Author: sbuckley

CTI Clonmel: 4-7 Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí: 4:13

On a wet Thursday in October we made the long journey to Rathkeale for our Munster Hurling Quarter-Final against Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí. It was our first time reaching this stage of the competition in a number of years but with the number of young, talented hurlers we have, it hopefully won’t be our last.

The game started with a downpour of rain followed by a downpour of scores from Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí. They hit 1-4 before we registered our first score. These early scores are what cost us later in the game. We hit three wides before hitting our first score – a goal from our youngest player on the panel: Darragh Landers. Good team play brought Darragh through on goal where his only option was to kick the ball into the net as he was being held back. An exceptional finish from a player who went on to play a big role throughout the match.

After the goal we had our period of dominance as Sean Cagney found his scoring range hitting 3 points (2 frees). His point from play was probably the score of the match. Turning on a six pence, he struck the ball on the swivel and put it between the posts. Although we dominated possession, we failed to capitalise whereas Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí were much more clinical and went on to tag on a number of scores before the half time whistle. There was further disappointment on the stroke of half time as CTI had a player sent to the line. This left us trailing at half time on a score line of 3-7 to 1-3.

At the start of the second half, we gave away a couple of silly frees to put a further deficit between the teams. After this we really rallied and for the last 20 minutes of the game all the qualities that you admire in a player such as bravery, resilience, determination and leadership came to the fore. This was led by David Cagney and Sean Kenny in defence as they powered out with an endless amount of ball to launch attacks on the Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí defence. This filtered up the pitch as Michael O Sullivan got a score as well as a brace from Sean Cagney.

The shackles were off at this stage and getting goals was a must. Our first came from the individual effort of Sean Cagney. He followed this up with another point before striking his second goal – which he got by chasing a lobbed in ball from a 65. Moments later, Michael O Sullivan found the back of the net and all of a sudden we found ourselves 3 points down with 2 minutes to go. A sideline free 20 metres out gave us a glimmer of hope and we decided to take our chances, placing a few bodies in around the goal for it. Our effort was blocked and Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí countered and scored a goal to leave 6 points between the sides at the finish.

This, I am sure, was one of those games that the lads will be mulling over for quite a while as there were a number of factors that went against them on the day. On a positive note, there were some outstanding performances all over the pitch. In the back line David Cagney ruled the roost and was our most comfortable player on the ball. He was assisted by an energetic Sean Kenny and captain Oisín Power who grew into the game, especially in the second half. Midfield was orchestrated well by Oisín Forristal and he was aided by a future star of the school Bobby Drohan. Up front, Sean Cagney was our main scoring threat and once again he contributed handsomely. A tigerish Darragh Landers played a huge role up front as well along with Michael O Sullivan and Jake Maunsell. This concludes the season for our under 16.5 hurlers. We look forward to seeing these players contribute to the senior and junior teams that are still left in their respected competitions.

Team:

Keenan Curtin, Eoin Freaney, David Cagney, Cian Power, Charlie O Callahan, Oisín Power (Captain), Sean Kenny, Oisín Forristal, Sean Cagney(2-6, 3f), Bobby Drohan, Michael O Sullivan (1-1), Darragh Landers (1-0), Harry O Leary, Jake Maunsell, Shane Taylor.

Subs:

Gearld Nugent for Cian Power

Thomas Dunphy for Eoin Freaney

Carl Nulud for Harry O Leary

John Molloy for Jake Maunsell

 

 

A new chapter has started at the Central Technical Institute (CTI) in Clonmel, County Tipperary, following the appointment of John McCarthy as principal.

Consisting of the CTI Senior College of Further Education, Gaelcholáiste Chéitínn and Coláiste Chluain Meala, Cork native John has been taken aback by the sense of “real camaraderie and openness to new ideas” since commencing the role in August.

“It has been a challenging few months but there’s a really impressive staff here that have helped me settle in. Tina Kennedy was the acting principal last year and she has been guiding me through the role and has been so supportive,” says John, who previously taught English and was deputy principal across his 15 years at Coláiste Dún Iascaigh in Cahir.

John crafting a “coherent vision” for CTI Clonmel

John’s goal is to create a “coherent vision” for the three schools, one which will drive them into the future. He says the Senior College has grown from 183 to 210 students this year, crediting the rise in numbers to the school’s ability to proactively respond to society’s needs. “The Senior College’s courses are legendary. It offers students a gateway to further education and employment. It was usually just for school leavers, but nowadays there’s a lot more mature students who range in ages. We have seen a lot of older people coming back to school looking to reposition themselves in society and looking to boost their career opportunities, especially in childcare, special needs assistance and pre-nursing,” he says.

Gaelcholáiste Chéitínn currently has 158 students, growing “rapidly” in recent years, and Brona Kinnane has just been appointed to take charge of the day-to-day running of the school. “We have 31 students in first year and there’s 11 in sixth, so it has really grown and offers something unique in the town. It’s incredibly natural for the students to speak the Irish language. Every subject is done through Irish which really helps, and it’s terrific when you hear them engaging in groups,” he says.

“But it’s not just about Irish language and education, and it provides the culture and sense of identity that the students are looking for,” he explains.

“The school is very academic and it’s a very caring, close community. We had 69% of students achieve over 400 points and one student got 601 points in the recent Leaving Certificate. It’s quite a relaxed school in some ways but still maintains high academic standards. If you have a can-do attitude towards work, you’ll flourish in Gaelcholáiste Chéitínn,” he smiles.

As part of his vision for the school, John plans to open the gates of Gaelcholáiste Chéitínn on The Mall to the public. The school will host a bilingual production centred on High School in November. “It’s going to be the first-ever show for Gaelcholáiste Chéitínn and will feature over 50 students in roles ranging from set design to acting and singing. The music department is very strong in the school at the moment. We want the school to be part of the community in a traditional Irish way,” he says.

John, an accomplished author who also taught in Drogheda for 10 years, also has big sporting plans for Coláiste Chluain Meala. The school currently has 110 students, from first to sixth year, who do “incredibly well with many going on to further education.” Tipperary senior hurler Seamus Kennedy went on to lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup following his studies at the school.

“Basketball is huge in the school, rugby is back this year along with GAA and soccer. The school has won prizes in the Poetry Aloud competition and is part of the School Excellence Fund, which recognises excellence and innovation. It’s a really exciting time for the entire school community,” John adds.

Today we have a visit from Seamus Kennedy, Laura Dillon and Courntey Lonergan who were members of the All Ireland winning Tipperary panels in hurling and ladies football. It was a huge honour to have All Ireland winners visit our school and it was a greater honour to have one of our past pupils – Seamus Kennedy visit the school. Seamus spoke highly of his time spent in the school and his appreciation for what we do in Gaelcholáiste Chéitinn. Afterwards himself and the girls stayed around and chatted to the students about their success and posed for photos, some of which can be seen below.

Junior Cycle results are out tomorrow and while it can be an incredibly joyous occasion for students and parents it can also be a very stressful time. Can parents make themselves aware of the information and help available at the following link: https://www.askaboutalcohol.ie/parents/

Congratulations to third year student Shauna who was placed first in the elementary Dressage National Championships  which took place in Cavan at the weekend. Shauna along with her horse Hector were also placed in the top four in the country in four other classes also. A future star in the making no doubt!

Táimid go léir bródúil asat Shauna!

 

CTI Clonmel 0-16 Mount Sion 0-12

Our Under 16.5 Hurlers kicked off their campaign today with a win over a tough Mount Sion side. With four second years on the starting team we went out with a young side that showed great fight and determination throughout. We got off to a great start and went five points up – all of which were from play and all from different scorers. Sean Cagney opened the scoring followed by points from Darragh Landers, Oisin Forristal, Sean Foley and Conor O Donovan. Mount Sion then came back into the game with four points without reply two of which were frees.

Some great work from our forwards earned us a free which Sean Cagney scored and followed it up with another point a few minutes later. Mount Sion rallied again and brought the game to a draw before Conor O’Donovan got the score of the half. Our puck out was won in the air by Sean Cagney, he took on his man and laid it off to Conor who was forty yards out on the side line when he split the posts. This left us a point up at half time with the score 0-8 to 0-7.

CTI were slow to start in the second half as Mount Sion went for the kill and tried to get a goal. They found this incredibly difficult with David Cagney at full back and Keenan Kertin in goal giving stellar performances. The half back line of Sean Kenny, Oisin Power and Bobby Drohan were particularly solid through this period as they were steady under puck outs and a launch pad on which our attack was built on.

Our midfield pair of Oisin Forristal and Sean Cagney were the two players who settled us down in the second half as they traded points with two each in the first 15 minutes of the half. The next period of the game saw a positional switch of Michael O Sullivan to midfield and Sean Cagney to centre forward which paid dividend. Michael came more into the game and Sean continued his Man of the Match performance and tagged on another 3 points to leave him with 8 points in total for the day. The second half finished just like the first with Conor O Donovan closing out the game with a point.

The under 16.5 now progress to a quater final on Friday the 11th of October against the winners of Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí and Coláiste Ide agus Iosef Abbeyfeale (Game subject to change)

Team and scorers:

Keenan Curtin, Eoin Freaney, David Cagney, Cian Power, Sean Kenny, Oisin Power, Bobby Drohan, Oisin Forristal (0-3) Sean Cagney (0-8, 2 from frees), Conor O Donovan (0-3), Michael O’ Sullivan, Darragh Landers (0-1), Sean Foley (0-1), Jake Maunsell, Shane Taylor.

Subs:

Harry O Leary for Sean Foley

Thomas Dunphy for Shane Taylor

 

 

Well done to our first year students who today embarked on a team bonding expedition to Castlecomer Discovery Park. The group completed a number of activities while some also overcame their fear of heights! Thank you to Mrs O’Leary and Mr Lynch who organised the trip for the group.

Well done to our under 16.5 football team who have progressed to a Munster Semi Final after a hard fought victory over North Monastery of Cork.

In what was the brightest day of the year CTI got off to a blistering start with a well worked goal from Ben Smith and followed up by a point from centre back Sean Boyce. North Monastery fought back after the tough start to level the game scoring 1-01 without reply.

CTI were playing against the wind in the first half but they worked the ball up the field on numerous occasions which resulted in some profits in the form a brace of goals from Michael O Sullivan. Just before half time North Mon rallied and came back scoring 1-02 without reply.

Going into the second half CTI knew that they couldn’t afford to get complacent as they were up against a good Cork footballing side, within two minutes of the restart Ben O’Connell carried the ball from midfield to score a wonderful goal. With this North Monastery rallied and scored 5 points with out reply, there were a couple of moments of panic but goal keeper Conor Grant and full back Sam McGowran were ever secure under pressure. In the finish CTI went on to tag on another couple of points to win by 5 points. This was a great game of football in what were great conditions for the game. Great performances all round from CTI who battled to the end.

Due to the bad weather there is a back log of games, with this CTI will have to wait until after the Easter break to find out who their opposition are.

Team:

Conor Grant, Cian Dunphy, Sam McGowran, Sean Kenny, Luke Cashman, Sean Boyce, Niall Walsh, Sean Walsh, Danny Dunne, Ben Smith, Ben O’Connell, Michael O’Sullivan, Oisin Power, David Cagney, Keenan Curtin.

Conditions were perfect today for our second year students  who went on adventure walk out to Kilsheelan. This adventure walk is part of the new PE curriculum and ties in with the school well-being programme. Over all they walked 8.4 km in a looped walk which totaled close to 13000 steps! A great change from the regular classroom activities.

A special mention has to be made to our girls basketball team who played a game in the afternoon after completing the walk!