St. Fintan's High School

Sports Review 2017/2018


Hurling

Our hurling teams competed in the top divisions once again this season at all levels showing level of quality amongst our students. Our U14’s had a good campaign and competed in the Leinster A competition. This experience will stand to them for the future. Our U16’s had a mixed campaign in terms of results but had a good win over St.Aidan’s and have a lot of players who are still underage next season.

Our U18’s also had a mixed campaign after returning to the A division this season after a hugely successful year last year. We defeated Benildus and St.Aidan’s on our way to a semi-final match against Colaiste Eoin where we fell short. On a side note, three of our students, Jack Fagan, Liam Dunne and John Sammon were members of the victorious North Dublin Colleges Hurling team who won the Leinster championship. A fantastic achievement by these lads. Finally, the school won Dublin Hurling school of the year for 2017/18 which was a fantastic achievement to celebrate for students and teachers involved in the game.

Gaelic Football

Our Gaelic football teams also competed at the highest level in all grades this season. Highlight of the year was our Senior team reaching their second Dublin A final in succession after some great performances in the group stages with a win over Maynooth and an exciting draw against Benildus. Unfortunately we lost out on
the day to a very strong Ard Scoil Ris team.

Our U16 team beat St.Aidan’s and lost out narrowly to Lucan CBS and Ard Scoil Ris. They missed out on qualification from the group unfortunately.

Our U14 team competed in a new Leinster tournament this year and had the chance to play against some of the top schools in the province. This experience will no doubt stand to them in the future.

Our 1st year team are just beginning their knock out competition now and it will be good for many of them to get a chance to wear the Fintan’s jersey for the first time.

Soccer

Senior soccer had a mixed season with some brilliant victories over Belvedere, St.David’s, Castleknock and Benildus over the course of their campaign. The team reached the semi-finals of the Joe McGrath Shield where they lost a thrilling game 2-1 to Belvedere.

Rugby

Our Senior rugby team again produced a tremendous year by qualifying for the Leinster Senior cup for the second year in succession. Unfortunately, we were beaten by a strong Pres Bray team on the day. The team also reached the quarter final of the league and finished the season on a high with a victory in the Fr Hampson Plate final which means the team is ranked 9th overall in Leinster. So, the progress continues and well done to all the players and management who put in a huge effort.

Our Junior team have made good progress over the season and have reached the final of the Duff Shield which is due to be played in the coming weeks. Our 1 st year rugby team ad good wins over St.Paul’s, Chanel and St.Patrick’s Navan. They have shown great commitment to their training and hopefully they can bring this excellent attitude into next year.

Golf

Our Senior golf team enjoyed great wins over Castleknock College and St.Paul’s during their brief season. They lost out to eventual group winners Ard Scoil Ris by a single hole. This team may only have a small number of players but they are extremely talented and dedicated to their sport.

Frisbee

Our Senior Frisbee team continued their great run of form in both Dublin and All-Ireland competitions this season. They defeated Gonzaga in the Dublin final for the third year in a row and then lost narrowly to the same team in the All-Ireland final. These students show great commitment to playing the sport and Mr O’Neill trains this group several times a week which highlights the popularity of the sport in the School.

Racquet sports

Tennis – Our tennis teams have had an excellent campaign so far with all teams
unbeaten. There have been wins at Minor level over Belvedere, King’s Hospital. At
Junior level we have beaten Belvedere and St.Michael’s and are on course to qualify
from the group. Finally, our Senior team have had good wins over Blackrock and
Gonzaga and should progress to the knockout stages of the league.

Table Tennis – In table tennis our senior and junior teams enjoyed mixed results throughout the season. Our senior team had some memorable trips to Monkstown and Westmeath but unfortunately did not make the knockout stage of their competition. Our Junior team also had an up and down season but will hope to progress next year after gaining good experience this term.

Squash – Our U15, U17 and U19 teams all won their respective All Ireland titles in Galway last week and continue to excel. Thanks to Eoin Ryan and Sutton LTC who do so much great work with our students.

Badminton – Our U14s were in Division 1 and competed very well throughout. They were knocked out at the semi-final stage. Our U16s had one excellent victory over Wesley College but failed to get past the group stages. Finally, our U19 team competed very well at Division 1 level this year but unfortunately did not make it out of their group. Badminton club each week is run by Ms.Kelly and has allowed many students to try the game out this year.

Athletics

The highlight of the winter term in Athletics was the annual trip to Duffel, Belgium which is organised by Paddy Noonan. Current 3rd year student, James Hyland produced a fine performance to finish 6 th overall. The focus over the last few months has switched to track and field. Michael Farrelly and Sean L’Estrange have led the way with this team and in line for an international call up. Many students who have never taken part in athletics have participated this year which is great to see. Mr O’ Connor has brought in a new morning run each Friday before school which has also increased participation levels in the sport.

Basketball

Basketball enjoyed a successful year in the school with over 54 players playing across our 4 teams. In the senior section, our U16s and U19s were both eliminated at the quarter final stage of the plate competition.

The Junior teams were more successful with the 1st years winning the East Region Plate title with a great victory over Oatlands College. Our 2nd year team were very unlucky in the Plate final game against Pres Bray losing out by a single basket. Overall, a good year for our teams and great to see so many of our younger students taking up the game. A big thanks to Jerome Westbrooks for his continued commitment and coaching expertise with our teams.