The Ladies Football Team invited girls from all the local National Schools to a Blitz on the school pitch this evening. The school's coaches, Ms. Ella Ryan, Mr. Patrick Hayes and Mr. Tony Harrington had everything well organised and many of our girls refereed the games. The sun shone and the talent shone and the future looks very bright. Thanks to all the students, their parents, our coaches and referees for all their support.
The School invited the Boys from all the local primary schools to a Blitz on the school pitch on Tuesday evening. It was organised by James McCarthy, Development Officer and school coaches, Mr. Maurice Moore and Mr. Colman O Driscoll. It was a great success with great skills on display which we hope to see on our future school teams. The following Primary School's were represented; Abbeystrewery, Caheragh, Castlehaven, Dreeny Bridge, Drinagh, Drimoleague, Glandore, Kilcoe, Rath St. Patrick's and Unionhall. Thanks to all players, coaches and parents for getting involved. A special mention goes to some of school's Junior and Senior players who volunteered as referees namely Patrick O Brien, Luke and Elliot Connolly, Peter O Driscoll and Oisin Lucy.
Skibbereen Community School 1-08 St.Patricks, Castleisland 0-06
Skibbereen Community School concluded a very successful first year on the GAA field claiming their second title in a fortnight on Friday last the 19th of May. The game was played in the outstanding Naomh Abán grounds in Baile Bhuirne and the fare served up by both sides was no less impressive in its quality.
The Skibbereen lads made history a fortnight ago securing the new schools first GAA silverware in winning the Cork Under 16 ‘A’ football championship and they aimed to make some more history in Baile Bhuirne by securing a first Munster title for their school.
The game was put back a number of weeks to facilitate the Munster minor and Under 17 football championships as Castleisland midfielder Eddie Horan played on both victorious Kerry teams and their fullback David Shanahan was also on the Under 17 panel that won the Munster final earlier in the week. Horan was aiming to make it three Munster championship victories over Cork in ten days but came up against a Skibb team that were not going to be denied.
The Kerry side, physically very big, started brightly launching a number of early attacks but came up against a brilliant defensive unit; the mean Cork defence becoming a feature of the game in general. With Ronan Collins giving a commanding performance in the Cork school’s goal he could rely on an extremely impressive fullback line of Ciarán O’Dwyer, Darren Daly and Michael McCarthy, a line that was dominant throughout. Both sides missed early chances before the Kerry school drew first blood with the opening point of the game. The lead didn’t last long, however, as Skibbereen were soon level through a pointed Elliot Connolly free.
In a hard fought first half the Kerry lads looked threatening but got little change from the tenacious Skibbereen defence with Sam Burchill, in particular, putting in a towering performance at centreback. What chances did arise were through dead ball situations leaving it up to Connolly and Horan to duel it out in the free taking department. As the short whistle approached it was Castleisland who led by a single point on a scoreline of 0-4 to 0-3. The Skibb forward line, including Aaron O’Sullivan and Paddy Burke, showed plenty of endeavour but were being frustrated by the Kerry defence despite some great approach work by centreforward Kevin O’Donovan and wing forward Alex Minihane. The Cork schools opening score from play came from some brilliant work down the left flank that culminated in a great point by full forward Gavin Foley who ran at the heart of the St. Pats fullback line before slotting over the equalizing score to leave it 0-4 apiece at half-time. While scores were at a premium there was no hint of negative play or mass defences by either side, on the contrary, it was full blooded attacking football by both schools.
On the resumption it was immediately apparent that the Cork side had moved up another gear. If the Skibb forward division had been guilty of some poor decision making in the opening period they showed a much more incisive edge in the second half. Attacking with great pace, taking on their Kerry opponents, they soon had their noses in front only for a dogged St. Pat’s to respond once more. Points were exchanged through the free takers, however, it was apparent to all present that Skibbereen were in the ascendancy. The Cork lads managed to maintain a phenomenal work rate over the hour displaying a hunger for success that saw corner forwards working as hard as corner backs to turn the ball over; and backs driving forward in support of their attack. Both Skibb wingbacks, Liam Browne and Seán Bohane, continued to raid down the wings as Eoghan O’Neill had done in the opening half. Castleislands Kerry minor star was effective with the dead ball but got no change from Skibb’s Jamie Shanahan who along with captain Dermot Hegarty put in a great hour at centrefield. Though Skibb were the better side throughout the second period the game was finely balanced with Skibb two points in front thanks to Connolly’s free taking and another fine effort by Gavin Foley from play. The result seemed to be put beyond doubt when the aforementioned Shanahan made a burst into the square and somehow got a fist to the ball ahead of the advancing Kerry keeper. Shanahan’s goal put daylight between the teams for the first time as it pushed the Cork lads five points clear of their Kerry opponents.
As to be expected a side like St. Pat’s were not to lie down and came at Skibb once more. A brief scare followed when Castleisland seemed to have a scored a goal of their own only for both umpire and referee to immediately signal a free out, the young Kerry forward clearly catching the ball before throwing in to the net. Skibbereen stuck to their positive brand of football to the end and were once again on the attack as the game slipped into injury time, with the lively Luke Connolly adding energy late on to the Skibb forward division. It was another second half substitute, the impressive Andrew Whelton, who made a big impact on his introduction to the Skibb full forward line. Whelton secured a lot of possession and was instrumental in the build up to the victors goal. With time nearly up Whelton again shot at goal from a difficult angle only to see the ball narrowly drift wide. At that stage of the game it was as good as a score for the Cork lads as the referee blew the fulltime whistle on the kick out sparking great scenes of celebration on the field and amongst the West Cork schools supporters in the stand.
Team and Panel
1 Ronan Collins
2 Ciarán O’Dwyer
3 Darren Daly
4 Michael McCarthy
5 Eoghan O’Neill
6 Sam Burchill
7 Seán Bohane
8 Jamie Shanahan
9 Dermot Hegarty (captain)
10 Alex Minihane
11 Kevin O’Donovan
12 Aaron O’Sullivan
13 Patrick Burke
14 Gavin Foley
15 Elliot Connolly
16 Rory Courtney
17 Liam Browne
18 Luke Connolly
19 Andrew Whelton
20 Paul Keane
21 Dylan Murray
22 Oisín Lucey
23 Ciarán Connolly
24 Iarlaith Hurley
25 Finbarr Harte
26 Denis O’Driscoll
27 Oran Collins
28 Michael Sheehy
29 Jonathan Benn
30 PJ O’Donovan
31 Muiríos Waugh
32 Adrian O’Driscoll
33 Conor McCarthy
34 Patrick O’Brien
35 Donncha O’Donovan
36 Conor O’Neill
37 Daniel Coakley
38 Tadhg McCarthy
The school's first 4th Year Graduation ceremony was held yesterday. The students themselves made it such a success by organising the running order, writing the speeches, making the music and showcasing the event. Davina Connolly won the Student of the Year award and Deirdre O'Sullivan won the Spirit of Transition Year Award. Every event since September was acknowledged and celebrated from the Mini Company finals to the School Musical 'West Side Saga'. Community Leaders from the Banks, Luncheon Club, Ludgate Group and local businesses thanked the students for their tireless efforts. Certs were presented to every student and the biggest cheers of the evening went to Ms. Anne Sheerin, TY coordinator and Ms. Gretta Burchill, Year Head for their year's work. Thanks to them and to the presenters, demonstrators, musicians and to all who helped to make the day a memorable occasion. Well done TY 2017!
Match Report by Aoife Whooley
S.C.S Junior Ladies Football Team had a great win over Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí on Thursday last, as they won their County A Final, in Aughaville Caheragh.
S.C.S set the standard from the beginning of the game, scoring five points in succession, before Bantry returned with three points of their own. Skibbereen worked ferociously for the duration of the first half and were up well by half time, thanks to brilliant goals by Jennifer Collins and Deirdre O'Sullivan.
Skibbereen continued to work hard during the second half and despite brilliant efforts by Bantry, won well on a score line of 4-15 to 0-05.
Many thanks to their coaches, Mr Harrington and Mr Hayes for their continued support throughout the year.
Team: R. Deasy, R. O'Donovan, T. Murphy, A. Daly, K. O'Connell, K. O'Donovan, E. McCarthy, N. Crowley, J. McCarthy, L. O'Mahony, J. Collins, S. O'Donovan, L. Harte, K. Cronin, D. O'Sullivan, A. Whooley, S. Beechinor, S. Hurley, E. Connolly, E. Fitzgerald, J. Beechinor, E. Bohane, M. O'Neil
Yesterday marked the School's first Graduation Ceremony. It was a tremendous success thanks to the input from the students themselves, their families, the Chaplin Ms. O'Brien, Music Teacher Ms. Brennan, all the Teaching Staff, BAM staff and Canteen Staff. Great speeches were made, great songs were sung, balloons released and every student departed with everyone's best wishes.
The TY History Class and their teacher Mr. David Barry have created the School's first Yearbook which contains a picture of every student in the school and all the activities that the Students have been involved in since September. Every moment has been captured and it will make an important historical document in the future. The book costs €10 and all proceeds goes to funding student activities and subsidising bus hire. The book is now available from the School Office but copies are limited with only one print run.
Well done to the U14 Boys Football Team and their coaches, Mr. Maurice Moore, Mr. Colman O Driscoll and Mr. James McCarthy on beating De La Salle Macroom at home today.
Reminder to the U14 Boys that they have a football match tomorrow on the school pitch at 12.30pm
Congrats to our U16 1/2 Boys who were crowned Munster Champions after defeating St. Patrick's of CastleIsland in a nail biting encounter in Ballyvourney yesterday. Jamie Shanahan's late goal was the turning point to see off Kerry's County Champions. The final score was 1-8 to 6 points. Well done to the entire panel and their coaches Mr. Colman O Driscoll and Mr Maurice Moore who have put in trojan work since September last. All have done their school and community proud! We thank the coaches most sincerely and we also thank Mr. James McCarthy, Munster Development Officer for his continued support.
Congrats to our Junior Ladies Football Team that defeated Ardscoil Pobail Bheanntraí today to be crowned, Cork County 'A' Champions. Many thanks to their coaches Mr. Hayes and Mr. Harrington, our First Year Girls Football Team and Ms. Ella Ryan who went to support. Well done Girls. You have done us proud!!
The school wishes to say a sincere thank you to our wonderful European Service Scheme volunteers in Skibbereen Community School who spent the year with us. The school has been very fortunate to have such a dedicated team at our disposal. The European Voluntary Service scheme is funded by the Erasmus Plus Programme of the European Union.
As a token of gratitude the second years in our school organised a presentation for them. Micheal Cronin presented Tobias Fischer with an Irish Flag and presented Elena Lorenzo (Spain) and Florine Guimier (France), with gifts of Irish confectionary. Daniel Skerra and Conor O’Neill presented thank you cards to them. Micheál Collins and Ritchie Burchill organised the mass redistribution of food to 100 people. This was no easy task. Joshua Brosnan and Jerry O’Driscoll expertly organised the rubbish collection. A fab class was had by all on a sunny day.
We would like to thank Mr. Cormac Levis, Ms. Máire Keating, Ms. Bernadette Hegarty, Ms. Claire O’Donovan and Ms. Orla O’Sullivan for attending with their students and continued support. The second years learned new German words and learned that Tobias loved Dingle, surfing at Inchydoney Beach and the occasional trip to the Irish pub!
Well done to the second years who organised the event. Ms. Orla O’Sullivan’s English classes in Second and Third Year were delighted that Tobias took time to say goodbye to them during the week. Each student had to prepare a story to present to Tobias. Our volunteers will be sadly missed!
Congratulations to our Under 14 Boys Soccer Team on reaching the final of the 'Cork Cup' yesterday. They will now face Rochestown College in the final.
Skibbereen Community School 4 - 2 Presentation College
Report by Sean Spenser
A Cork Cup semi-final, what a day. A place at Turner's Cross at stake, neither team wanted to give that up. Skibbereen's last obstacle before they could get to the sacred turf! It had been raining all morning, but it stopped just as the teams arrived at the pitch. The sun came out but it still left a soft, wet ground after the rain.
Ten minutes into the game, Skibbereen's attack broke down. Pres launched a quick counter attack through their pacey right winger, who got to the byline and whipped in a cross. Skibbereen failed to clear the ball numerous times and eventually it fell to Pres' attacker who was onrushing and he smashed it into the net on the right side. That's the big problem when the ball isn't cleared from the box, however captain Robbie Minihane within a second of conceding threw the ball right back to the centre circle, shouting at his teammates to keep their heads up and forget about it. A mere three minutes later, a long ball was launched to Isaac Harte. He had it out on the right side of the pitch. He slowed down as the full back came out to him, however after a bit of trickery he paced past him and whipped a ball to the far post. It fell to Jamie O'Driscoll who looked to cut it inside onto his favoured right foot, however just as it looked like he'd try to curl it far post, he dropped the shoulder and beat his man. With one more touch he fired the ball near post into the top left corner with his left foot! That is why Skibbereen are the quintessential comeback kings! They never give up and have great team spirit!
Going into half time a 1-1 scoreline was fair. Tomás O'Mahony had cleared a corner off the line for Skibbereen, so you could argue Pres were on top, but 1-1 was an accurate representation of the game so far. Three minutes into the second half Pres launched another attack down their right side. Their striker had a speculative effort which looked like it might trouble Cormac McCarthy in goal, however as it was going towards goal it hit off of Tomás O'Mahony and looped over Cormac's head into the back of the net. Just like that Skibbereen were behind again! Soon after Pres had taken the lead, Jamie O'Driscoll made a lovely run down the left side. All the Pres defenders crowded the 18 yard box, allowing no room for a cross, however there were no Skibbereen players in the box and they had allowed Isaac Harte completely unmarked on the edge of the box. Jamie cut the ball back to him and he finished first time in the bottom right with a low down bullet finish! A fantastic goal from two excellent players, both on fire! In the 40th minute James O'Neill played a short pass to Isaac Harte. Isaac's first instinct was to have a look at goal, to see if a shot was realistic. He was about 25 yards and the keeper was a few steps off his line. What had he to lose? He decided to have an effort and he managed to loop it over the keepers head, into the net! What a goal! Skibbereen had taken the lead for the first time this game! 5 minutes later Donnachadh Maguire picked it up on the edge of the D. About 20 yards out, he had his back to goal. There wasn't much support for him, so he decided to go himself. He managed to turn his man and strike it from about 20 yards out. It was a bullet of a strike which cannoned off the the bar, onto the line and back off the bar again! So unlucky not to score! Jamie O'Driscoll had a chance to follow it up, but the keeper made a fantastic save, to beat him to the ball and the defender cleared it away! Did the ball cross the line? Who knows, probably not, but so close from Donnachadh none the less!
With less than 10 minutes remaining, Skibbereen won a free kick from 35-40 yards out. There seemed to be a bit of confusion over who would take it, Robbie Minihane or James O'Neill, but they eventually followed the instructions from before the game and James stepped up to take it. It certainly isn't out of his range to shoot from here, but I imagine if he did, the defence and keeper would be a little surprised. He decided to take a shot and it went very high towards the centre of the goal, however as it was heading towards the goal it dipped and curled and landed right into the top corner, probably further into the corner than he could reach with his hands! The best free kick I've ever seen in my life, and that's including David Beckham's vs Greece in 2001! An amazing goal that made everyone in the ground applaud. All the Pres players looked at each other in disbelief, while the Skibbereen players went crazy! Celebrating like they'd won the World Cup! While there was still time to be played, it didn't seem like Skibbereen could be beaten at this point. They started playing very fluid attacking free flowing football, full of confidence and belief! It seemed in an instant the full time whistle was blown, that was it, a place at Turner's Cross vs the team who knocked Skibbereen out of the Munster Cup!
Man of the Match: Isaac Harte - A great team performance, with a few players really standing out. It could have gone to Jamie O'Driscoll who had a fantastic game on the left, Tomás O'Mahony cleared two shots off the line and could have won it or even the captain Robbie Minihane who had is typical solid game, cutting out all attacks that came his way, but for me, Isaac Harte was the pick of the bunch. Starting out up front he provided a great threat with his pace in behind, combined with his ability to hold up the ball and drift out wide onto the wings. He got a goal and an assist while playing up front, however when he dropped into his preferred number 10 role, his light didn't seem to flicker. He still created many a chance and managed to score a fantastic long range effort, while still offering the pace in behind when he was needed. A brilliant performace, which really showed his quality, on the day!
Starting XI: Cormac McCarthy, Tomás O'Mahony, John Leahy, Robbie Minihane, Feilim O'Donovan, James McCarthy, Eoin Murran, Jamie O'Driscoll, Jack O'Brien, James O'Neill, Isaac Harte.
Substitutes: Liam McCarthy (John Leahy), Donnachadh Maguire (Jack O'Brien), Matthew Mulcahy (Eoin Murran).
Pictured below are some of our TY students at the Wordpress Website Building Workshop held at the Ludgate Hub yesterday.
The Junior Ladies 'A' Football County Final vs. Bantry will be played tomorrow, Thursday May 18th in Aughaville, Caheragh at 11 a.m.
Pictured below are three of our TY students who took part in the Engineering Your Future (EYF) Programme with CIT this week.
The sun - drenched Rosscarbery Pitch and Putt Club provided the perfect setting for the first year golf challenge. Classes 1A and 1B battled it out for supremacy in a golf scramble that tested the students' short game golf skills to the limit. Some brilliant golf was played while the tough links course provided a test too far for many and dozens of golf balls were swallowed by the rough.
Skibbereen Golf Club member Matthew Mulcahy got us off to the perfect start with a demonstration that McIlroy would be proud of.
A team that has the supremely talented O'Donovan Rossa star James O'Neill, the experienced athletic Sean Browne and the calm and assured Eoin Murphy was always going to be installed as favourites before a ball was struck and it was no surprise to Ms O'Mahony to see this team top the leaderboard when the scores were counted. Their card contained five birdies and eight pars and there were only two double bogeys recorded in their eighteen holes.
Just ten points behind and equally impressive was the talented Haven duo of Adam O'Donoghue and Fiachra Collins. Being a two ball in a three ball competition is a huge disadvantage and this team deserves great credit for their fantastic 61. Adam and Fiachra appear to excel at every sport they try.
The enthusiastic Kate Barry spearheaded the challenge of the team who came third. Her beautifully timed pitches were a delight to watch. Kate's two teammates Oisín Boyle and Ellis Bohane are sporting heroes in their own right and both contributed greatly to their fantastic score of 55.
Ms O'Mahony would like to acknowledge the help, first aid and golf knowledge given to us throughout this trip by our wonderful caretaker Chris who did everything to make the day run smoothly. Chris has become part of the rich fabric of SCS and the school would not be the same without him.
Well done to Padraig Lucey, Colm Deasy, Karen McCarthy, Bernadette Hegarty and Liz Leonard who took part in an Arts and Crafts Module in Skibbereen Community School. They worked tirelessly behind the scenes every Friday morning.
This module involved the making of personalised clocks, candle holders, Christmas decorations, lanterns, wall hangers, tiled mirrors and trees. The work they have produced has been admired by all in the school, where it is displayed at the entrance to the school. The funds that were raised as part of the Christmas Festive Day were used to buy the necessary materials and equipment.
The school would like to thank Mr. Tom Foley who gave his time and expertise in the metalwork room. The school would also like to acknowledge the help of Ms. Cindy Kingston who also helps out. They are currently busy on their next project which is making a clock for the school.
Congratulations to our Ladies Junior Football Team who won their county semi final against Loreto Secondary School in Ballincollig yesterday. It was a great game and they will now progress to the county final. Thanks to their coaches Mr Harrington and Mr Hayes.