St Paul's Girls' Teams March Forward 1997-1998-1999 -2000

By Mary Kyne

In 1997 due to large numbers of very enthusiastic girls St. Paul’s entered two teams in both the senior and cadet schools competition.

Senior B: Lost to Tuam by 5points after an excellent performance and went on to play Glenamaddy and Dunmore. Laura Nash, Anne Fahy and Breda o Connor contributed greatly to the team’s success.

Cadet B: Oughterard had a win over Tuam by 3points after trailing by 9 points midway throughthe second half. Orla Joyce had an outstanding game helped by Ailbhe Boyce, Helen Joyce and Caoimhe Clancy.

Senior C: This team had an excellent win against Carna with good displays from Eithne Deacy, Goda Faherty and Genevieve Moore. They also played against Kylemore and Clifden.

Western Regional Team 1998

Four girls from St. Paul’s were selected on the Western Regional Basketball under 15 team: Caoimhe Clancy, Emer Butler, Avicen Fahey and Anne Fahey. Anne was also included in the under 17 team. All four girls got lots of court time in the Inter- Regionls. The selection of the four girls was a great personal honour and it was due recognition of the dedication of their school and Corrib coaches. Caoimhe, Emer and Avicen were members of the St Paul’s team that competed in the All Ireland Juvenile Tournament in Castleblayney in May.

All Ireland Quarter Finals 1999 – All Ireland Title 2000

St Paul’s Cadet Girls team competed in the All Ireland Quarter Finals in 1999. They went on to win the Cadet All Ireland Title in style in 2000. Any doubts about the standard of girls basketball in Connacht was firmly laid to rest with the magnificent performance of St. Paul’s Under 17 girl’s team winning the All Ireland Cadet title in the National Basketball Arena Tallaght, The team defeated Loretto Convent Swords in an exciting game.

With tremendous support for both teams making their presence felt, St. Paul’s girls took control of the game from the start.  Mr. Kelly, St Paul’s coach was very pleased with the work rate of his team particularly in defence with Laura Molloy outstanding under the boards. Avicen Fahey and Emer Butler were consistent in attack and were an example of the confidence that the St. Paul’s girls displayed.  The Dublin side found it very difficult to deal with the scoring capacity of St Paul’s captain Caoimhe Clancy.

Even at the start of the second half when Swords Irish International player Laura Brophy went on a scoring spree the Oughterard girls maintained their composure and maintained a comfortable lead.

Caoimhe Scores 36 Points

Caoimhe Clancy was named the most valuable player with a personal score of 36 points. The huge St Paul’s following made the journey home to be greeted by bonfires and celebrations in Killannin and Oughteraard. Mr. Paddy Tierney, Chairman of the Community Council, welcomed the girls and assured them that they had brought credit to Oughterard, to themselves, to the school and to their families. Mrs Nihill, School Principal, thanked the parents, staff and students for their support.

This All Ireland marked the third basketball All Ireland Title for St. Paul’s. The school previously won the Girl’s Senior B All Ireland in 1983 and Senior A School Boy’s in 1986.

Community Games All Ireland Finals – Bronze Medals 1999

The Under 16 Girls’ Basketball team representing Connacht won Bronze medals after very tough matches. They were welcomed to a civic reception in Galway followed by a bonfire –lit Oughterard and an enjoyable function in the Community Centre.

Team: Caroline Clancy, Sinéad D’Arcy, Caoimhe Clancy, Laura Gibbons, Sinéad Mc Dermott, Leesa Conneely, Gillain Kenny, Maresa O Toole, Mary Byrnes(Captain)

Coaches: Sinéad O Halloran and Carol Gibbons who were totally committed to the team during the year. A special word of thanks was extended to Justin Keogh who sponsored the girls’ tracksuits. 

Corrib Ladies Runners Up In County League 2000

The Corrib Ladies Basketball team won the County Board Final in April beating An Cheathrú Rua in a well contested match. Corrib were also runners-up in the County Galway League. After a shaky start to the league season, losing to Cresent in an away game, Corrib came back with convincing wins over Moycullen, Barna, Gort and Claregalway. Boston Scientific provided strong opposition for Corrib, but Corrib ladies triumphed over the Galway based team at both home and away games.

In the second round of the league, Corrib settled and produced some fine displays meting revenge on Cresent on their home court in Oughterard’s Community Centre. On meeting An Cheathrú Rua for the second time in the league, Corrib playing a strong defence, controlled the game and went 12 points ahead of their Connemara rivals. However, An Cheathrú  Rua clawed their way back into the game and only went ahead with a three pointer on the buzzer to win the game. The end result of the League was that an Cheathrú Rua won by a single point, Corrib were runners-up.

Team: Ita Green, Aoife O Halloran, Mary Angela Mc Grath. Vivienne Lavelle, Mary Byrne, Ailbhe Boyce, Sinéad O Halloran, Elaine Walsh, Sinéad Mc Dermott, Emma Blehein and Sinéad Kyne.

Copenhagen Trip 2000

Corrib Basketball U17 Girl’s team all but conquered Europe on their trip to Copenhagen for the prestigious International Copenhagen Cup.

The team which included several All Ireland medal holders, were piped at the post in their campaign. After winning their group by beating Virum, Denmark, Luneburg, Germany, Falcon, Sweden and Hohenwestedt, Germany, the girls won a place in the semi-finals. From that point on they were into knock-out stages. Here they came up against Swedish Champions, Linkopink and alas their campaign came to an abrupt end. An unconvincing display by both teams led to a 19-16 loss.

Their Irish eyes were still smiling and although the loss came as a great disappointment, they picked up the pieces and continued to enjoy themselves. They went to Copenhagen as ambassadors for their club and country and they did us proud. Not only did they win the hearts of their hosts at Piedgarden they made some long lasting  ‘e-bonds’ with some Swedish and Luxor teams also.

Justin Keogh continued to support the team.

Caoimhe Clancy’s International Selection 2000

Caoimhe Clancy was selected on the Irish Junior Women’s team. 

This page was added on 04/07/2012.

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