Congratulations and well done today to our boys & girls football teams who took part in the group stage of the Sciath na Scol Competition in Dunmanway. The girls have qualified for the final next Thursday in Dunmanway and the boys were unfortunate not to progress being beaten by eventual winners Enniskeane in their last game. Both teams were pitted against Castletownbere, Crossmahon and Enniskeane schools, all of whom have a much larger enrolment than Scoil Mhuire NS. However this didn’t deter our players who showed tremendous attitude, desire and sportmanship throughout and they should be very proud of this. The final for the girls will take place next Thursday 25th May in Dunmanway and we’ll keep you informed of the exact match time as soon as we hear! Well done again.

Thank you to everyone who turned out last Sunday to support the Schull Cheval Ride. A large collection of horses and traps made their way from Lowertown to Schull (via the scenic coastal route) and back to Lowertown again. At the halfway point at Scoil Mhuire NS, refreshments were served to the thirsty and hungry riders .

A huge thanks go to the following people; the participants in the cheval, the people who very generously donated prizes to the raffle, the stewards, the sandwich makers and everyone else who helped with the organising including members of the Parents’ Association and in particular John and Angela O’Callaghan without whom the event would not be possible. The proceeds of the events were split between Schull Debfilulator and Scoil Mhuire NS. Scoil Mhuire received €628.43 for which we are extremely grateful for. Thank you!

Many thanks to all our parent volunteers who earlier this week took up the call to help us weed and prepare our school garden for planting! Over the next week or so we hope to involve as many classes as possible in planting our beds before the upcoming summer season! Thank you to all who contributed!

Well done to the three teams from Scoil Mhuire NS who did us proud in the national Spar FAI 5 a side soccer competition on Tuesday and Wednesday. The venue was Clonakilty and it was the first time the competition was held at a West Cork location. Our girls team led the way on Tuesday playing 5 games in total; winning four of them, their only loss being by a solitary goal! Our two boys teams played today and both enjoyed great success winning a number of games which culminated in one of our teams narrowly losing in the final. Well done to every player who represented the school so well and we look forward to taking part again next year. A big thanks also to Bunratty United members, Dan McSweeney and Martina McSweeney for helping out with the event.

Over the past 6 months or so Gabriel Rangers GAA Club have provided the inhabitants of Schull, Ballydehob and many places beyond with immense entertainment. While collecting West Cork and County titles culminating with a Munster Final appearance last Sunday in Mallow, they thrilled supporters with their expansive football, cohesive teamwork and never say die attitudes. Unfortunately it was at that North Cork venue that the fairytale came to an end as for the very first time in Championship football this year, their opposition proved a hurdle too high. Glenbeigh Glencar from Kerry were hot favourites not just for that game but to go all the way to All-Ireland glory so there’s certainly no shame in this defeat. This Gabriels team have now set the standard for all teams coming after them in terms of commitment, belief, teamwork and skillset and we can look forward to supporting them as they ply their trade next year at intermediate level for the very first time in their history!

Whilst the team were busy collecting silverware, 3rd and 4th class did projects on the history of the club. They began after they captured the West Cork title in September. The children cut out newspaper articles and photos and also included a little of the history of the club. The children were delighted to see some of the team browsing through the projects when the brought back the county cup in October! They were even more thrilled that there were so many Monday nights when they got homework off because Gabriels had won yet another match!

A new chapter has now been written in the club’s history and we enjoyed being part of it. Gabriels Abú!