ST Patrick’s Boys’ National School Skibbereen made history when they captured the Sciath na Scol H4 title in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
The school had never entered the county hurling tournament before. However, when they enjoyed a good run last October and captured the West Cork Sciath na Scol Roinn 2 title, they decided to give it a go.
Drawn in a group with Kilmurry NS, Canovee NS and Clondrohid NS, the Skibbereen school qualified for the final following three wins in the group stage. The finals were held in GAA HQ over two weeks and the Skibbereen boys once again faced Kilmurry who they had narrowly beaten earlier in the tournament.
The Sciath na Scol finals are a wonderful experience for any young boy or girl. The teams get togged out in the main dressing-rooms in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. They get to use the same warm-up areas that their Cork heroes use before inter county games. They warm up in the indoor warm-up areas and are then marched on to the pitch where they are announced individually to the crowd. The whole experience is recorded with full commentary and released the following day on the Sciath na Scol Chorcai YouTube channel.
In a cracking final, the Skibbereen boys opted to play against the strong wind in the first half and held a 2-3 to 1-1 half-time lead. Kilmurry never gave up but a combination of brilliant defending and super attacking play in the second half meant the Skibb boys ran out 4-8 to 1-1 winners. Captain Shane Óg Hourihane proudly accepted the cup on behalf of his team in front of huge support in the North Stand. The team received a huge welcome back in Skibbereen that evening.
‘The boys deserve huge credit,’ said principal Alan Foley.
‘They gave up their lunch breaks most days to train and had their hurleys in their hands as often as possible – that is what you need to be a hurler. I am so proud of the lads. It’s a historic day to win a county hurling title and hopefully this will give a big boost to hurling in Skibbereen.’
The victorious St Patrick’s BNS squad includes Ruairi Ward, Eoin Kelleher, Luke Carstairs, Ivan Virych, Jack Herlihy, Shane Óg Hourihane, Jamie McCarthy, Padraig O’Donovan, Liam Foley, Dylan O’Callaghan, Aaron Donoghue, Andrew O’Donovan, Alex Dinan, Ellis Wilson, Darragh Gleeson, Nevan O’Callaghan, David Long, Reo Holland, Fionn O’Mahony and Frankie Collins.
