Loreto Camogie – report by Emma O’ Leary, Sridevi Sinnott and Alice Hilliard
Camogie plays a huge part of school life for many pupils in Loreto and we are delighted to be back for this season with victories under our belt.
For many girls in the school this year’s season is their first, this statement is true for all our new first year camogie players. The team made their school debut on October 25th. A group of eager and enthusiastic first years made the journey to the James Stephens GAA Grounds in Kilkenny to represent Loreto Wexford for the first time on the camogie pitch. Due to the high interest amongst first years to play camogie, Mr.Cummins divided the group into two equally capable teams: purple and gold. As Mr.Cummins took care of the purple team with the knowledgeable assistance of Grace O’Connor and Emma O’Leary, Ms. Browne became the gold team’s manager for the day, with the trusted help of Chloe Whelan and Rebecca Power. While all our Loreto girls put in an impressive performance, the strength of the Kilkenny schools proved to be too much for our teams, with the gold team losing out by the finest of margins. Losses aside, every girl who took the field played with pride in the jersey and portrayed a positive attitude throughout the day. Both teams displayed a fierce drive for their first outing with the school’s camogie team, and we are looking forward to seeing what they will do for Loreto camogie in the years to come. The future is bright!
Next to take the field was our Senior team with its newly appointed captains, Aoife Cullen and Kiera Dempsey. The team has taken on a new panel this year following the exit of last year’s sixth years and the favourable arrival of a range of exciting players from third, fourth and fifth years. However, this new dynamic had no effect on the girls and they proved this with the well-earned win over Colaiste Bride Carnew, scoring 3-10 to an opposing 1-08. It was fantastic to start the senior season with a victory on our home pitch! The winning streak did not end there for our senior girls as they went on to beat St. Mary’s New Ross alongside the school’s enthusiastic support. Their work rate resulted in another win, the final score being 1-12 to 1-05. The senior team of 2022\23 is looking very promising and we cannot wait to see what they will go on to achieve this school year.
With the results of the triumphant Senior team hanging over them, the U16 team knew they had to take inspiration from their elders for their first match against St. Mary’s New Ross played in Geraldine Hanrahan’s. Living up to the senior results was going to be a challenge, but our U16s did not back down from this task dominating the game and beating their opposition 4-10 to 3-7. For their first outing as a new team, the girls looked very sharp and there was some great link-up play between the team. However, their next match proved to be more of a test for the girls. Having encountered FCJ Bunclody’s players at club and county level, our girls knew they had to give their all to secure their second win. It was a nail-bitingly close game with both sides playing model camogie. Even so, in the end our girls grit and determination overcame a tiring Bunclody side by a single point. With a late free, the match finished 2-11 to 4-04. An amazing result for the team. We can only hope our teams have started the way they mean to go on!
Needless to say, these results could not have been secured without the wonderful encouragement and advice from our coaches and management, they deserve the recognition just as much as the players. A big thank you to Mr.Crowdle, Mr. Goff, Ms. Kelly and Mr.Cummins for the time and effort they put into our school’s camogie.
Fingers crossed Loreto Wexford can continue to be victorious for the remainder of this year’s season.
Spirit Award
Loreto, Wexford was presented with the Spirit Award at the recent Swimming Gala in Dublin. The award is granted to the most vocal school in supporting their swimming colleagues. Well done to all!
In relation to swimming, we congratulate TY student Róisín Lawless on her selection as part of the Irish Surf Lifesaving squad for 2023. This is a tremendous achievement for Róisín, the only female representative from Co. Wexford. We wish her well.
Brief Updates/Forthcoming Events
- The inaugural TY Trade Fair will take place on Saturday, 10 December between 11.00 am and 2.00 pm. There will also be stalls from other local schools and we look forward to welcoming as many members of the Loreto community as possible to support this great initiative.
- Our Transition Year students have a busy few days ahead of them with lots of activities planned between now and Christmas. Click on the TY page to read some recent reports of their events.
PICs for the Week
