Content:

• Scoil 7’s Success
• Summer Camps
• Good Luck, Leaving Certs!
• World Swimming Championships
• Meet the Members: Aoife Murphy
• Team News
• Fixtures

Scoil 7’s Success!

Sunday was Ladies Day at Scoil and what a success our very first Scoil Sevens turned out to be. As Jonathan Rock said he had never seen so many supporting girls’ football in the club.  We welcomed local teams such as Raheny, Clontarf and St. Vincent’s plus Whitehall, St. Finnian’s Swords and Round Towers in Clondalkin, all of whom added their colours to the occasion.

Our two under thirteen girls were first on the field and won four of their six games in tightly contested matches.  This was followed by two mixed under 15/16 teams who had two wins and two losses on the day but one of whom won a penalty shoot out to play in an exciting final against Whitehall. This was a nerve-wracking stuff which they unfortunately lost to a strong Whitehall team.  Our minor girls then took on Clontarf to win well and hooray our Mothers and Others beat the Whitehall Mothers and Others’ team. Best wishes to Mairead who injured herself leading her team to this epic victory.

Every match was played in the spirit of friendship and fun and was a demonstration of all that is best about Ladies football. Certainly, as usual, our girls were happy to play with whichever team needed them most.  It was great too to see some old friends returning to their spiritual home in Scoil.  Our guest thoroughly enjoyed themselves and nobody was rushing home. This may be because of the lovely day, the exciting football or more likely because of the lovely cakes donated by our wonderful parents and adult players.  Sean Leahy’s little girls were not playing but he played a stormer by spending the whole afternoon cooking burgers

It was very hot that afternoon and the girls were totally exhausted by the end of the games, but it was the exhaustion of a job well done.  They are a credit to the club and to their coaches and their parents must be very proud of them.  With such support the future of Ladies football in Scoil is very promising.

Paul Keane was highly impressed by the help he received. As he said, “Everyone did anything I asked them to do.” However, pleading exhaustion at the end of the busy day, he was rather non-committal about organising another Scoil Sevens next year!

See above one of our newest Mothers & Others members, Elaine, with her son, right before she togged out for her first ever game with Scoil!

Summer Camps

Next week marks our last Scoil Camp of Summer 2018!

Don’t miss out on all the fun by booking a place for our Fun Camp 20th-24th August.

Contact Thomas @ 085 113 77 28 to book a place in the next camp.

Good Luck, Leaving Certs!

The very best of luck to all of our young members receiving their Leaving Cert results today and with their CAO offers next week.

Remember that teammates, coaches & fellow members are all here to support you!

World Swimming Championships

Former Scoilwoman Ellen Keane will be competing in the World Para Swimming European Championships this week.

For all you sports fans, coverage of the Championships will be on TG4.

Best of luck, Ellen from everyone here at Scoil HQ!

Check out this recent article Ellen did with the Irish Times! #FanGirling

Meet Aoife Murphy!

How long have you been involved in Scoil Uí Chonaill?
Six Months

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

Where do you hail from? i.e. county, country, suburb etc.
Thurles, Tipperary

How did you come to be involved in Scoil?
I moved to Dublin, found Scoil online, contacted Jonny and started training. As they say the rest is history!

Briefly describe your Scoil career as a player / mentor / contributor, if any.
I’ve been training with the ladies and playing with the Ladies B team since I joined.

What is your favourite sporting moment / sportsperson? (any club, any sport)
My favourite sporting moment was being the a member of the First Ladies Football team to play for Thurles Sarsfields my home club many moons ago.

What is the funniest thing that has happened to you in Scoil?
I can’t think of one particular thing but there’s always a great atmosphere at training with plenty of laughs with the girls.

If Scoil was a country, what would it be? Why (optional)?
That’s a tough one to answer. I would say Scoil would be Ireland! The welcome I’ve gotten since I’ve joined has been amazing. Just like the welcome Ireland is famous for.

What would you say you are most known for within Scoil? i.e. what do people associate you with?
I’m probably known for being an (older) member of the ladies team who has come back to football after a couple of years away from the sport! I hope people associate me with enthusiasm for the game and a positive attitude on the field.

What has been your greatest Scoil moment / achievement?
My greatest Scoil moment was winning our match this week and now looking forward to a Sheild Final. The feeling after the match was unbelievable. Every single lady put in 100% effort and it paid off in the end. I’m so proud to be part of the team!

What is your profession / field of study / passion?
Trainee Solicitor with a passion for the Law!

What are your favourite hobbies outside of GAA?
I love running and hiking. Generally anything that’s outdoors.

What is your favourite Scoil ‘quirk’? e.g. the Geese on the pitch
Does the jersey count as a Scoil “quirk”, it certainly is unique!!?

Finally, if you could make one addition to Scoil in any way (don’t be restricted by the plausible!), what would it be?
I suspose for me football and the GAA were always a massive part of my life growing up. I’ve lived away from Ireland for a few years and getting involved in Scoil has been one of the best things I’ve done since coming home. As person I would like to add to the Scoil community spirit and passion. Scoil has really helped me get settled into life in Dublin and I’m very grateful for that and want to give back as best I can.

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!

Team News

Ladies b football

Scoil Uí Chonaill 2-16 Shankill 4-6

A fine team performance from Ladies B team secures Shield semi final win.

The B team have a Shield final to look forward to after an exciting win on Monday night in St Annes. The victory was all the more meritorious as they conceded 2 goals in the first few minutes of the game. They refused to panic and gradually reduced the deficit with some fine points. Shankill scored another goal just before half time and held a four point lead.

Scoil dominated the second half and some excellent scores from Kate Egan and Holly O`Rourke gave them a 3 point lead with time almost up. In a rare breakaway, Shankill scored an equalising goal and the game looked heading for extra time. However, 3 points in quick succession from substitute Caoimhe Keohane and a further goal from Holly O`Rourke clinched the victory in injury time.

There was some fine individual performances which contributed to the victory. Tenacious defending from Ashling O`Leary, Lili Kavangh and Aoife Murphy. Strong attacking play from Kate Egan, Holly and Katie O`Rourke and an ice cool performance in goal from Izzie Dillon. There was also great support on the line which was appreciated by the players

The Shield final is likely be held in a couple of weeks.

Some of our young stags were lucky enough to meet the Dublin team at Parnell Park last Tuesday – including our fave Dub of all!

Fixtures