AVIVA STADIUM was the venue on Saturday last (May 25) for the very first time for the Aviva Health FAI Primary School 5’s National Finals. Ireland’s stars of the future entertained crowds in the stadium as the biggest and best competition in the 2013 primary school’s soccer calendar came to its climax.

After three months of competitions and participation from over 16,000 children nationwide, the final twenty schools advanced to the ultimate stage in Ireland’s premier soccer venue, Aviva Stadium.

From their arrival through the player’s entrance, to the dressing rooms, to the top notch pitch, the kid’s enjoyed the same VIP treatment as their international heroes thanks to Aviva Health. The event was a family fun day focused on providing participants and spectators with huge excitement and entertainment, making it a day to remember for all involved.

Liz Rowen, Head of Marketing at Aviva Health; ‘We are incredibly proud to sponsor the Aviva Health FAI Primary School 5’s 2013 and open Aviva Stadium for the first time for the national finals of the competition. 

It is important to us at Aviva Health to support the development of soccer skills of young Irish players and help increase children’s awareness of the importance of being fit and healthy, which Aviva Health is committed to.’

Everyone’s a winner in this competition, with all of the participants receiving an Umbro kit and Aviva Health commemorative medal for their participation in this year’s National Finals.

Saturday’s finals catered for different sized schools, “A” Schools (mixed or boys) and Girls “A” Schools for small sized schools. Medium sized schools featured in the “B” Schools section (mixed or boys) and Girls ‘B’ Schools, and finally “C” Schools accommodated the large schools section (mixed or boys).

160 participants from 12 counties competed to be crowned  Aviva Health FAI Schools All Ireland champions. Schools from Roscommon (3), Galway, Mayo, Tipperary (2), Clare, Cork (2), Cavan, Donegal, Inishowen (3), Longford (2), Louth, Kildare and Meath fought it out in their respective categories for this prestigious title. However it was Tipperary, Louth, Meath, Kildare and Donegal that collected the silverware this time around.

Schools ‘A’ Section

Ballyneale NS made history by winning the Schools “A” Section in the small schools division in the first of the five sections.

It’s the first time the Carrick on Suir School has won the All Ireland Primary Schools Section “A” title and it’s only the second time the County has claimed gold in the small schools division as Leugh NS won back in 2004.

Ballyneale and Lisaniskey played out a ten goal thriller in the opening game of this section with a 5-5 stalemate the result. The goals came from Ballyneale Captain Manus McFadden (2), Angela McGuigan (1), Ian Holloway (1) and Mark O’Meara (1) while James Fitzpatrick (5) netted for Roscommon. 

Another draw transpired in the second round of games as Mullahoran and Fermoyle played out a 2-2 draw. Cormac O’Reilly registered the scores for the Cavan outfit while Crónán Flood (1) and Kian Gilmore responded for Longford.

Ballyneale found their form in the second of their three outings as they swept Fermoyle aside with a 4-1 win. Manus McFadden (1), Angela McGuigan (2) and Ian Brett (1) got their names on the score sheet as Kian Gilmore got the solitary goal for Fermoyle.

Mullahoran kept level with the Tipperary side on points as they defeated Lisaniskey 3-1 in their second game. Cormac O’Reilly (2), Gavin Brady (1) got the goals for Ronan Donnelly’s side as John Martin scored for Lisaniskey

The third and final game for Mullahoran and Ballyneale was effectively the decider in this group as they were level on points, 4 apiece.  Manus McFadden played a captain’s as he produced four splendid goals while Cavan came up short with goals from Cormac O’Reilly, Ryan O’Reilly and Gavin Brady in this crunch encounter. The Tipperary School were on their way to a well deserved podium finish. Ballyneale’s Teacher Sarah Whelan and Coach Ian Sheehan were delighted with the victory having brought the team through their County qualifiers, Munster and now the All Ireland series

The final game in this group saw another exciting draw as Fermoyle and Lisaniskey ended 4-4. Ciaran Lawless (2), John Martin (1) and James Fitzpatrick (1) found the net for Noel Dervan’s side as Kian Gilmore (3) and Crónán Flood made their mark for Denis Connerton’s crew. It was no surprise that Manus McFadden picked up the Player of the Tournament accolade following his supper performances throughout the day, making it a double celebration for the Carrick on Suir School

‘A’ Schools

WINNER:                             Ballyneale NS, Carrick on Suir, Tipperary
RUNNER UP:                      Mullahoran NS, Cavan
THIRD PLACE:                    Lisaniskey NS, Roscommon
FOURTH PLACE:                Fermoyle NS, Longford
PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: Manus McFadden, Ballyneale NS, Carrick on Suir, Tipperary

PLAYERS

Ballyneale NS, Carrick on Suir, Tipperary: Zach Ellis; Manus McFadden (Capt); Ian Brett; Ian Holloway; Angela McGuigan. Mark O'Meara; Thomas Parle; Luke Sheehan
Teachers: Sarah Whelan, Ian Sheehan

Fermoyle NS, Longford: Ronan English; Bryn Peters; Crónán Flood; Seán Maguire; Oran Kenny, Liam Ross; Kian Gilmore; Eanna McGrath
Teachers: Denis Connerton, Steve Peters

Lisaniskey NS, Roscommon: Robbie Kenny; Ciaran Lawless; John Martin; Evan Keane; James Fitzpatrick, Aaron Grant; Ryan Doorly; Colin Walsh
Teachers: Noel Dervan, Enda Keane

Mullahoran NS, Cavan: James Coyle; Darren Shiels; Gavin Brady; Cormac O'Reilly; Ryan O'Reilly, Leon Reilly; Conor Fitzsimons; Mark Halton
Teachers: Ronan Donnelly, Fionnuala McGahern

RESULTS
Ballyneale 5-5 Lisaniskey  
Mullahoran 2-2 Fermoyle
Ballyneale 4-1 Fermoyle   
Mullahoran 3-1 Lisaniskey
Ballyneale 4-3 Mullahoran
Lisaniskey 4-4 Fermoyle

Schools ‘B’ Section

Monastery NS, Ardee snatched the ‘B’ Schools section title this season following a highly competitive encounter with Ulster’s St. Patrick’s NS, Carndonagh.  The winner had to be decided on the result between the two sides as Monastery NS, Ardee and St. Patrick’s NS, Carndonagh shared top spot on four points each. Their head to head encounter saw a 2-1 win for the Louth lads to ensure their All Ireland success story.

Cork’s Scoil Iosagain and Summerhill NS, Athlone played out a 3-3 draw in the opening game of the medium schools competition at midday. Roscommon goal scorers were Cian Molly (2) and Nashir Kola Ishola (1) as Diarmuid Phelan (1) and Alan Hogan (2) netted for Aghada.

The second game of the day saw Monastery and St. Patrick’s come together. Tom Jackson and namesake Liam produced the goals for Jim McGee’s school as Kieran Farren found the net for the Donegal contingency.

The third game in the series saw a 4-3 win for Monastery against a skilful Scoil Iosagain. Tom Jackson (2), Jonathan Commins (1) and Liam Jackson (1) found range while Dylan Buckley (1) and Alan Hogan (2) scored for Cork.

The Carndonagh School made short work of Summerhill NS as they ended their game 5-2. The five goals came courtesy of Nathan McConalogue (1), Kieran Farren (2), Christopher O’Brien (1) and Conor O’Donnell (1) as Dylan Stewart converted twice for Athlone.

St. Patrick’s Carndonagh continued their winning ways as they put 4 past Cork’s Scoil Iosagain without reply. Conor O’Donnell scored a hat-trick while Kieran Farren added the fourth.

Monastery slipped up in the final game of the B Section when taking to the field again Summerhill NS. The Connacht crew were 3-2 victors over the All Ireland Champs ensuring a bronze medal for Gerry McHugh’s School.

Conor O’Donnell secured the Player of the Tournament accolade for his marvellous displays all afternoon, a little consolation for the second place finishers.

‘B’ Schools

WINNER:                             Monastery NS, Ardee, Louth
RUNNER UP:                      St. Patrick's BNS, Carndonagh, Inishowen, Donegal
THIRD PLACE:                    Summerhill NS, Athlone, Roscommon
FOURTH PLACE:                Scoil Íosagáin, Aghada, Cork
PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: Conor O’Donnell, St. Patrick’s BNS, Carndonagh

PLAYERS

Monastery NS, Ardee, Louth: Gavin Kirk; Liam Jackson; Donal McKenny; Jonathan Commins; Tom Jackson Eddie Quan Ooi; Evan McKenna; Darragh McCoy
Teachers: Jim McGee, Leanna Cusack

Scoil Íosagáin, Aghada, Cork: Mark Stafford; Craig Hogan; Diarmuid Phelan; Dylan Buckley; Alan Hogan, Max Aherne; Jack Norris; Adam Laffan
Teachers: Jerome Sheahan, Lawrence Collins

St. Patrick's BNS, Carndonagh, Inishowen, Donegal: Donall Doherty; Cormac Monagle; Conor O'Donnell;  Kieran Farren; Christopher O'Brien, Nathan McConalogue; Patrick Monagle; Cormac Conway
Teachers: John McFeely, Noel Doherty

Summerhill NS, Athlone, Roscommon: Shane Menton; Owen Keogh; Nashir Kola Ishola; Dylan Sumner; Dylan Stewart, Cian Molloy; Harrisson Oransaye; Mark Gannon
Teachers: Gerry McHugh, Paul Coughlan

RESULTS
Scoil Iosagain 3-3 Summerhill
St. Patrick’s 1-2 Monastery
Scoil Iosagain 3-4 Monastery
St. Patrick’s 5-2 Summerhill
Scoil Iosagain 0-4 St. Patrick’s
Summerhill 3-2 Monastery

Schools ‘C’ Section

The ‘C’ Section for large schools was claimed by St. Michael’s NS, Trim in a hugely entertaining series of games. The winners had a ding dong battle in the final game of the day with third place finishers St. Patrick’s NS, Castlebar to take top spot 5-4. The Meath lads battled from 3-1 down to claim the victory. St. Michael’s are the third School to win gold at this level following success in 2005 for Rathbeggan in the ‘B’ Section and most recently for Athboy’s O’Growney’s NS in 2012 also in the ‘B’ Section. St. Michael’s made history by becoming the first Meath School to left the title under the highly competitive large schools, ‘C’ Section much to the delight of Eoin Joyce and Martin Costello.

Silver medallists St. Columba’s kicked off proceedings with a 5-2 win over Castlebar’s St. Patrick’s BNS. A hat-trick from inform Jaze Kabia and two from Conor Russell gave the Cork side a wonderful start. Mayo’s scorers were Jason Haigh and Liam Whyte.

The second game produced twelve goals with Meath’s St. Michael’s finding their form early on. Goals from Oisin Devlin (6), Cian Lee (1), Luke Walsh Byrne (1), Paraic Costelloe (1) and Aaron Lynch (1) could not be equalled by the Donegal outfit as Aaron McDaid and Matthew Mulhalland netted for Scoil Iosagain.

St. Michael’s produced another wonderful performance to take the points off St. Columba’s. Oisin Devlin (1), Luke Walsh Byrne (1) and Aaron Lynch (2) added to their goal tally while Rory Doyle (1) and Jaze Kabia (1) registered for Cork.

St. Patrick’s of Castlebar claimed a 3-2 result against the Ulster side Scoil Iosagain. Dylan Felle (1), Liam Whyte (1) and Jason Haigh (1) were the goal scorers for Mayo as Aaron McDaid (1) and Matthew Doherty (1) got on the score sheet for Donegal.

The penultimate game in this section produced a wonderful display from St. Columba’s against a tired Scoil Iosagain. Evan Donlon (1), Conor Russell (1), Joe O’Connell (1) and a hat-trick from Rory Doyle were even to see of the Buncrana boys.

The last game saw St. Michael’s claim two valuable points as they came out 5-4 victors over a gallant Castlebar outfit. A hat-trick from Oisin Devlin and goals from Luke Walsh Byrne and Luke Mahon outclassed the hat-trick from Liam Whyte and Brian Walsh (1) to take top spot

It was fitting that Oisin Devlin was named as Player of the Tournament following an excellent outing for the Trim youngster.

‘C’ Section

WINNER:                             St. Michael's NS, Trim, Meath
RUNNER UP:                      St. Columba's BNS, Douglas, Cork
THIRD PLACE:                    St. Patrick's BNS, Castlebar, Mayo
FOURTH PLACE:                Scoil Íosagain, Buncrana, Inishowen, Donegal    
PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: Oisin Devlin, St. Michael’s NS, Trim, Meath

PLAYERS:

Scoil Íosagain, Buncrana, Inishowen, Donegal: Cathal McNutt; Matthew Doherty; Mark McFadden; John Timlin; Michael Doherty, Aaron McDaid; Tom McLaughlin; Matthew Mulhalland
Teacher: Maria Doherty, Coach: Jonathon Adair

St. Columba's BNS, Douglas, Cork: David Harrington; Conor Russell; Oisín Carroll; Rory Doyle; Jaze Kabia, Joe O'Connell; Evan Donlon; Joe Reilly
Teachers: Bernard Lynch, Aidan O’Mahony

St. Michael's NS, Trim, Meath: Conor Hallinan; Paraic Costello; Luke Walsh Byrne; Luke Mahon; Aaron Lynch (Capt) Cian Lee; Oisin Devlin; Dylan Farrell
Teachers: Eoin Joyce, Martin Costello

St. Patrick's BNS, Castlebar, Mayo: 1 Alan Kelly; 2 Liam Whyte; 3 Brian Walsh; 4 Dylan Felle; 5 Dara Ludden. Subs not used: 6 Jason Haigh; 7 Ronan Dervan; 8 Eoghan McHale
Teachers: Harry Canning, Des Cogan

RESULTS
St. Columba’s 5-2 St. Patrick’s
Scoil Iosagain 2-10 St. Michael’s
St. Columba’s 2-4 St. Michael’s
Scoil Iosagain 2-3 St. Patrick’s
St. Columba’s 6-0 Scoil Iosagain
St. Patrick’s 4-5 St. Michael’s

Schools Girls ‘A’ Section

The Girls ‘A’ Section saw Scoil Mhuire, Glenties win the prestigious title. The School were making their third consecutive appearance in the All Ireland series following a silver medal in 2011. However the defending Champions were victories last season which saw six of their eight players return to the Aviva on Saturday.

John McCann’s side were outstanding throughout the day which saw some outstanding performances from his team. It was a highly competitive environment with some surprise results early on. The defending Champions suffered the worst possible start with a loss to Stonepark NS, Longford in the opening game. Clodagh Lohan (2) and Aishling Smith (1) got on the score sheet for the Leinster ladies while Amy Boyle Carr and Danielle McDevitt scored for Scoil Mhuire.

Cregmore’s Scoil Pádraig Naofa captured full points against Clare’s St. Joseph’s NS of Milton Malbay with  a 2-1 victory. Amy Walsh netted twice for Galway while Grainne Meade got the goal for St. Joseph’s.

The spoils were shared following a 2-2 draw between Scoil Padraig Naofa and Stonepark. Gemma Coll and Amy Walsh netted for Galway as did Clodagh Lohan and Aishling Smith for Stonepark.

Donegal’s Scoil Mhuire produced an empathic win over St. Joseph’s with Danielle McDevitt registering a hat-trick as Amy Boyle Carr scored twice and Niamh Agnew netted without response.

Grainne Meade got the winner for St. Joseph’s in the penultimate game against Stonepark producing a 1-0 win for the Munster crew

Scoil Mhuire finished their account in winning ways with a 4-1 victory over Scoil Padraig Naofa as Amy Boyle Carr registered her first hat-trick and Danielle McDevitt converted while Niamh Moran got a consolation goal for Galway.

Player of the Tournament went to the industrious Danielle McDevitt of Scoil Mhuire, Glenties following her sterling performance for the Ulster winners.

Girls ‘A’ Section

WINNER:                             Scoil Mhuire, Glenties, Donegal
RUNNER UP:                      Stonepark NS, Longford
THIRD PLACE:                    Scoil Pádraig Naofa, Cregmore, Galway
FOURTH PLACE:                St. Joseph’s NS, Miltown Malbay, Clare
PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: Danielle McDevitt, Scoil Mhuire, Glenties, Donegal

PLAYERS

Scoil Mhuire, Glenties, Donegal: Bronagh Gallagher; Amy Boyle Carr; Shana Quinn; Danielle McDevitt; Niamh O'Donnell, Orlagh McGuinness; Sophie Connaughton; Niamh Agnew
Teachers: John G McCann, Frances Byrne

Scoil Pádraig Naofa, Cregmore, Galway: Amarachi Erugo; Niamh McGrath; Niamh Moran; Amy Walsh; Gemma Coll, Niamh McCullagh; Nicola King; Chloe McNamara
Teachers: Tomás Madden, Joe Kennelly

St. Joseph’s NS, Miltown Malbay, Clare: Emma Hickey, Áine Keane; Eimear Keane; Aoífe Hehir;  Gráinne Meade; Katie-Ann Mongan; Laura Keane; Charlotte Murphy
Teachers: Aidan Looney, Fiona O’Neill
Stonepark NS, Longford: Eve Nerney; Róisín Leen; Aoife Gerety; Aishling Smith (Capt); Clodagh Lohan, Caoimhe Lohan (Vice Capt); Daena McCord; Eimear Kyle
Teachers: Flor Leen, Phelim Smith (Student: Niamh Nolan)

RESULTS
Stonepark 3-2 Scoil Mhuire
St. Joseph’s 1-2 Cregmore
Stonepark 2-2 Cregmore
St. Joseph’s 0-6 Scoil Mhuire
Stonepark 0-2 St. Joseph’s
Scoil Mhuire 4-1 Cregmore

Schools Girls ‘B’ Section

A magnificent performance from Scoil Mochua, Celbridge saw the girls claim the Girls ‘B’ Section title for 2013.

The Kildare School produced some magical displays of football especially in their opening game with Ulster side Scoil Naomh Fionán of Whitecastle. Teegan Ruddy (7) and Kate Brown (1) registered for Kildare while Megan Havlin (1) and Danielle McLaughlin (1) found the net for Donegal

Athlone’s Summerhill NS had a wonderful start to their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Tipperary girls St. Mary’s Convent of Nenagh. Chloe Singleton netting twice for Michéal Pealmoinn’s team.

Scoil Mochua made little work of Summerhill in the third game of the afternoon in this section. Kate Brown (2) and Teegan Ruddy (5) were the goal scorers while Aoife Molloy (1), Chloe Singleton (1) and Angelina De Rosa (1) registered for Roscommon.

Megan Havlin netted five times for Scoil Naomh Fionán in their encounter with St. Mary’s. A single goal from Caroline Brown left the result at 5-1.

St. Mary’s suffered another defeat to the All Ireland Champions with a 7-1 result. Teegan Ruddy (5) and Kate Brown (2) netted for Eoin Joyce’s side. While Caroline Brown found the net for Tipperary.

The final game in the group saw a comprehensive two points go to runners up Summerhill NS following a 6-1 win against Whitecastle’s Scoil Naomh Fionán. Chloe Singleton (4), Angelina De Rosa and Chloe Bertles (1) got the goals for Athlone as Megan Havlin converted for Whitecastle.

A personal tally of 17 goals in 3 matches saw Scoil Mochua’s Teegan Ruddy named as Player of the Tournament for the Girls ‘B’ Section. A definite star for the future.

Girls ‘B’ Section

WINNER:                             Scoil Mochua, Celbridge, Kildare
RUNNER UP:                      Summerhill NS, Athlone, Roscommon
THIRD PLACE:                    Scoil Naomh Fionán, Whitecastle, Donegal
FOURTH PLACE:                St. Mary's Convent, Nenagh, Tipperary 
PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: Teegan Ruddy, Scoil Mochua, Celbridge

PLAYERS

Summerhill NS, Athlone, Roscommon: Danielle Dziaugyte; Chloe Dolan; Chloe Bertles; Chloe Broderick; Aoife Molloy, Chloe Singleton; Megan Kelly; Angelina De Rosa
Teacher: Micheal Pealmoinn, Student: Clodagh Moxham

St. Mary's Convent, Nenagh, Tipperary: Shannon Moran; Saoirse Morrissey; Julie Harty; Caroline Brown; Rachel O'Connor, Aisling Moran; Caoimhe Kennedy; Saoirse Shanahan
Mentors: Eithne Darcy, Suzanne Meagher

Scoil Mochua, Celbridge, Kildare: Orla Marsh; Ruth Dwyer; Courtney Kenny; Teegan Ruddy; Kate Brown, Glodie Bakala; Gayane Gevorgyan
Teacher: Eoin Murphy, Principal: Paul Ryan

Scoil Naomh Fionán, Whitecastle, Donegal: Chloe Anderson; Cadhla Mulcahy; Kieva McGonagle;  Danielle McLaughlin; Megan Havlin, Erin McCole; Sarah McCann; Georgia Doherty
Teachers: Clare Byrne, Áine Diver

RESULTS
Scoil Mochua 8-2 Whitecastle
St. Mary’s 0-2 Summerhill
Scoil Mochua 7-3 Summerhill
St. Mary’s 1-5 Whitecastle
Scoil Mochua 7-1 St. Mary’s
Whitecastle 1-6 Summerhill

Images of all participating teams available upon request

Promoting the game of Association Football in all schools, Diane Fay, National Administrative Officer  Football Association of Ireland Schools. Contact Diane on diane.fay@fai.ie or 01 8999522