Older alumni may be able to confirm this, but the story is that Mr. Kelleher (‘Mr. St. Conleth’s’) was not overly fond of our pupils spending time and energy with the round ball of soccer: it was fine as a lunchtime distraction (with a tennis ball) in the inner yard (and some legendary heated battles were had there!) but St. Conleth’s was a rugby school and the oblong ball was king; however, Mr. Kelleher was also an all-around enthusiast and supporter of anything that made the students healthy and happy, so we know he would have loved the rise of hockey under Coach/Scout Mistress Helen Speller. And he certainly would have approved of the recent arrival of the native round ball, for Mr. Kelleher’s heirs have three All-Ireland medals in the family heirloom locker and the idea that a new GAA shelf would be added to the Conlethian Sports Trophy Cabinet would have thrilled him. And Bainisteoirí Smith and Weldon are doing their best to already start filling that shelf!

Our First Year Girls Gaelic Football team travelled to Irishtown Sports grounds to play their second league match vs. Muckross Bs. In a fantastic match, where the lead changed on eight occasions, St. Conleth’s were denied a historic win by a very late Muckross point deep in injury time.  In an overall fantastic team performance, Erin, Robyn and Elodie were rocks in the heart of the defence; Gemma and Molly were the engines in midfield and the duo of Pia and Isla caused loads of trouble for the Muckross defence. However, the standout player was the incredible Emily Ruane who score six magical goals and caused nightmares for the Muckross backs. Next match is on Monday, May 8th at 3pm vs. Alexandra College!