Feast of Sciath na Scol action at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh

The Sciath na Scol boys and girls’ football finals went wonderfully well these past two weeks.

There were hordes of supporters who turned up to SuperValu Páírc Uí Chaoimh to witness their children, relatives, friends or schoolmates line out for what was a memorable day for all.

There were 29 finals in total played over the fortnight with a very well-organised backroom team of Sciath officers and volunteers stewarding the whole event. In total, 58 schools across Cork city and county took part in the games this year which is something the organisers are very proud of.

The number seems to continue to grow each year which is great to give kids this opportunity.

Many of the volunteers are serving teachers and a large number are retired teachers. It is safe to say that with the crowds and the workload involved in organising 29 finals that the event could not take place without this large body of retired teachers to help.

All of these retired teachers were once coaching Sciath teams themselves so they do realise the excitement that Sciath finals engender among the children and their schools and their parents.

The main organiser behind the scenes is of course the secretary of Sciath na Scol, Assumpta Whelton, who co-ordinates the finals including the production of the programme, match scheduling etc. Assumpta was thrilled with how the finals went.

“We had over 1,700 children togged out in the course of the finals which was fantastic,” said Assumpta. This must make the Sciath finals in Cork one of the largest participative sporting events for primary children in Ireland.”

There was a new cup presented this year in memory of former videographer of the games, Brendan Barry. His emotional wife Esther, presented the F3 cup to the Carrigtwohill CNS winning captains.

Brendan played a huge part in the games recording them for 30 years and the cup in memory of him is a fitting tribute.

Chairman of Sciath Dave Collins added: “The finals went really well. They are dependent on a large group of people helping every day, for everything from people at the gate, to stewards, PA people, and so on. There was great help overall and huge dedication from a cohort of retired teachers, some of whom turned up on each of the seven days and stayed all day.

“Of course, the continuing support of the Cork County Board in giving the pitch for the finals is very important as with primary school children having access to the field where dreams can come true. And for many children they came true these past two weeks.

“Streaming continues to be a great success.

“We at Sciath are delighted with the ongoing media coverage. The Echo and Examiner had daily reports and pics.

“All in all, we had a great few weeks and we hope that a lot of new memories were created for so many kids.”