All-Ireland Semi-Final Countdown Continues

Wed, 12th July 2023

<strong>by Cumann na mBunscol</strong>

As the clock ticks towards game-time on Saturday, a blue tide of good wishes is flowing towards the players that followers hope will win a place in the All-Ireland final.

The blue warriors have a massive amount of hard work and commitment behind them going back to their happy days on the Cumann na mBunscol playing fields.

19 of the panel that faced Mayo in the All-Ireland Quarter Final two weeks ago also played in Croke Park finals with their schools.

Ciarán Kilkenny hurling for Scoil Oilibhéir in Croke Park.

Underlining the talent of these players is the fact that 8 of them also played in hurling finals- Ciarán Kilkenny (Scoil Oilibhéir), Niall Scully (St. Mary’s, Rathfarnham), Colm Basquel (Scoil Cholmcille, Knocklyon), Cormac Costello (St. Fiachra’s, Beaumont), Eoin Murchan (St. Patrick’s, Drumcondra), David Byrne (Scoil Olaf, Balally), Craig Dias (St. Laurence’s, Kilmacud) & Daire Newcombe (St. Mary’s, Lucan) all hurled with distinction for their schools.

Cormac Costello represented St. Fiachra’s, Beaumont

Their focus will be on the big ball on Saturday and Cumann na mBunscol wishes the team well.

Daire Newcombe in action for St. Mary’s, Lucan, in the winning Corn Frank Cahill hurling team in 2010.

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Selection for the halftime Mini Sevens during the All-Ireland semi-finals and finals is the equivalent of an All-Star for primary school stars.

Five of the current panel had that honour - Jack McCaffrey, Cormac Costello, Brian Fenton, Brian Howard and Niall Scully.

This weekend's semi-final will see Aidan Longmore (St. Patrick’s NS, Glencullen), Daniel White (Divine Word NS, Marley Grange), Eve De Paor (Gaelscoil Inse Chór) and Aoife Colbard (Gaelscoil Shliabh Rua) representing their schools. We wish them all the best. In 2006, four participants in the Mini-Sevens were selected to bring the Sam Maguire Cup to the plinth in front of the Hogan Stand. They turned out to be shrewd selections.

L to R Leah Caffrey, Cormac Costello, Eoin McHugh (Donegal) and Michael Daly (Galway).

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Maelruáin Magic

Scoil Maelruáin, in Old Bawn, has achieved many great victories in Croke Park over the years and turned out many outstanding footballers and hurlers.

Mark Lambert starred in the Corn Marino final in 2003. St. Joseph’s, Terenure were the victors that day but Lambert’s display was majestic. Scoil Maelruáin’s entire total of 2-9 was scored by Mark. Niall Scully described the performance as ‘surely one of the greatest in the entire history of Cumann na mBunscol’.

Another legend of Scoil Maelruáin is Christine McGinty. The former Dublin superstar was the first female to receive a cup as captain in Croke Park. She was captain of the boys’ team in Corn na Laoch in 1985. Her achievement made national headlines at the time. Unbelievably, two of her children have followed her lead and captained Scoil Maelruáin. Amy Collins was captain when the school won in 2016 and in 2019, Luke led the school to the prestigious Corn na nGearaltach. He scored 0-9 on the way to victory and the culmination of an amazing series of sporting achievements by the McGinty/ Collins family.

Cian Murphy in action in Croke Park

The latest star to emerge from the renowned school is Dublin senior footballer Cian Murphy.

He was outstanding when captaining the school to win Corn Chumann na nGael in 2007. He played superbly and the cup was presented by Barney Rock, who is also a former winning Cumann an mBunscol captain with Sacred Heart, Ballygall. His former school and Thomas Davis GAA club are very proud of Cian’s achievements.