Swinford U16 Girls into All Ireland Final

Posted By Swinford Killasser LGFC on Mar 16, 2015

Super U16 Girls into All Ireland Final

On Thursday the entire community of Swinford celebrated with pride as the U16 Ladies Gaelic Footballers of Scoil Muire & Padraig reached the All Ireland Final. The girls played and won a thrilling All Ireland semi-final against Colaiste Oiriall of Monaghan, to qualify for The Post Primary Schools All Ireland Final in two weeks time. Having come through a nail biting Connacht Final last month, the girls once again gave their supporter’s some heart stopping moments before they emerged victorious. The final score in this PPS All Ireland semi-final played in Mullingar was Scoil Muire & Padraig, Swinford 4-08, Colaiste Oiriall, Monaghan 3-08.

Colaiste Oiriall began strongly and went three points up within the first ten minutes. Swinford got into the game when their first point was followed by a goal. The advantage was short lived, as Monaghan went straight downfield to score their first goal and retake the lead. This was a lead they would hold right up until the final five minutes of the game. But, just like the champions running across the water in Cheltenham, Scoil Muire & Padraig tracked their opponents all the way. They never let them get out of sight, and pounced in the final straight to capture the spoils. Devastation was etched on the faces of the Farney county girls, who had put in an hour of fantastic effort, only to be overcome by the sheer pace, class and experience of the Connacht Champions from Swinford.

A jubilant Scoil Muire agus Padraig team were greeted by their supporters at St Lomans Park. And, on their arrival back to town, the history making girls were flooded with congratulations from those who could not travel, and had to endure the nervous excitement of the game through phone and radio updates. These girls have all won many titles with their respective Clubs; Swinford Killasser and Parke. Many of them also play on Mayo County teams. But, there is something special about achieving success with your school mates; the girls who travel together or meet up every morning of the year for school, work or dodge work together during so many classes, and then as friends help each other in the lead up to exams.

Now together these girls have reached an All-Ireland Final. And for our school, which has such a pivotal role in our community, reaching this All Ireland final is another proud accolade to add to the many great fetes achieved through the hard work of its management, staff and students. Scoil Muire Agus Padraig will now go on to play Scoil Criost Ri of Portlaoise in the All-Ireland Final. Congratulations and best wishes for the final to everyone involved from Swinford Killasser Ladies GFC.

U14 Girls in Connacht Semi Final

Going hand in hand with the success of the U16 girls, Swinford are also in the Connacht PPS U14 semi-final. Scoil Muire & Padraig will play Ballyhaunis Community School at the Connacht Centre of Excellence on Thursday at 12 noon. The U14 girls defeated Ballinrobe in the Quarter Final and we wish them the best of Luck as they bid to reach another Connacht Final.