St Declans N.S.

Archives News and Match Reports ’08 – ‘09

1. Athletics 2. Gaelic Football 3. Swimming 4. Hurling 5. Soccer 6. Tennis 7. Rugby

1. Athletics News 2008 - 2009

Cross Country Athletics

[Sept 18^th 2008] Today our school Athletic team competed in the Waterford Primary Schools Cross Country event at the Clover Centre in Ferrybank. There was a huge crowd present and thankfully the day remained dry and bright. We had boys running in races from 1^st to 6^th Class over a variety of distances from 200m to 800m. Once again the boy’s behaviour was impeccable and everyone gave of their best. Congratulations to our medal winners and special thanks to Mrs A Brennan for all her help on the day.

Athletics Team Come 2^nd Overall

[Apr 30^th ‘09] There was a huge crowd in the RSC tonight for the annual Ferrybank AC organised Waterford City Athletics Competition. It was a beautiful evening and conditions were perfect for running. Trials for the team had been done last week in school and runners had been selected for all the various races in all age groups spanning from 1^st class to 6^th. All of our boys were very well behaved and great praise must go the sixth class lads for their help with the younger boys on the night. Everyone ran with great determination and effort and we had qualifiers for all the sprint finals and some winners too! Our long distance runners also did very well and we had placings in all the relay races. And so at the end of the night when all the points were counted we were placed 2^nd behind Ballygunner NS in the category of Best Overall School. Well done to everyone for doing so well, to parents who gave their support on the night and to Mrs A Brennan and Mr Morgan who helped organise the team.

Athletes Perform Well In County Finals

[June 4^th ‘09] Our School Athletics Team competed tonight in Dungarvan in the Waterford Primary Schools County Athletics Finals. Competing tonight were the boys who had qualified recently from the Waterford City Athletics Finals and they were up against other winners from right around the county. Everyone was well behaved and we were competitive in all races. Medal winners were Conor Giles Doran, Cormac McCann, Tadhg Brennan, Eoin McGrath, Colm Stockdale and Darragh O Rourke. Thanks to Mrs A Brennan and to Mr Doran for looking after this team tonight.

2. Gaelic Football News 2008 - 2009

U13 Gaelic Football Campaign match by match ’08 – ‘09

St Declans are Back!

[Nov 29^th ‘08] “Declans are back” were the words uttered by James Grogan at full time as old rivalries were renewed today with Lismore in the splendid grounds of DLS GAA in Gracedieu. In bright but cold and frosty conditions our senior football team competed in the County Final of the Waterford Primary Schools Gaelic Football U13 Competition. Incredibly this was our 6^th final appearance in a row and history has taught us that winning at this level is never easy. In fact in last years final on a run of 4 successive victories we lost out narrowly to todays opposition in extra time.

After throw in, the contrast in styles between the two teams soon became very obvious. Lismore employed a short hand passing quick possession game while St Declans favoured a more direct approach. It was a fiercly competitive match and scores were difficult to come by. Aarons opportunistic goal and a fantastic long range free helped us to a 1-2 to 0-1 scoreline at half time. Jack was busy but solid in the half back line while the entire full back line of Aidan, Conor and David were coping well under pressure.

Lismore came with a big push in the second half and with only minutes to go the score was even at 1-2 a piece! Despite the pressure of the moment though up popped Aaron once again to calmly kick over what turned out to be the winning score. There were great scenes of celebration at full time and there were big smiles across the faces of all, but in particular Kieran, Jamie and Robert all of whom had their best performances ever in a St Declan’s jersey.

Overall it was a victory that everyone had a hand in and one which everyone should feel proud of. Special thanks to all the coaches involved with this team Mr Kirby, Mr Morgan, Mr FitzGerald and to Mr Doran and of course to all the parents for their support throughout the year.

Final score: St Declans 1-3 Lismore 1-2

Today’s Panel: S Doheny, A Lawless, D Hogan, C Dowling, J McCarthy, R Fitzpatrick, J Grogan, S Hannon, A O Connor, M Mullally, K Rooney, J Regan, R Ryan, K Doheny, K Tyrell, D Farrell, C McCann, D Sheehan, C Power, D Fitzgerald, C Hogan and T Brennan.

Footballers Celebrate Victory

[Nov 5^th ‘08] In front of over 100 noisy St Declans supporters in Walsh Park our senior Gaelic Football Team competed in the U13 East Waterford Gaelic Football Final against our local rivals St Stephens. Considering that we had recently beaten our near neighbours in an earlier round, we knew that going into today’s match there would be no lack of determination and motivation on behalf of Stephen Street to reverse that previous result today. This game was never going to be easy! Surprisingly it was a game with an extraordinary amount of goals. Importantly for us in the first half, having conceded a goal we hit back almost immediately with a goal from Aaron and “a pure beauty” from Kieran. The 2^nd half was competitive and tense, each side fiercely trying to get the upper hand. However with Craig and Jack outstanding in the backs and James full of energy in the middle the team continued to battle hard for every ball and finished comfortable winners in the end. Well done to all the lads and to their coaches Mr Morgan and Mr Kirby. We now move onto the county final next which will be played in a number of weeks time

Final score: St Declans 5-6 St Stephens 3-4

Today’s Panel: S Doheny, A Lawless, D Hogan, C Dowling, J McCarthy, R Fitzpatrick, J Grogan{1-2}, S Hannon, A O Connor{2-3}, M Mullally{0-1}, K Rooney{2-0}, J Regan, R Ryan, K Doheny, K Tyrell, D Farrell, C McCann, D Sheehan, C Power, D Fitzgerald, C Hogan and T Brennan

St Declans Reach Another Final

[Oct 16^th ‘08] In today’s game in the Collge Field in the U13 Gaelic Football League we recorded an easy victory against a very young Mount Sion Team. This was in truth a one sided game from start to finish and it was Aaron who stole the show with his scoring ability.

Final score: St Declans 8-8 Mount Sion 2-0

Today’s Panel: S Doheny, A Lawless, D Hogan, C Dowling, J McCarthy, R Fitzpatrick{0-1}, J Grogan{1-2}, S Hannon, A O Connor{6-2}, M Mullally{1-0}, K Rooney{0-1}, J Regan, R Ryan, K Doheny, K Tyrell, D Farrell{0-1}, C McCann, D Sheehan{0-1}, C Power, D Fitzgerald, C Hogan and T Brennan.

Strong Defense Delivers Another Win

[Oct 9^th 2008] Today marked a special occasion as the newly built De La Salle GAA Gracdieu complex hosted its first Primary Schools game. It was only fitting then that the old rivals of St Declans and St Stephens should once again go head to head in this years Waterford U13 Gaelic Football League. Conditions were windy and cool but dry at least. It was an uncompromising, competitive and tough match where both sides fought tooth and nail for every ball. Within seconds of the throw in we were a goal down but assisted by a strong breeze we slowly clawed our way back hitting over 7 points before half time. Ross, James and Jack all played well in the opening 20 minutes. Despite now being against the wind Aaron scored a great early goal to put a little distance between the two teams. However it was only through brave defending in the last 15 minutes especially by Aidan that helped to deliver another fantastic win for this team. Well done boys!

Final Score: St Declans 1-7 St Stephens 1-2

Today’s Panel: Aaron O'Connor, Ross Fitzpatrick, Keelan Tyrell, James Grogan, Colm Power, Craig Dowling, David Farrell, Aidan Lawless, Dean Ftzgerald, Andrew Phelan, Jack McCarthy, Mark Mullally, Shane Hannan, Jamie O'Regan, Tadhg Brennan, Cormac McCann, Stephen Doheny, Kieran Rooney, Robert Ryan, Daniel Sheehan, Conor Hogan and David Hogan

Opening Day Victory for U13 Footballers

[Oct 2^nd 2008] Today, once again in the College Field, our U13 Gaelic Football Team recorded a good solid victory against Scoil Lorcáin on the opening day of their U13 Waterford Primary Schools U13 Gaelic Football League. We were well on top for most of the game and all players were given a chance to show their skills. Ross, David and Conor played well in defense. Jack caught a lot of high ball around the centre and Craig and Aaron were both dangerous going forward. A good start but everyone knows that plenty of work is still needed if we are to go all the way this year!

Final Score: St Declans 5-4 Scoil Lorcáin 0-1

Today’s Panel: Aaron O'Connor, Ross Fitzpatrick, Keelan Tyrell, James Grogan, Colm Power, Craig Dowling, David Farrell, Aidan Lawless, Dean Ftzgerald, Andrew Phelan, Jack McCarthy, Mark Mullally, Shane Hannan, Jamie O'Regan, Stephen Doheny, Kieran Rooney, Robert Ryan, Daniel Sheehan, Conor Hogan and David Hogan

U10 Gaelic Football Campaign match by match ’08 - ‘09

U10’s Bow Out in Thriller

[Oct 13^th ‘08]In what will be remembered as one of the best U10 football matches in recent years our U10 Gaelic Football Team bowed out to a superior Scoil Lorcáin team after a brave attempt to snatch the game from the victors. This was a roller coaster of a game from start to finish. Scoil Lorcáin playing with the breeze in the first half steadily built up a lead while also having a few shots rebound off the crossbar and upright. However a goal from Tadgh brought the difference down to a point. The 2^nd half level of performance by both teams was similar to that of a final. Scoil Lorcáin growing in confidence eased further ahead but this time goals from Cormac and Tadgh levelled the game once again. Kieran, our goalkeeper, who had made some great saves earlier now really came to the fore and put in a man of the match performance pulling off a whole series of brave and stunning saves. He was just incredible! Time and time again he kept the ball out but however hard we tried though we were unable to keep Scoil Lorcáin at bay forever and finally conceded a late goal and a point. At the final whistle we all felt disappointed as we knew our footballing season was over. Well done to all the lads for giving it everything. Thanks too to Mr Doran and Mr Fitzgerald for their time with this team

Final Score: St Declans 3-0 Scoil Lorcáin 2-7

Today’s Panel: Kieran Doheny, Conor Giles Doran, Colm Stockdale, Tom Crotty, Darragh O Rourke, Lee Wall, Cormac McCann, Tadhg Brennan, Dylan McCarthy, Dylan Breslin, Sean O Keeffe, Brian McCarthy, Luke Furlong, David McGlin,Conor Hennessy, Peter Grogan, Ben Fitzgerald, Gavin Copinger, Warren Savage and Christopher Kong.

U10’s Shine in 2^nd Half

[Sept 30^th 2008] Our U10 Footballers were in action today in the College Field against Mount Sion in their opening match of the U10 Waterford Primary Schools Gaelic Football League. In between some light showers the action flowed from one end of the field to the other for the opening section of this game. An early goal helped us to settle but despite winning plenty of possession we continued to find it difficult to score as too often the basics let us down. After half time we were a better team and played with a lot more purpose. Similar chances missed in the first half were now being converted and despite Mount Sion’s spirited defense and endless effort we managed to score a few late goals which put the game beyond their reach. Well done to Cormac and Tadhg who both had good games today and to Dylan who scored his first hat trick in a St Declans shirt!

Final Score: St Declans 7-3 Mount Sion 1-0

Mini 7’s Gaelic Football campaign match by match ‘08 – ‘09

First Round Success for 7 a side Team

[Nov 13^th ‘08]Played on a damp but pleasant day we played in the first round of the INTO Allianz sponsored Mini 7’s Competition in St Saviours GAA pitch. Once again this was played as a blitz and our group consisted of St Saviours, Ferrybank, Kill and ourselves. We had a comfortable victory against Kill in our first round match but our second game was totally different. Scores were difficult to come by and but for two fantastic saves from Stephen in goal our 6 point margin at half time would not have existed. Our second half performance was the best ten minute of football we played all day and thus ran out deserving winners. To guarantee top spot in this group we knew we had to win our final game. This was a much closer game than the score might suggest as there was really very little between the teams over the 20 minutes. Thankfully we got the victory we needed and so now move onto the next round as group winners. The whole team played very well today and got better as the day went on. Lets hope that this improvement can continue into the next round. Well done lads.

Results: St Declans 4-3 Kill 0-0

St Declans 4-6 Ferrybank 1-2

St Declans 4-1 St Saviours 1-2

Todays Panel: Stephen Doheny, David Hogan, Mark Mullally, Aaron O Connor, Craig Dowling, Robert Ryan, Shane Hannon, Conor Hogan, Cormac McCann and Jamie Regan

No Joy for 7’s Team

[Nov 20^th ‘08]Today in Tramore we played in the excellently organised Eastern Blitz Finals of the INTO Mini 7’s Football Competition. Recent first round winners were now all grouped together for this next phase of the competition. Everyone arrived feeling very optimistic but results of course would determine who would go home the happiest. Every match would be difficult, every result important. We faced St Stephens in our first match of the afternoon and despite Shane scoring 2 great goals and a point as well, we were denied at least a draw at the death by a late late winner by St Stephens. Our next game against Holy Cross now took on a must win scenario! Unfortunately we neither started nor finished well in this match but in between Aaron, Kieran and Craig all worked exceptionally hard. With our chance of winning the competition now gone we faced a Rathgormack team hoping to be overall winners. In some respects this was our best performance of the day as Jamie, Robert, Cormac and Conor played with greater vigour and determination and Stephen was again solid in goal. Despite the brilliance of David we were unfortunate not to snatch a victory from the eventual competition winners. Congratulations to Rathgormack and to Mark Mullally who was by far our overall best player of the day. Thanks to Mr Doran and Mr Kirby for looking after this team today.

Results: St Declans 2-1 St Stephens 2-2

St Declans 2-1 Holy Cross 5-2

St Declans 0-0 Rathgormack 1-2

Todays Panel: Stephen Doheny, David Hogan, Mark Mullally, Aaron O Connor, Craig Dowling, Robert Ryan, Shane Hannon, Conor Hogan, Kieran Rooney, Cormac McCann and Jamie Regan

3. Swimming News 2008 – 2009

Gold and Silver

[Nov 23^rd ‘08] Congratulations to our swimmers Jack Ryan and Darragh O Rourke who competed in the Munster Primary Schools Swimming Gala in Cork today. Both swam in the U11 50m backstroke and the U11 50m freestyle and both received medals. Darragh got the gold and Jack won silver. On top of that Jack improved his PB twice on the day so you can’t ask for more than that! Both now progress to the All Irelands which will be held in December.

Swimmers in Top Form

[Dec 14^th ‘08] Congratulations to our swimmers Darragh O Rourke and Jack Ryan who represented our school so well today in the All Ireland Primary Schools Swimming Gala in Dublin. Having come through Munster on the back of a number of good performances, both felt relatively optimistic competing against the best in Ireland today. At the end of the day Jack again had achieved personal best times, while Darragh won silver in the U11 50m Backstroke. Well done to you both. Your achievement is fantastic and you’ve done your school proud.

4. Hurling News 2008 – 2009

Indoor Hurling News ’08 – ‘09

St Declans are County Champions

[Mar 19^th ‘09]Our Indoor Hurlers played today in the County final of this competition at the community centre in Cappoquin. We started very well in this game going three goals to nil up before Lismore N. S. registered their first score. Our goalkeeper Tom Crotty and full back Chris Kong were playing very well and at half time the scoreline read St. Declan’s five goals Lismore one goal.

Cormac McCann and Tadhg Brennan worked hard at midfield and up front Conor Giles Doran took his scores well. Peter Grogan and Alex Casey made telling contributions when introduced. Jack Troy, Craig Ayres and David McGlynn also played well when they came on in the second half. The trophy was presented to team captain, Tom Crotty, by Breda Cleary, Runaí Cumann na mBunscol, Phort Láirge. Once again congratulations to all involved and in particular to Mr Fitzgerald and Mr Kirby for all the time and energy they have put into this team.

Final score: St Declans 11 - 4 Lismore

Panel: David McGlynn. Christopher Kong, Tom Crotty Capt., Cormac McCann, Conor Giles Doran, Tadhg Brennan, Peter Grogan, Alex Casey, Craig Ayres, Jack Troy.

Indoor Hurlers are Eastern Champions

[Mar 5^th ‘09] Our indoor hurling team competed in the Eastern Final Blitz of this competition in the Butler Community Centre today and as you can see from the results below it was a comprehensive, energetic and consistent team performance that carried the day for us. The St Stephens match was really the crunch game and victory here set us up nicely for a clean sweep of victories on the day. Tom Crotty was a proud captain when he received the trophy much to the delight of the rest of the panel all of whom played very well today. Up next is the County Final which will be played in a couple of weeks.

Todays Results: St Declans 7 - 1 Crehana

St Declans 7 – 1 Ballygunner

St Declans 3 – 2 St Stephens

St Declans 6 – 2 Fenor

Todays Panel: David McGlin, Christopher Cong, Cormac McCann, Tadgh Brennan, Tom Crotty, Conor Giles Doran, Peter Grogan, Jack Troy, Alex Casey and Craig Ayres

Indoor Hurling Team Make Finals

[Feb 25^th ‘09] A new season of indoor hurling got under way today as our Indoor Hurling Team competed in the first round of the Waterford Primary Schools Indoor Hurling Competition held in the Butler Community Centre. This once again was held as a blitz and Mount Sion, Ferrybank and ourselves were the teams in action. We had a comfortable victory in our opening game against Ferrybank as did Mount Sion so it was down to the last game of the day to decide who would progress to the finals in a weeks time. Mount Sion got off to the perfect start and were soon two goals ahead. Our lads didn’t give up though and fought all the harder to come from behind and win by 4 goals to 2. Well done lads .. a real team effort … and good luck next week. Thanks to the coaches Mr Fitzgerald and Mr Kirby.

Todays Panel: David McGlin, Christopher Cong, Cormac McCann, Tadgh Brennan, Tom Crotty, Conor Giles Doran, Peter Grogan, Jack Troy, Alex Casey and Craig Ayres.

U 13 Hurling Campaign ’08 – ‘09

Convincing Win for U13 Hurlers

[April 23^rd ‘09]We played our first game in the U13 Hurling League today against Scoil Lorcáin at the College Field. Heavy rain fell throughout the game however we gave a very good performance and ran out convincing winners in the end. Some of our younger players played particularly well especially Lee Wall, Cormac McCann, and Tom Crotty. The next game is against St. Stephen’s on Thursday 30^th. at Gracedieu.

Today’s Panel: David Farrell, Colm Power, Keelan Tyrell, Aaron O’Connor,Craig Dowling, Aidan Lawless, James Grogan, Dean Fitzgerald, Stephen Doheny, Jack McCarthy, Shane Hannon, Mark Mullally, Lee Wall, David Hogan, Conor Hogan, Gavin Coppinger, Gary Smith, Cormac McCann, Tom Crotty, Daniel Sheehan, Jamie Regan, David Power, Darragh O’Rourke.

U13 Hurlers Win Again

[Apr 30^th ‘09] Today we played our second game in the Waterford Primary Schools U13 Hurling League against St Stephens. This was a keenly contested game from start to finish and the final score did not really reflect the efforts of our opposition. We began well with an early goal from Aaron O Connor. Our defence came under a lot of pressure but Jack McCarthy, Aidan Lawless and Conor Hogan were rock solid in the back. At midfield Cormac McCann and James Grogan did a huge amount of work. Up front Shane Hannon, Mark Mullally and Tom Crotty put endless pressure on the St Stephen’s defence. Overall it was another good win and next up will be St Pauls next week in the College field.

Final Score: St Declans 5-1 St Stephens 1-2

Todays Panel: Lee Wall, Colm Power, Keelan Tyrell, Aaron O Connor, Craig Dowling, Aidan Lawless, James Grogan, Dean Fitzgerald, Stephen Doheny, Jack McCarthy, Shane Hannon, Mark Mullally, Conor Hogan, David Hogan, Gavin Coppinger, Gary Smith, Cormac McCann, Tom Crotty, Daniel Sheehan, Jamie Regan, David Power, Darragh O Rourke and David Farrell.

U13 Hurlers Reach Final

[May 25^th ‘09] Having recently beaten St Pauls today we played Mount Sion in the semi final of the Waterford U13 Primary Schools Competition. Mount Sion pushed us all the way even though we had the benefit of a strong wind in the first half. The score read 3-1 to 2-0 at the break in our favour. We started strongly in the second half adding another goal and a point. However Mount Sion came back at us with a few scores of their own. Our defence was put under great pressure but we held out for a valuable win.

Final St Declans 4-6 Mount Sion 3-3

Eastern Glory for U13 Hurlers

[June 11^th ‘09] The U13 School's hurling final was played at Gracedieu this afternoon. Conditions were excellent and we were treated to wonderful exhibition of hurling from both teams. We had the best of starts when a long delivery from team captain, Jack McCarthy, ended up in the net. Both teams fought extremely hard for every ball and defences at both ends were very busy. Our keeper Lee Wall made a number of important saves during this half. We added a further three points before the break and Ballygunner scored two points. Our half back line of Gavin Coppinger, Jack McCarthy and Colm Power were outstanding during this opening half. Half time St. Declan's 1-3 Ballygunner 0-2.We continued to keep the pressure on the opposition in the second half, goals from Aaron O'Connor and Mark Mullally put us in a strong position. However Ballygunner fought back with two goals and a point. We added a few more points from Shane Hannan and Mark Mullally and with much relief the full time whistle sounded. Tom Crotty, Conor and David Hogan played well in the full back line, James Grogan and Cormac McCann were tireless at midfield. Up front Craig Dowling, Jamie Regan and Stephen Doheny caused all sorts of problems to the Ballygunner defence.The trophy was presented to Jack McCarthy by Ciarán Ó hEithir Cathaoirleach Cumann na mBunscol.

Final Score: St. Declan's 3-6 Ballygunner 2-3

Panel: Lee Wall, Tom Crotty, David Hogan, Conor Hogan, Colm Power, Jack McCarthy Capt., Gavin Coppinger, James Grogan, Cormac McCann, Shane Hannon, Mark Mullally, Craig Dowling, Jamie Regan, Stephen Doheny, Aaron O'Connor, Aidan Lawless, Keelan Tyrell, David Farrell, Dean Fitzgerald, David Power, Daniel Sheehan, Chris Kong, Gary Smith, Conor Giles Doran, Darragh O'Rourke.

A Short Story about Mac and a Waterford Jersey

[June 14^th ‘09] Congratulations to Jack McCarthy who was selected on the Waterford Primary Game hurling team which played against Limerick at Semple Stadium today.This is a well deserved honour for Jack who has been a stalwart on many school teams for the past number of years

County Final Disappointment

[June 16^th ‘09] In perfect conditions today in Bushy Park in Dungarvan our U13 Hurling Team competed in the county final of the U13 Waterford Primary Schools Hurling Competition. against Lismore. As the score below suggests this was not our finest day but nothing can be taken from our brave effort against a top class Lismore team who outplayed us for much of this game. A slow start along with a number of crucial early misses didn’t help as the gap soon began to widen. At half time despite being well behind the mood was “to give it our all” for the last 20 minutes. Led by Jack McCarthy our captain we did exactly that, but unfortunately we came second to a very good Lismore Team. Thanks to Mr Fitzgerald, Mr Kirby, parents and the lads themselves for all their efforts throughout this season of hurling. Well done everyone.

Final score: St Declans 2 – 4 Lismore 4 - 14

U 11 Hurling Campaign ’08 – ‘09

U11 Hurlers Leave it Too Late

[May 5^th ‘09] This afternoon in bright conditions in the College Field we started our Waterford Primary Schools U11 Hurling campaign with an opening game against Ballygunner. During the early stages of this game we found it difficult to get to the pace of the match and Ballygunner were clearly the dominant team. We conceded a point followed by a goal in quick succession. We then conceded two more points before Cormac McCann scored an absolute beauty of a point from long range to leave the half time score at 1-3 to 0-1. We were far more competitive in the second half and two goals from Conor Giles Doran left the score at 1-6 to 2-1 with only minutes to go. However try as we may we were unable to get the goal we needed to win the match. We were disappointed at the result yet determined to do better in our next game. Well done everyone.

Final Result: St Declans 2 – 1 Ballygunner 1 – 6

Todays Panel: L Wall, C Stockdale, T Brennan, G Coppinger, D O Rourke, P Grogan, C McCann, C Cong, D Casey, T Crotty, J Fanning, C Giles Doran, C Ayres, D McGlynn, E Tyrell, D O Hare, J Walsh, A Casey, J Troy and Luke Flynn

U11’s Win “Do or Die” Game

[May 12^th ‘09] This, our second game in the Waterford Primary Schools U11 Hurling Competition was played away to St Stephens in what was a “do or die” game for us. A loss today would simply have put us out of contention and spelled the end of any chance of progressing further. The result overall was probably a fair reflection of the game itself even though Stephen Street might feel a little unlucky that they weren’t able to convert some good chances that fell their way near the end. We went a goal down early on but once Craig Ayres leveled {with the first of his two goals} with a clever goal we never went behind after that. Conor Giles Doran scored a goal in either half and Jack Fanning completed the list of todays goal scorers. No doubt the forwards did their job but a lot of the best hurling was to be seen out the field. Christopher Cong was energetic and strong, Darragh O Rourke was dominant and secure while Gavin Coppinger was competitive and intelligent. It was an important victory and everyone was delighted.

Final Result: St Declans 5 – 1 St Stephens 3 – 1

U11’s do it Again!

[May 19^th ‘09] Today in a windy but sunny Gracedieu we played our third game of the U11 Waterford Primary Schools Hurling Competition against Mount Sion. A win here once again was a must and considering our good early start in the game it was looking on the cards. Jack Fanning was one of our early goal scorers. However Mount Sion soon got going and were putting our defence under severe pressure. There was a two point margin at half time in our favour which overall was good as we had been against the wind for the first twenty minutes. Half time score 2-2 to 3-1. Even though there was no score for the first ten minutes of this half the game was far more competitive. Mount Sion struck with a goal which put them in the lead only for us to strike back a moment later with a well taken goal by Conor Giles Doran. A late bullet of a goal by Cormac McCann but distance between the two teams and so we ran out deserving winners on the day.

Final Result: St Declans 5 – 3 Mount Sion 3 – 2

U11 Hurlers Too Strong

[May 26^th ‘09] This after noon we played our final league game of the U11 Waterford Primary Schools Competition away to Scoil Lorcáin. We had a strong wind at our backs in the first half and as time passed our scoring tally began to rise steadily. Conor Giles Doran, Jack Fanning and Tom Crotty all got important scores and so we lead at half time 5-4 to 0-0. Looking good you would think! However Scoil Lorcáin had other plans and from the throw in scored a fantastic goal which was soon followed up by another! It was in this phase of the game that Cormac McCann however came into his own and played a vital part in today’s victory. Time and time again he cleared the ball out of defence to safety. Even though we failed to score in the second half we held out in the end to win. Everyone got a chance to play today and particularly well done to Jack Troy who did very well in defence and to David O Hare who worked hard in attack.

Final Result: St Declans 5 – 4 Scoil Lorcáin 2 – 2

Semi Final Heartbreak for U11 Hurlers

[June 3^rd ‘09] There can be no argument about today’s result in our semi final clash against St Stephens in the Waterford Primary Schools U11 Hurling Competition as we were the second best team for most stages of the game. The game was played in sweltering heat in the Cleaboy and unfortunately for us we were unable to bring past form into today’s match. During the early exchanges we struggled to equal St Stephens hunger and intensity and despite some brave defending we were behind by a goal and a point to no score at the break. On the restart we gave it all we could and seemed to be getting more into the game until we conceded yet another goal to make the task of victory all the harder. Full credit to all the lads though as everyone battled to the final whistle but it just wasn’t to be our day. There were good performances from Cormac, Gavin, Colm and Jack Fanning. Good luck to St Stephen in the final. Special thanks to Mr Kirby and Mr Doran for looking after this team and to all parents for their support and patience throughout this campaign.

Final Result: St Declans 0 - 1 St Stephens 4 - 1

INTO Hurling Mini 7s ’08 – ‘09

Mini Sevens Hurling

[Mar 10^th ‘09]Our U12, 7-a-side hurling team played in the first round blitz of this INTO sponsored competition at Gracedieu today. In our opening game we recorded a good win over St. Saviour's. This was followed up by a 4-3 to 1-2 victory over Ferrybank. In the final and decisive game we faced old rivals St. Stephen's. The Stephen Street boys were in good form and led at the interval by 3-1 to 2-0. We piled on the pressure in the second half, however we were unable to add to our scoreline. St. Stephen's added a late goal and were deserving winners on a scoreline that read St. Declan's 2-0 St. Stephen's 4-1. St. Stephen's now advance to the Eastern final.

Thanks to Mr Fitzgerald and Mr Kirby for looking after the team today.

Today’s Panel: Lee Wall, David Hogan, Conor Hogan, Mark Mulally, Cormac McCann, Aaron O'Connor, Shane Hannon, Craig Dowling, Jamie Regan, Tom Crotty.

5. Soccer News 2008 - 2009

Jack Kennedy Cup ’08 – ‘09

This years 11 aside soccer panel.

James Grogan
Jack McCarthy
Craig Dowling
Conor Hogan
Aidan Lawless
Ross Battey
Jamie Regan
Aaron O’Connor (c)
Ross Fitzpatrick
Robert Ryan
Andrew Phelan
Keiran Rooney
Mark Mullally
Shane Hanon
David Hogan

This year the competition consisted of six teams St Declans, St Stephens, St Pauls, Scoil Lorcain, Holy Cross and Mount Sion.The first match St Declans were due to play against was Scoil Lorcain but due to squad problems Scoil Lorcain forfeited the game. Due to the small number of teams we surprisingly found ourselves already into a semi-final. An acknowledgement must go to all squad members, a great deal of dedication was put in this year as regard training.

Semi Final : St Declans v Holy Cross.

[June 09] As both teams lined up St Declans seemed to have the height advantage and looked a lot livelier. St Declans wasted no time as the whistle went for kick off a swirling ball was curled in to the Holy Cross box aided by Ross Battey our right full. Andrew Phelan met it with conviction but it raced wide. This started the pattern that continued throughout the entire game. St Declans were far too strong, twinned with their skill and fitness Holy Cross seemed no match. At halftime it was 3 -0, this was little considering all the possession and missed chances. St Declans started the second half in much the same form they ended the first. Passes seemed to flow better and more ball was channeled through the wings. Soon goals seem to fly in.

Final Score - St Declans 8 - 0 Holy Cross

Final - St Declans vs St Stephens Venue : Waterford Regional Sports Centre RSC

[June 09] It was a perfect day for football dry, sunny and a small breeze. As we got changed we could hear classes from St Declans chanting the schools name. This gave the lads a massive sense of pride and belonging. This game for a majority of the team would be their very last for the school. We faced St Stephens the very team that beat us in last years final. The boys seemed entirely focused and listened carefully to the pre match talk. With all the talking over the match began the crowd roared as St Declans made an early burst for the goal. St Declans found their confidence early and tested out the Stephens defence a couple of times. On the fifteenth minute Ross Fitzpatrick made a great break and was picked out by Aaron O’Connor, Ross controlled the ball well outside the six yard box and squared the ball neatly to Ross Battey who tapped it in the net. St Declans continued to pile on the pressure and were rewarded by an excellent individual goal from Ross Fitzpatrick. With the half time score at 2-0 St Declans were in the driving seat. The key was not to lose concentration and keep pressurising the St Stephens goal. We did just that our mid field and defence played a massive part in not letting St Stephens back in the game. With five minutes left on the clock Andrew Phelan showed fantastic technique to head the ball in to the top corner.

Final Score - St Declans 3 - 0 St Stephens

The Jack Kennedy Memorial Cup now proudly resides in St Declans National School where Jack Kennedy himself attended. Well done

“Sometimes the difference between winning and losing isn’t a lack of skill or talent but rather a lack of will.”

Lance Armstrong

EA/FAI 5 - a - Side National Soccer Competition

5 a Side Soccer Team to Represent Waterford in Munster

5 a side
Tournament [Mar 25^th ‘09] This EA/FAI sponsored competition is the only school soccer competition we participate in that an All Ireland medal can be won. St Declans achieved this in 2004. The competition progresses from the Waterford tournament to a Munster competition and then to compete for the All Ireland. Six schools had entered the Waterford City tournament this year, ourselves, St Stephens, Mount Sion, Holy Cross, St Pauls and Scoil Lorcain. All of the matches were played in Ferrybank.

For the group stages St Declans were drawn against Holy Cross and Scoil Lorcain.

Game 1 St Declans vs Scoil Lorcain.

We started very well and quickly gained a healthy lead. At half time we were in complete control of the match. Second half proved to be as fruitful as the first. The passing was intelligent and the boys fitness shone through.

Final score - St Declans 6 Scoil Lorcain 1

Game 2 St Declans vs Holy Cross

Within the first minute St Declans knew this was going to be a harder challenge. Both teams started well each trying to break each other down. It was toe to toe for the entire first half with. 1-1 score at half time made it was all to play for. With a few tactical changes openings started to appear for St Declans. Holy Cross still fought back hard to stay in contention with two minutes left. Again fitness proved pivotal as St Declans scored two goals in quick succession to book their place in the finals

Final Score - St Declans 4 Holy Cross 2

Semi Final St Declans vs St Pauls

St Declans could now see that they were only two steps away from achieving what had escaped past teams.

St Declans took no time in gaining a healthy lead and progressed with ease through the fixture. Some fantastic footwork, great accuracy and ruthless finishing was witnessed.

Final Score - St Declans 9 St Pauls 0

Final St Declans vs St Stephens

A carbon copy of last year!, before the match the boys were adamant this time it would be them representing Waterford in the Munster Finals. With the right attitude and confidence high St Declans started well and registered a goal early on. Both teams were playing some great football and St Stephens leveled things just before half time. The second half was frantic as the ball travelled from end to end. St Declans started to take advantage and frustrate St Stephens a little which was rewarded. 2-1 to St Declans with only minutes left. St Stephens took advantage of a wayward pass and leveled things again. A tense last minute saw some dramatic football and due to sheer persistence and determination St Declans scored the last and most important goal.

Final Score - St Declans 3 St Stephens 2

St Declans now look forward to representing Waterford in the EA Sports Munster Finals at Nenagh on the 13^th of May.

Report written by Mr W Morgan{Teacher and coach}

St Declans are Munster Champions

[May 14^th ‘09] Our school 5 a side soccer team became Munster Champions today in Nenagh.

Bronze for 5 A Side Team

[May 27^th ‘09] Our 5 a side Soccer team win Bronze in All Ireland Finals in Tullamore.

School 5 - a - side Soccer League Final

6. Tennis News 2008 -2009

Good Start made by Tennis Team

[April 27^th ‘09] In perfect weather conditions for tennis, our schools tennis team travelled to Tipperary and played against Monastery School Tipperary Town. It was important that we had a good strong win to secure our place in the next round of the cup and the result definitely reflected the play. We played fantastic competitive tennis and were the dominant team. We proved we deserved our victory by winning 32 games and only conceding 10. Well done to all our players. The next round of the Cup will also be an away game. This time against St. Patrick's N.S. Cork.
Panel: Rory McIlhinney, Richard Gaule, Tadhg Brennan and Kian Maguire.

Tennis Team Reach Final

[May 26^th ‘09] Tennis Team reach Munster Final.

Tennis Team Narrowly Beaten in Final

[June 5^th ‘09] Our School Team were narrowly beaten in the Munster Final today in Cork.

7. Rugby News 2008 -2009

St Declans are Tag Rugby Champions

[April 2^nd ‘09]Last year the boys in St Declans showed an overwhelming interest in rugby. As a result of this we decided to train hard and enter a rugby side into the local and annual rugby competition. As a result a many training sessions and hard work we won the competition last year. I was glad to see that the interest this year was as impressive. We held trails early in March and the hunt for 15 players was made almost impossible as almost 40 boys showed up for the trial. With the team picked and training sessions in full flow both myself and Miss Aylward could see fantastic potential. All 15 players worked extremely hard in training, they listened carefully and learned new skills that would prove essential when match day came.The sun was beating through the window on the bus on our way to the Waterford City Rugby Club. We sat contemplating what could be. As we arrived at the venue the pitches were awash with teams and there was a buzz in the air. We received our fixture list and started to plot our route to victory. We were to play three competitive matches, each match you could potentially score 20 points which would be awarded as follows.

5pts - winning the game

5pts - teamwork

5pts - fairplay

5pts - good conduct

20pts

Each game lasted ten minutes and all squad members had to play.

Sixteen teams had entered and the winning team would be the team that had accumulated the most points.

Our first match was against Glenbeg.

We started strong, the speed, agility and skill of our players was startling.From the start we focused our game on passing and retaining possession. This deprived the other team of the ball and opened gaps for us in their defence. As explained the focus of every match wasn’t on just winning and the understanding of this was shown by the boys’ performance.

The match ended with a healthy win

Glenbeg 0 St Declans 7

Our second match was against St Pauls

As we were now in the swing of things the boys started to get into a rhythm. As a result of some breathless side stepping and blistering pace we quickly gained ourselves a healthy lead. We encouraged each other and played well as a team always passing the ball close to the oppositions try line. Again we won well on points

St Pauls 1 St Declans 8

Our third and final match was against the Gaelscoil in Tramore.

We quickly discovered that we were up against some fast skilful players. Our defence was stretched at times but we kept our positions and our discipline was excellent. Without panicing and with sticking to the game plan the fruits of our labour slowly started to appear. We crept slowly in to the lead and kept a healthy distance in front. The game ended in a win.

Gaelsciol Tramore 2 St Declans 4

As every team had played 3 games each team could possibly score a maximum of 60 points. All teams gathered for the presentation the tension was hard to bear. Firstly thanks was given to the organisers and referees who did a marvellous job.

Then JOY! We were announced as the overall winning team with a score of 55 out of 60. For the second year running we achieved what we set out to do. Congratulations to all the squad on their behaviour, attitude, hard work and dedication WELL DONE!

Report written by Mr Morgan (Manager)