A CORNERSTONE of underage development in Skibbereen, the popular School League continues to thrive, nurturing young talent, building confidence and give talented young kids a platform to shine on.

Hosted by O’Donovan Rossa over a four-week period, 65 boys from the three local primary schools took part this year; the majority of boys coming from fourth, fifth and sixth classes in St Patrick’s Boys National School and four each from Abbeystrewery NS and the Gaelscoil.

The School League has been running since 2019 and is growing from strength to strength. It had been a big event in the past under previous principal Dermot O’Donovan but had fallen off for a number of years.

The underage chairman in 2019, James Fitzgerald approached the local schools about restarting it again. Judging by the crowds in Rossa Park on Wednesday evening, the School League is going to be around for a long time to come.

The Yellow team that was victorious in the Shield final.

The central pillar of the school league is that it is all player-led. The only involvement the teachers have is picking the captains and vice captains. From there, interest is sought from pupils interested in playing. The completion is open to everyone, especially those who have never played or who might have played before and have given up. The captains and vice captains then meet in private to pick the teams and once finished, the final teams are announced.

‘My favourite part about the whole School League is the fact that it is run by the pupils themselves,’ says St Patrick’s BNS Principal Alan Foley.

‘The GAA club set up the pitches, organise the referees and the bus to collect us from school, but after that, it is all over the boys themselves. The captains and vice captains get time in school each week to decide player positions, tactics, etc.

‘But even during games, they have to make calls such as positional changes, deal with injuries, you name it. The adults stay out of it completely.

‘You would be incredibly proud of the lads though. They are developing leadership skills on and off the pitch as well as their football skills.’

The Orange team that took part in the School League.

This is echoed by O’Donovan Rossa underage chairman Don Davis.

‘I couldn’t get over the improvement over the four weeks of the School League. I was over the first day and I was really impressed with the standard of football in each game. Each day, they just got better and better and I was just blown away by the standard of football in the two finals tonight. Huge credit is due to everyone involved as it’s just a brilliant concept and a super competition.’

Over the first three weeks, the four teams each played each other. The top two teams then met on Wednesday night in the Cup final and the other two teams played in the Shield final. These were played in front of a huge crowd of family, friends and the local community.

The Red team that took part in the School League.

In the first game, the Yellow team got the better of the Red team on a scoreline of 6-8 to 4-5 to win the Shield final. The Cup final was a cracker between the Orange and Blue teams, with the Blues eventually winning 2-10 to 1-5.

Everyone went into the clubhouse afterwards for refreshments and the medals and trophies were presented to the players by the new club chairman Shane Carthy.

‘It’s a huge team effort really,’ says Alan Foley.

‘There are so many people that contribute to this great tournament – the staff of the three schools, O’Donovan Rossa GAA, our sponsors Ger Carey and Owen Leonard, Damien Long for providing the bus each week, the parents for supplying the refreshments. But the real stars of the show are the boys – they make the tournament the success that it is.’