposition.

For the matches this weekend, parents please note that it is advised to layer up underneath the Scoil Jersey.

Nursery: We had a great turnout at nursery training at Alfie Byrne road. We had over 25 academy kids and after all the extra hurling training and matches it was time to concentrate on football skills. One group worked on their kicking and match skills while the other group worked on tackling, hand passing soloing and kicking. We hope to play our first challenge match against Raheny next Saturday at Scoil. 
We had 25 green and yellows kids. They were spilt into two groups worked on their football and hurling skills concentrating on dribbling, hand passing, kicking and striking. 
Note to all parents that training starts at 0945 sharp so please arrive at least 5 minutes early. 
Players of the week were James, Logan, Sadhbh and Alan. Well done. 

Girls: U11s v st Bridgid’s
Team Blue
Fantastic performances across the field for our first day out. Our first game was closely won with everyone struggling in the cold wet conditions, but the girls dig deep going into the second game and everyone raised their game. Caoimhe were very strong in the middle covering ground  and supporting backs and forwards. Aoife was very solid in goal with Nessa putting in a solid performance in the back line. Some lovely long ball into the forwards kept the game moving fast and scores came from all over the field. 

Team Red
Two excellent performances on the opening day of the season. It was great to see that we were so balanced even with the bigger number of players. Our team structure was very good with all players carrying out their allotted tasks with minimum fuss. Our defence was solid and always ready even when the ball spent long periods in the other half. Taiya and Danu lead the turn over stats for the day and their ability to tackle without fouling was outstanding. Andrea kept us going forward and carried the ball with confidence. Cliondha and Abigail were way too hot for the opposition defence. Lucy was fantastic in her first football match for Scoil.

Under 10s  Vs St Maurs
Scoil under 10’s played St. Maurs in the rain and cold on Saturday afternoon. This seems to be a regular occurrence when we plays Maurs and usually in the first game of the year!! 

Team Blue played 2 great games and really put into practice all the training done so far this year. With a shortage of numbers we played both games with a player less and with 2 under 8s!!! However there was no need to worry as both Sarah H and Roisin C played amazing as a 2 player forward line against 3 girls who were 2 years older. Millie and Aifric were superb in defence and regularly came out to break up attacks and set up attacks for us. Abbey H, Nessa and Abigail ran all day and led from the front with tackling and scoring. All in all a great start to the season. 

Team Yellow also had two excellent games and showed none of the rustiness we have seen in other seasons probably due to the access to all weather training facilities we have enjoyed this year. The platform was set by tenacious ball winning in mid field and working as a team to create the scoring opportunities. It was great to see how players have started to read the game and know how to find space and be in the right place at time to receive a pass. Aoibhinn was the fulcrum of our attacking play and definitely deserved a 10 for her performance. Ella lead the defensive line with confidence and Lauren was absolutely lethal in front of goal.

Under 9s  Vs Beann Eadair
Scoil U9s played their first game of the year on Sunday morning against Howth’s Beann Eadair. This team is entered in a 1 team league but with big numbers we were able to play 2 games of 8 a side. Thanks to Howth for coming in and playing us. It really was an enjoyable experience. 

Team Green started slowly and as it was most players first game together it took until the second game to see the real team in action. The first game was really close with the smaller Scoil girls putting in tackles all over the pitch and slowly beginning to put good passes together. Aisling M, who we are delighted to have back after a break, scored a wonderful goal which gave the team great confidence for the second game. The second game was totally in contrast to the first with Lena scoring 4 points with her left foot, each one better than the last. Eleni and Eliza also played very well and never stopped working. We are looking forward to the next game already.    

Team Orange put in excellent performances in both matches and it was hard to believe this team had not played together before. Some of our more experienced players showed great leadership and really brought a lot of the younger players into the play so that the whole team got involved in two excellent wins.  A special word of praise for Ruth Daly who worked her socks off in her first ever match for Scoil. 

Féile Fundraiser

Come out and support our Féile Fundraiser this Sunday. Scoil ‘Suds and Sizzler’ has been organised by our juvenile mentors. Come out and get your car washed, eat some barbecued grub and partake in the raffle! 9.30 a.m. – 2.00 p.m. All are welcome!

Fixtures

Upcoming fixtures for the weekend ahead are as follows:

• Senior Hurlers(Div 2) – Home to Thomas Davis in Scoil @ 10.30 a.m. Sun 10th March.

• Junior Hurlers (Div 8) – Home to Cuala in Scoil @ 3.00 p.m. Sun 10th March.

• Juvenile Boys – U8 home 10am v Vincents U9 away Pats 10am. U10 away Peregrines 10am. U11 home v Fingallians 11am. U12 away to Boden 12.15. U13 home to T Ashe 1.30pm U14 v T Davis 3pm. U15 home to Peregrines 11.30am

• Juvenile Girls – Saturday 9th March, U10’s Camogie Vs St Sylvesters, 4 p.m., Clontarf road.
  Sunday 10th March, U11 Camogie Blitz Vs Na Fianna and Clontarf 12.30 p.m., Clontarf road.

  Best of luck to all teams!

  Please get out to support your club wherever possible! Up Scoil!

Other News

• ‘Oiche Ceoil’ in the club on the 16th of March from 8.30 p.m. Spread the word, all are welcome!

• The club will be providing a level 1 child safeguarding course for all coaches/mentors/helpers who work with children. This is also open to club executive members. The training will take place on Friday 22nd March from 7-10. This training is mandatory for anyone working with children and is required every 2 years.  Any queries, please contact Aideen Lawlor Child Protection Officer 0863122130.

• An bhfuil scrúdú béil na hArdteiste ar siúl agat i mbliana? Beidh rang cainte ar siúl sa chlub gach Domhnach 5-6pm ag ullmhú don scrúdú cainte. Bigí linn!

  Are you preparing for the Leaving Cert Irish Oral this term? Scoil will be hosting a “rang cainte” from 5-6pm on Sundays where we will prepare for the upcoming exam. Join us!