Sunday, May 14, 2017
COLLEGE CORINTHIANS AFC, CORKhosted this year’s SPAR FAI Primary School 5s Munster Finals on Tuesday, May 9 Wednesday, May 10 & Friday, May 12 reports Ger Duggan, Co-ordinator.
The event saw 28,576 children participate this year. The competition has been running since the mid 1990’s, the event is more popular than ever with an impressive 1,495 schools involved in 2017.
The competition is run across six divisions, ensuring that schools of all sizes are catered for. Boys and girls are encouraged to play together but there is a separate competition for boys and girls dependent on school enrolment numbers.
This season we had an array of County winners with Tipperary and Cork both capturing two Munster titles as well as one apiece for Limerick and Clare.
Little Flower NS Ballytarsna (Tipperary), Ballyea NS (Clare), Scoil Niocláis Frankfield (Cork), Granagh NS (Limerick), Scoil An Athar Tadhg Carraig na bhFear (Cork) and Nenagh CBS (Tipperary) will all proudly wear the red of Munster in the National stages.
Fergus McDaid, Secretary of FAI Schools stated, “This is our third year with title sponsors SPAR and the competition has grown yet again and now firmly holds the title of the largest primary schools’ competition in the country. SPAR’s ongoing support, both nationally and at a local level, has ensured the ongoing success of the programme and given children an opportunity to get involved in a professionally-run, fun and inclusive programme. The programme encourages children to become involved in soccer at an early age and emphasizes the fun aspect of the sport. FAI Schools look forward to welcoming schools to the National Finals on Wednesday, May 31 in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin. We would also like to extend our thanks to all schools who have participated in 2017”.
Colin Donnelly, SPAR Sales Director said, “As a community based retailer, SPAR encourages a healthy and active lifestyle and is proud to be a supporter of primary schools’ soccer in association with the FAI. SPAR local retailers around the county have been getting behind the SPAR FAI Primary School 5s programme, which encourages children to get involved in soccer in a fun, safe and inclusive environment.”
Helen Summerville, SPAR Brand Manager and Barry Doyle, SPAR Regional Manager were present to see a wonderful competition superbly organised by the Munster Branch of FAI Schools with absolutely superb support from all the FAI Development Officers, brilliantly led by David Lenane. Secretary of FAI Schools, Fergus McDaid, was on home territory as he did tremendous work to ensure that everything went smoothly.
In Group 1 of Section ‘A’ Girls (small schools), Annagh NS (Clare) proved to be the strongest side winning both of their matches. They defeated Muinefliuch NS (Cork) 1-0 and Scoil Naomh ERC (Kerry) 4-2 to top the group and qualify for the semi-final. Muinefliuch NS took the other semi-final spot with a 6-4 victory over Scoil Naomh Erc.
Little Flower NS Ballytarsna (Tipperary) defeated St. Declan’s NS Ardmore (Waterford) 5-0 and Our Lady of Lourdes NS (Limerick) 2-1 to top Group 2 and qualify for the semi-finals. The Limerick girls beat St. Declan’s 4-0 to take the runners up place and also reach the semi-finals.
Both group winners continued their impressive play in the semi-finals with convincing victories.
Annagh NS defeated Our Lady of Lourdes NS 5-1 while Little Flower NS scored a powerful 8-1 victory over Muinefliuch NS.
Scoil Naomh Erc won the 5th/6th place play-off with a 5-1 victory over St. Declan’s NS.
Something had to give in the final. The Tipperary school Little Flower NS completely dominated the match and ran out very impressive 5-0 winners.
Group 1
|
Annagh NS (Clare) |
1 - 0 |
Muinefliuch NS (Cork) |
|
Muinefliuch NS |
6 - 4 |
Scoil Naomh Erc (Kerry) |
|
Scoil Naomh Erc |
2 - 4 |
Annagh NS |
Group2
|
St. Declan’s NS Ardmore (Waterford) |
0 - 5 |
Little Flower NS, Ballytarsna (Tipperary) |
|
Little Flower NS Ballytarsna |
2 - 1 |
Our Lady of Lourdes NS (Limerick) |
|
Our Lady of Lourdes NS |
4 - 0 |
St. Declan’s NS Ardmore |
Semi Finals
|
Annagh NS |
5 - 1 |
Our Lady of Lourdes NS |
|
Little Flower NS |
8 – 1 |
Muinefliuch NS |
5th/6th Place Play-Off
|
Scoil Naomh Erc |
5 - 1 |
St. Declan’s NS |
Final
| Little Flower NS |
5 - 0 |
Annagh NS |
Scoil Maria Assumpta, Ballyphehane (Cork) dominated Group 1 in Section ‘B’ Girls (medium schools) with two wins. They defeated Ballyea NS (Clare) 4-3 in a great match and Fossa NS (Kerry) 7-1. Ballyea NS also qualified for the semi-final with a victory over the Kerry girls.
Dromtrasna NS (Limerick) won both their matches to win Group 2 to reach the semi-final. They beat Gaelscoil Charraig na Siúire (Tipperary) 2-1 in a really close match and Faithlegg NS (Waterford) 2-0. Gaelscoil Charraig and Faithlegg NS drew 1-1. The Tipperary school took the semi-final place on goal difference.
Scoil Maria Assumpta defeated Gaelscoil Charraig na Siúire 3-1 in one semi-final. Ballyea NS scored a 2-0 victory over Dromtrasna NS in the other semi-final.
The play-off for the 5th/6th place saw Faithlegg NS overcome Fossa NS 2-1 in that decider.
Ballyea and Scoil Maria Assumpta had met in the group stage and here they were in the final. It was a very tight match that ended 1-1. Neither side deserved to lose. It was left to penalties to decide the issue. The Clare girls won 2-0 in the shoot-out.
Group 1
|
Ballyea NS (Clare) |
3 - 4 |
Scoil Maria Assumpta (Cork) |
|
Scoil Maria Assumpta |
7 - 1 |
Fossa NS (Kerry) |
|
Fossa NS |
2 - 6 |
Ballyea NS |
Group 2
|
Faithlegg NS (Waterford) |
1 - 1 |
Gaelscoil Charraig na Siúire (Tipperary) |
|
Gaelscoil Charraig |
1 - 2 |
Dromtrasna NS (Limerick) |
|
Dromtrasna NS |
2 - 0 |
Faithlegg NS |
Semi Finals
|
Scoil Maria Assumpta |
3 - 1 |
Gaelscoil Charraig na Siúire |
|
Dromtrasna NS |
0 – 2 |
Ballyea NS |
5th/6th Place Play-Off
|
Faithlegg NS |
2– 1 |
Fossa NS |
Final
|
Ballyea NS |
1 – 1 |
Scoil Maria Assumpta |
Ballyea NS win 2-0 on penalties
Section ‘C’ Girls caters for the large schools. In Group 1, the Cork school, Scoil Niocláis, Frankfield won their two matches, both on 5-0 score-lines against Holy Family Senior School, Ennis (Clare) and St. Oliver’s NS (Kerry). The Clare girls defeated the Kerry girls to claim the other semi-final place. In Group 2, St. John the Baptist NS, Cashel (Tipperary) defeated St. Ursula’s NS (Waterford) 4-1.
St. John’s NS (Limerick) also scored a victory over the Waterford girls.
Cashel outfit St. John the Baptist Girls and St. John’s Girls, Limerick drew in the only 0-0 match of the day. What a close exciting match it was though that saw both schools qualify for the semi-finals.
Scoil Niocláis defeated St. John’s NS in one semi-final while St. John the Baptist NS beat Holy Family NS 3-1 in the other semi-final.
St. Ursula’s NS defeated St. Oliver’s NS 1-0 in the 5th\6th place play off.
Scoil Niocláis proved to be too strong for St. John the Baptist NS in the final with the Cork girls winning on a 4-1 score-line.
Group 1
|
Holy Family Senior School Ennis (Clare) |
0 - 5 |
Scoil Nioclais, Frankfield (Cork) |
|
Scoil Nioclais, Frankfield |
5 - 0 |
St. Oliver’s NS (Kerry) |
|
St. Oliver’s NS |
2 - 4 |
Holy Family Senior School Ennis |
Group 2
|
St. Ursula’s NS (Waterford) |
1 - 4 |
St John the Baptist GNS, Cashel (Tipperary) |
|
St. John the Baptist GNS, Cashel |
0 - 0 |
St. John’s Girls (Limerick) |
|
St. John’s Girls |
2 - 2 |
St. Ursula’s NS |
Semi Finals
|
Scoil Niocláis |
6 - 1 |
St. John’s NS |
|
St. John the Baptist NS |
3 – 1 |
Holy Family NS |
5th/6th Place Play-Off
|
St. Ursula’s NS |
1 – 0 |
St. Oliver’s NS |
Final
|
Scoil Niocláis |
4 – 1 |
St. John the Baptist NS |
In Section ‘A’ (boys and/or mixed teams), Knockanes NS (Kerry) secured top spot in Group 1 with two victories and qualify for the semi-finals. They defeated Trafrask NS (Cork) 2-0 and Rineen NS (Clare) 4-0. Trafrask NS also qualified for the semi-final with a 5-3 win over Rineen NS.
Granagh NS (Limerick) proved best in Group 2 and they secured two victories to top the group. They defeated Tankerstown NS (Tipperary) 3-1 and An Sean Phobal (Waterford) 3-0. The Tipperary boys beat An Sean Phobal 1-0 to take the other semi-final place.
An Sean Phobal got the consolation of winning the 5th /6th place play-off by defeating Rineen NS 5-3 in a thrilling match.
In a repeat of their group match, Granagh NS became Munster Champions with a 4-2 victory over a very good Tankerstown NS team.
Group 1
|
Rineen NS (Clare) |
3 - 5 |
Trafrask NS (Cork) |
|
Trafrask NS |
0 - 2 |
Knockanes NS (Kerry) |
|
Knockanes NS |
4 - 0 |
Rineen NS |
Group 2
|
An Sean Phobal NS (Waterford) |
0 - 1 |
Tankerstown NS (Tipperary) |
|
Tankerstown NS |
1 - 3 |
Granagh NS (Limerick) |
|
Granagh NS |
3 - 0 |
An Sean Phobal NS |
Semi Finals
|
Knockanes NS |
1 - 3 |
Tankerstown NS |
|
Granagh NS |
3 – 1 |
Trafrask NS |
5/6th Place Play-Off
|
An Sean Phobal NS |
5 – 3 |
Rineen NS |
Final
|
Granagh NS |
4 – 2 |
Tankerstown NS |
Scoil An Athar Tadhg, Carraig na bhFear (Cork) won both their matches in Group 1 of Section ‘B’ (boys and/or mixed teams) to top the group and qualify for the semi-finals. They defeated Barefield NS (Clare) 1-0 with a goal from John O’Sullivan. John also scored against St. John’s NS Kenmare with Ryan Bradbury also on target in a 2-0 victory. The Kerry school took the runners up spot with a very exciting 4-3 win over the Clare crew. Adam Gul scored twice with Darren Allman and Aidan Crowley getting the other goals while Tom Curran scored a great hat-trick for Barefield NS.
Group 2 was very close with all three schools getting a win each. St. Mary’s BNS Abbeyfeale (Limerick) finished as group winners and Scoil Mochaomhóg, Two Mile Borris (Tipperary) also made the semi-finals just edging out Kilmacthomas NS from Waterford. Tom Ryan, Stephen Walsh, Jack Hayes and Louis Coughlan scored as Two Mile Borris defeated Kilmacthomas for whom Nathan Power scored.
The Tipperary boys were well beaten by St. Mary’s Abbeyfeale on a 6-1 scoreline. Thomas McCarthy scored a hat-trick with the other goals coming from Dylan Murphy, Cullan Quigley and Oisín Wulfe. Donncha James Troy scored for Scoil Mochaomhóg. Kilmacthomas produced a thrilling 3-2 victory over Abbeyfeale with goals from Alex Whelan (2) and Fionn Whelan. Cathal Wulfe and Thomas McCarthy scored for the Limerick school.
St. Mary’s Abbeyfeale reached the final with a convincing 7-2 win over St. John’s NS, Kenmare. Oisín Wulfe scored a hat trick with the other goals from Thomas McCarthy (2), Cullen Quigley and Dylan Murphy while Darren Allman scored twice for St. John’s.
The other semi-final was a real thriller with Scoil An Athar Tadhg defeating Scoil Mochaomhóg by the odd goal in seven. Ryan Bradbury, John O’Sullivan (2), Ryan Bradbury and Kevin Fitzpatrick scored their goals while Donncha James Troy and Jack Hayes scored for the Tipperary boys.
Barefield NS defeated Kilmacthomas 3-2 on penalties in the 5th/6th place play-off after an exciting 3-3 draw.
The final between Scoil An Athar Tadhg and St. Mary’s Abbeyfeale was a really good match with the Cork school taking the title on a 4-2 scoreline. Ryan Bradbury, John O’Sullivan and Kevin Fitzpatrick and an OG scoring for the Cork school with Abbeyfeale’s goals coming from Thomas McCarthy.
Group 1
|
Barefield NS (Clare) |
0 - 1 |
Scoil an Athar Tadhg (Cork) |
|
Scoil an Athar Tadhg |
2 - 0 |
St. John’s NS, Kenmare (Kerry) |
|
St. John’s NS |
4 - 3 |
Barefield NS |
Group 2
|
Kilmacthomas NS (Waterford) |
1 - 4 |
Scoil Mochaomhóg Naofa (Two Mile Borris) |
|
Scoil Mochaomhóg Naofa |
1 - 6 |
St. Mary’s BNS (Abbeyfeale) |
|
St. Mary’s BNS |
2 - 3 |
Kilmacthomas NS |
Semi Finals
|
St. Mary’s BNS (Abbeyfeale) |
7-2 |
St. John’s NS(Kenmare) |
|
Scoil An Athar Tadhg (Carraig na bhFear) |
4-3 |
Scoil Mochaomhóg (Two Mile Borris) |
|
Barefield NS (Clare) (Barefield won 3-2 on pens) |
3 - 3 |
Kilmacthomas NS (Waterford) |
Final
|
Scoil An Athar Tadhg, Carraig na bhFear |
4 - 2 |
St. Mary’s BNS (Abbeyfeale) |
In Section ‘C’ (boys and/or mixed teams), Scoil Mhuire Lourdes, Carrigaline (Cork) dominated Group 1 by defeating St. Conaire’s NS (Clare) 7-0 and The Mon NS (Kerry) 6-2 and qualify convincingly for the semi-finals.
St. Conaire’s took the second semi-final spot with a 2-1 victory over The Mon NS. Nenagh CBS were very impressive winners of Group 2 by defeating St. Mary’s NS Ballygunner (Waterford) 5-1 and St. Nessan’s (Limerick) 4-0. The Ballygunner boys took the second semi-final spot with a 3-0 victory over St. Nessan’s.
Nenagh CBS defeated St. Conaire’s 5-3 in one semi-final while St. Mary’s NS Ballygunner won the other semi-final 4-3 in a great match against Carrigaline.
The Mon NS won the 5th/6th place play off on a 4-3 score-line against St. Nessan’s.
The Ballygunner boys produced their best performance in the semi-final but couldn’t repeat it in the final as Nenagh CBS continued their very impressive display and won 7-2. It was a very evenly matched game for long periods of the action. The Nenagh boys were 3-2 ahead halfway through the second half with the Waterford boys trying everything to equalise. Nenagh had other ideas however and it was they who took control and ran out very deserving winners.
Group 1
|
St. Conaire’s NS (Clare) |
0 - 7 |
Scoil Mhuire Lourdes Carrigaline (Cork) |
|
Scoil Mhuire Lourdes |
6 - 2 |
The Mon NS (Kerry) |
|
The Mon NS |
1 - 2 |
St. Conaire’s NS |
Group 2
|
St. Mary’s NS, Ballygunner (Waterford) |
1 - 5 |
Nenagh CBS (Tipperary) |
|
Nenagh CBS |
4 - 0 |
St. Nessans NS (Limerick) |
|
St. Nessans NS |
0 - 3 |
St. Mary’s NS, Ballygunner |
Semi Finals
|
Scoil Mhuire Lourdes, Carrigaline |
3 - 4 |
St. Mary’s NS, Ballygunner |
|
Nenagh CBS |
5 – 3 |
St. Conaire’s NS |
5th/6th Place Play-Off
|
The Mon NS |
4 – 3 |
St. Nessan’s NS |
Final
|
Nenagh CBS |
7 – 2 |
St. Mary’s NS Ballygunner |
The six Provincial Finalists will now travel to Dublin for the National Finals which will be held in the Aviva Stadium on Wednesday, May 31 (KO 11.30am). We would urge all participating schools to take the day off and travel to the Dublin finale to support their school in what should prove to be a phenomenal day for all involved, players and spectators alike.
It promises to be a fantastic fun filled family day with a “Player of the Tournament” accolade for each section, goodie bags and medals for ALL 192 participants as they’re all winners on the day!
Spectators will be entertained with a super day of footie as well as face painting, samba drummers, a well-known DJ to play some great tunes to gear us up for the games and a chance f0r one special supporter to win an epic prize in the Young Sports Journalist competition. You’ll have to stay tuned on the day to see who will be crowned 2017 Champions.
Cheer on the schools from your sofa or office chair if you can’t make the trip to Dublin and follow the progress on the FAI Schools facebook and twitter pages!
Summary of our winners and runners up
GROUP WINNER RUNNER UP
‘A’ Cup (small schools) Granagh NS, Limerick Tankerstown NS, Tipperary
‘B’ Cup (medium schools) Scoil an Athar Tadhg, Carraig na bhfear, CorkSt. Mary’s BNS, Abbeyfeale, Limerick
‘C’ Cup (medium schools) Nenagh CBS, Tipperary St. Mary’s NS, Ballygunner, Waterford
Girls ‘A’ Cup (small schools) Little Flower NS, Ballytarsna, Tipp Annagh NS, Clare
Girls ‘B’ Cup (medium schools) Ballyea NS, Clare Scoil Maria Assumpta, Cork
Girls ‘C’ Cup (large schools) Scoil Nioclais, Frankfield, Cork St. John the Bapist Girls’ NS, Cashel
Follow the action on social media via #SPAR5s or at www.faischools.ie and www.spar.ie
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
PROVINCIAL
Ulster Final: May 03, Monaghan United FC, Gortakeegan, Monaghan
Connacht Final: May 04, Solar 21 Park, Milebush, Castlebar, Mayo
Munster Final: May 9, 10, 12 College Corinthians AFC, Cork
Leinster Final: May 11, MDL Grounds, Trim Road, Navan, Meath
NATIONAL
National Final: May 31, Aviva Stadium, Dublin
For more information:
Diane Fay, FAI Schools - Diane.Fay@fai.ie / 086 0404 952
Jennifer Kelly, PSG Sponsorship – Jennifer.Kelly@psgsponsorship.ie / 085 1076806
Scott Graham, PSG Sponsorship – Scott.Graham@psgsponsorship.ie / 086 3687548
MUNSTER IMAGES | https://www.facebook.com/pg/faischools/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1555160364515522
END