The school has a very active involvement in Gaelic games with teams in football, hurling and camogie.
Boys and girls from 3rd class upwards are welcome, regardless of whether the child is a member of a GAA club or not. Please note, all children must have a gum shield to play.
The under 11 matches take place before Christmas and the under 10 and senior matches take place after Christmas.
Gaelic Football
Keeping up with the tradition of Gaelic football in the school, in 2016/2017 school year, we had a variety of teams entered into the Cumann na mBunscol league.
Qualified instruction is provided for all classes from 6th class to junior infants on a six-week rotation as part of their PE programme.
Training takes place on Mondays after school, from 3:15 to 4:15pm on either the GAA pitch or AstroTurf at the school.
Recent GAA News
U11 Gaelic Footballers The boys U11 season has came to a finish for Scoil an Linbh Íosa this year. We had a very impressive outfit heading into the Cumann na mBunscol championship this year. However, luck was not on our side this year and the boys had to bow out of the competition unfortunately. Our first game was against a strong Miltown side in some terrible conditions. Our first game playing together and with very little training under our belt we were unsure of what to expect. We started the game slow and went in at half time down by 8pts to 3 pts. However, a spirited return for the second 20 minutes saw a rallied come back keeping our opponents scoreless for the entire half. Unfortunately, the ball was reluctant to go into the net despite no less than six chances and were on the side of a defeat. Our second game was against Gaelscoil Chill Dara in which we led for the majority of the game and we pulled off some fine scores and goals to put us in the driving seat. A late rally by Gaelscoil and a last minute goal saw us at the end of a 1 point defeat - a very hard loss to take for our boys. Our final game was against St. Joseph's of Kilcock and this was a game in which we dominated for its entirety. Some excellent game play, scoring ability and defence saw our boys go out triumphant winners with a very convincing scoreline. Despite some brilliant games, our boys were unsuccessful in qualifying for the semi-finals and missed that spot. Ms. Cox and Mr. Geaney were thrilled with the boys attitude to football and their talent and celebrated with a little party to mark their effort and enthusiasm. These boys will be strong contestants in next years senior competition.
Ladies Football is Back! We are delighted that ladies football has been seen a surge in interest and has become yet another activity in our school. This year, the girls of 5th and 6th classes began training in preparation for their upcoming matches against Allen & Robertstown N.S. They enjoyed these games immensely and our school team is sure to be widely known as the years come. Many thanks to Ms. Cox and Ms. Kelly for getting this set up again. Cumann na mBunscol Champions 2018 The 27th of May was a particularly special day for Scoil an Linbh Íosa. To everyone’s delight, the senior boys won their Cumann na mBunscol Division 3 final in Moorefield. This was a superb final that saw skill, determination and hard work. The road to the final saw our senior boys play many matches. They put in many hard hours of training to ensure they were ready for this competition. Their first match was against Gaeilscoil Chill Dara. This followed with a win over Scoil Mochua from Celbridge. They defeated Gaeilscoil Uí Fhiach Maynooth, St. Joseph's Kilcock, and Scoil Bhríde Naas, all with very convincing score lines. The semi final of the competition proved to be one of the boy’s most challenging games. They came up against a very strong and perseverant Dunlavin side who put our boys to the pin of their collars. Thankfully, the game finished with a one point victory in our favour: 1-15 to 3-8.
The boys had a short time to prepare as their final ensued two days later on Wednesday the 27th of May. On a particularly hot day, our school team knew they had a tough task on their hands. Meeting their opponents Miltown on other occasions, they knew they needed to play their best to come out with a win. And that they did!
Kicking off at 3pm, the boys were immediately put under pressure by a strong Miltown side. Once they found their feet, they began to showcase the wonderful talents they had. Going in at half time, they were well up on the scoreboard thanks to some outstanding goals. However, they knew that Miltown would come back fighting and pressure would be applied.
Miltown would come back fighting and pressure would be applied. The second half began with a similar high intensity to that of the first half. Our boys remained calm and collected and began to pull off some lovely support play that was leading to great scores. Every player, from the goalie to the full forward were assisting each other and picking out the man in the best position. As the minutes ticked down and edged every closer to that final whistle, our boys continued to push on and never became too comfortable with their lead. Jubilant celebrations began as the referee blew his whistle and our boys were evidently over the moon with their win. But rather than joining together to celebrate, they exhibited the epitome of sportsmanship and commiserated with their opponents Miltown on their loss. This was a sight that made parents, teacher and coaches more than proud.
Our captain Cian lifted the cup to a rapturous roar and our senior boys were crowned Cumann na mBunscol division 3 champions in front of a great crowd of supporters.
Today, Friday 1st June was the day that we celebrated the boy’s victory as a school. Every pupil attended a special assembly to honour the boys and their fantastic win. Present were very proud teachers, the boys’ coaches Mr. O’ Sullivan and Richie Whelan and our principal. Ms. Hetherton spoke in particular about the boys’ sportsmanship and the empathy they showed for the Miltown side. Ms. Byrne congratulated the boys and was confident in the fact that she would be watching many of them on the Sunday Game in years to come. Mr. O’ Sullivan spoke about the team as a whole and pinpointed the three magnificent attributes this team has that ensured they were going to win this final – a great attitude to training and gratitude to their trainers; showing sportsmanship to their opposing team; a great sense of teamwork by encouraging and supporting each other throughout each game. The boys were presented with their medals and did a lap of honour.
Everyone in Scoil an Linbh Íosa was thrilled with this fantastic win. This has added to an already brilliant year for sport in our school. Huge gratitude must go to Mr. O’ Sullivan and Ritchie who have put in a massive amount of work with this team to get them ready for this final. Another big thank you to Ms. Byrne for all the work she puts into sport in our school. Lastly, the biggest amount of thanks must go to the senior boys. The football they played on Wednesday was a joy to watch. Their attitude is exemplary and their love of all sports has been the main driving force in their winning of this final. They remain very popular boys in school these days and deservedly so. We hope that they will remember this wonderful occasion for many years to come and we wait with anticipation to see them featuring for the Lily Whites in future years.