St Finbarr's Boys' N.S. celebrates the 125th anniversary of the GAA in style.
The Roinn 1 decider of the annual Sciath na Scol Boys' competition was played on 4th June. St Finbarr's Boys' N.S. Bantry and St Patrick's Boys' N.S. Dunmanway played out a hugely entertaining and skilful match.
St Finbarr's Boys' N.S. settled into the game very quickly and a great finish from Mark Keohane topped off a brilliant move by the Bantry team.
This was added to by two free points from Daniel Murphy and midfielder Eoin Lynch. Dunmanway found their feet and replied swiftly with a flurry of goals.
Bantry replied with solid point kicking and another outstanding feast of team work which was neatly finished by Paddy O'Shea. At half time the score board told the story of a classic close encounter: 2-4 to 3-1.
It was St Finbarr's of Bantry who started strongly again in the second half. The entire team stepped up a gear. Outstanding defending led by goalkeeper Liam Downey was matched by a hard working front eight with Anthony Hanley and Eoin Lynch at midfield assisting a fluid forward line. Point kicking came to the fore for St Finbarr's Boys' N.S with Tim Foley leading the way.
The entire panel of players flooded the pitch as the final whistle blew on an outstanding performance. The game saw two teams playing football as it should - tempo, skill, teamwork, together with heart and determination.
It was to be St. Finbarr's Boys' School in Bantry who were celebrating with a narrow two point win. Congratulations to every member of the panel, their trainers and staff along with the loyal and vocal supporters
Last Friday 12th June back at St. Finbarr's the annual in-house Corn Mhichíl Uí Mhoraín final took place. As usual this competition was witness to some terrific football right throughout and the final proved to be no different. The final was an enthralling encounter with Mark Keohane captaining Armagh and Anthony Hanley leading Galway into the decider.
The large attendance was treated to wonderful entertainment with the school band playing their part in whipping up a championship like atmosphere.
The game was a see saw battle which remained on a knife edge throughout. Both teams served up some wonderful fare with Patrick Bak and his opposite number Cian Coughlan pulling off some cat like saves. The backs were tenacious in their tackling forcing the forwards to take some breath taking scores.
It was only with a last surge Armagh pipped Galway in dramatic circumstances. The consensus among all supporters was that the football was the real winner on Friday. Any observer on the day can feel confident that the future of Bantry football is bright with these boys to the fore.
St. Finbarr's celebration of all things G.A.A. continued throughout the month. Friday, June 19th, saw a colourful repeat of the pomp and ceremony of the previous Friday. This time it was the turn of St. Finbarr's skilful hurlers as their annual competition took place in honour of Rev. Canon Donal O Cheallacháin. The entertaining final was refereed by All Ireland winner Mark Foley. The final proved to be an eventful, action packed affair mirroring the hard work and effort done by the local club and the school. The school is happy to play its part in the promotion of hurling in West Cork and Bantry.
In the aftermath of Cork's fantastic victory against Kerry in the Munster championship St. Finbarr's used their celebration of the 125th Anniversary of the G.A.A. to extend their congratulations to the entire Cork panel and mentors; in particular Graham Canty and Terry O'Neill, Graham who is a past pupil of St. Finbarr's visited the school during the year and his words of wisdom stood to all our panels as they partook in the Sciath na Scol and in-school events. Terry has been a constant fixture at school events and was present at the fantastic final in the Corn Mhichíl Uí Mhoraín.
A great year in sport for all in St. Finbarr's. Well done!
Sports
A team of 11 players was selected to represent the school in a recent table tennis event in Goleen. Six competed in the under 10 division and 5 in the under 12 division. All the lads competed fantastically well. St. Finbarrs had winners in both divisions which was an amazing feat by the boys. Each boy returned home with medals. When not playing the boys were often called upon to referee and did so in a very professional manner. To top off a fantastic day out Ben O’Donnell was selected for the Irish U12 team.
The annual Superstars Competition reached a thrilling climax on Thursday 29 May. The competitors included Tim Cronin, Darren Kelliher, Ben O’Donnell, Fergal Crowley, Sam Van Maanan and Aaron Harrington from 6 class, and Tim Foley, Daniel Murphy, Killian O’Sullivan, Ben O’Shea, Gareth Whooley, Zak Boys, Liam Downey and Eoin Lynch from 5 class.