SLIGO       

2007 Cumann na mBunscol Finals in Markievicz Park.

There was a hive of activity last Saturday in Markievicz Park when the 2007 Cumann na mBunscol/Allianz finals took place. From 10.30 on in the morning all roads were leading to the headquarters of  Gaelic Games in Sligo, from Stokane,Rathlee, Owenbeg,Templeboy and Kilrusheighter in west Sligo to Cloghogue,Ballintogher and Geevagh in the east and from Castlerock,  Bunninadden, Achonry and Ballinacarrow in the south to Collooney, Ballisodare, Carraroe, St. John’s Temple Street, Gaelscoil Cnoc na Rí, Strandhill, Calry and Rathcormac in the north.

The results were as follows: 7aside.

2 Teacher mixed sponsored by John Perry:

Owenbeg 9g  5pts  to Templeboy 3g  2pts.

2 Teacher Girls sponsored by Headhunters Salon:

Kilrusheighter 10g 2pts  to Bunninadden 3g  4pts.

 2 Teacher boys sponsored by Michael Gordon Construction:

Stokane 11g 12 pts  to  Kilrusheighter  2g  4pts

9 aside:

3 teacher girls sponsored by Davey Motors Toyota:

Ballinacarrow  3g  2 pts  to Ballintogher 2g  4 pts.

3 Teacher boys sponsored by Sligo Estates:

 Castlerock 7g 11 pts  to Cloghogue  3g  9 pts.

11 aside:

 4/5 Teacher girls sponsored by The Southern Hotel:

 Geevagh 6g  1 pt  to Rathlee 1g  7 pts.

4/5 Teacher boys sponsored by  Axa Insurance:

  Achonry 0- 12  to Rathlee  2g  5pts.

13 aside:

6/7 Teacher girls sponsored by Alec Morley:

 Collooney 4g   7pts  Gaelscoil  0- 6.

 6/7 Teacher boys sponsored by  John  Kent Sport:

 Ballisodare 1g  8pts  to Strandhill 1g  7pts.

15 aside:

 8+ Teacher girls sponsored by  Oates Brehony Group:

 Calry 2g  7pts  to  Rathcormac 1g  2 pts.

8+ Teacher boys sponsored by Roe Finnegan:

 St. John’s Temple St. 4g  5pts  to Carraroe  1g  4pts.

 All 11 finals were played in a sporting manner and while losers are always disappointed  both victors and runners up were magnificent and excellent ambassadors for their schools. There were some cracking games with great skills on display none more so in the large schools finals where 2 of the finest points were scored by Kevin Coen for St. John’s and Aaron Scanlon for Carraroe. There were narrow one point victories in three of the games where Achonry were victorious for the first time. They overcame  Rathlee who lost  the influential Ryan Carr to injury at a crucial stage in the match. We wish him a speedy recovery.

 Finals day was a nostalgic day for 2 of our stalwart teachers who are retiring at the end of the month but both will have happy memories of their last appearance in Markievicz Park with their respective schools. Best of luck to Vincent Mc Mahon , principal of Stokane  who served  with distinction on the Cumann na mBunscol  committee in the early years. Best wishes also to Tommie Kilcoyne  principal of Ballinacarrow the longserving county board secretary. Go mba fhada buan sibh.

 The planning for our Allianz finals day is down to our hard working committee who do a lot of work behind the scenes. The gates have to be manned, the medals ordered and presentations prepared, referees have to be booked, dressing rooms arranged, programmes prepared and printed, a photographer booked, sponsors invited and a field officer appointed to keep the games moving. The gardai have to be notified and an ambulance and medical staff have to be on hand. This  is all done by an excellent committee to whom we are all indebted.

We would like to thank the following referees who made themselves available on the day: David Dillon, Cathal O Donnell, Des Henry, Sean Rooney,  Bernard Mulhern, John Hughes and Pat Mc Grath . Many thanks to John and Bernard who stepped in at short notice due to the unavailability of one of the referees.

 Special thanks must be given to the boys from the Coolera/Strandhill club who did excellent work all day as umpires and linesmen.

Thanks also is due to the members of the Civil Defence who were on hand to deal with any emergencies. Thanks to all the media who attended and OceanFM  for their live inserts during the day. It was great to see so many parents and extended families supporting their local schools. Keep up the good work.

 Markievicz Park as usual was in excellent condition and is an ideal location to showcase our finals. Our grateful thanks to the park committee for having everything in readiness for us. Míle buíochas.

 We thank all our sponsors who support us throughout the year especially Allianz our national sponsor, our programme sponsor and Mulhern&Leonard who sponsor our fixtures booklet and all our match sponsors. This financial support is vital for Cumann na mBunscol if we are to keep our games to the fore in our schools.

 Finally I would like to thank the members of the county board and members of the county senior panel who visited us during the day.  To our  teaching colleagues throughout the county keep up the great work of promoting our Gaelic Games in your schools. If your school was successful on Saturday  I say “Chomhghairdeachas”.

If your team was unlucky “ Beidh lá eile ag an bPaorach”

If you are striving to reach finals day “ Mol an Óige agus tiocfaidh sé”