This article is from page 33 of the 2008-04-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 33 JPG
THE Junior Ladies football team from Scoil Mhuire Ennistymon has marked their place in history this year.
With an outstanding success rate, having ruthlessly conquered all around them, they made it to the all Ireland semi final for the first time in the schools history.
After securing an amazing Mun- ster final win in Kerry, they went on to play in the All-Ireland Semi Final Or ANE NE
“We started off in the beginning of the year, we played in the early rounds and we knew that if we lost a match we would be knocked out but we got through them. Then we went
on to play Kilmihil in the Clare final and we won,” said player Niamh O’ Dea.
“We played the Munsters in Kerry and then we went on to play the all Ireland semi-final, we lost that but it has been good fun. It was hard work, we trained after school on Fridays and some Sundays. It was tough but it was worth it.”
The team has a wide range of stu- dents from first year all the way up to transition year.
“It was brilliant because I’m in first year. Just coming to the school has been brilliant and I get to play with girls who are so much older than me. It is a great privilege to play especially in a Munster final.” says Aisling Torpy, one of the youngest
members of the team.
Since Scoil Mhuire’s success in the Munster finals, ladies football, in north Clare especially, has received a boost.
“It has all been brilliant fun. We put a lot of effort in to try and win, and we were happy with how far we got,” says player Siobhan Garrihy.
“North Clare has definitely im- proved in regards to ladies football because in Ennistymon there has never been a focus on ladies football. It has always been the men’s football and hurling. It proves that women are just as good as men, we put in just as much of an effort and we can get Uae hee
The team’s overwhelming success has had a glowing reflection on the
school.
“It is great for the school. The girls trained hard and it is a nice reward for them that they can see that by putting in the work they get some- thing back out of it,’ says coach Car- mel Eustace
“It is good for the girls and it is good for the school. It highlights a lot of the sport that we do in the school and maybe girls who are interested in ladies football might choose to go to Scoil Mhuire in the future.”