The Scoil Ursula hurling amigos team qualified for the county finals recently. The competition, which tests the hurling skills of teams of four, was held in Summerhill College and three teams finished in first place on 26 points; Scoil Ursula, Rosses Point and Gaelscoil Cnoc na Ré. Well done to Eoghan, Fintan, Eli & Connor and best of luck in the final next week.

Congratulations to Scoil Ursula Hurling Captain, Michael Morgan (pictured right), who has been selected to play at Croke Park later this Summer. Michael will represent his school during one of the INTO Cumann na mBunscoil half-time matches at either the All-Ireland Hurling Semi-Final or final. This will be the first time that a player from the school was chosen for this honour and it is just reward for his role in captaining Scoil Ursula to their first ever Sligo Cumann na mBunscoil hurling title earlier this week.
Congratulations also to Finn Young and Fintan Campbell, who along with Michael, have been selected on the Sligo Primary Schools Hurling All-Stars Team who will play teams from Galway, Mayo, Roscommon and Leitrim at the Connacht Centre of Excellence on Thursday the 28th of May!! Well done to all!!

Scoil Ursula achieved an historic first Cumann na mBuscoil Hurling title yesterday evening in Markiewicz Park, with a nail-biting victory over worthy runners-up, St. Enda's of Carraroe. In only the school's first ever final, Scoil Ursula carried the game to their opponents with determination and vigour. It was a low-scoring game with both defences on top and the only score of the first half was a Michael Morgan point. Carraroe levelled soon into the second half and then got their noses in front with a pointed free. It was end to end stuff with Scoil Ursula getting back on terms and subsequently taking the lead with a lovely score on the turn from Fintan Campbell. However, straight from the puck-out Carraroe were awarded another free and the game was level again. Michael Morgan saw the last chance in normal time tail agonisingly wide and we were headed into extra time. Patryk Badowski emerged as the hero with two unanswered scores at the death to secure our first hurling championship. There were huge performances from all the team. Kacper Janowski, Eoghan Furey and Johnny Stewart defended bravely while Stephen Mahon kept out a number of goal bound efforts. Michael Morgan played a captain's role ably assisted in midfield by the free running Finn Young. Up front, Fintan Campbell got on a lot of ball while Ben Fahy pressurised the Carraroe defence to give his team mates some breathing space. But in the end, it was down to Patryk Badowski's strength around the goal that forced the crucial scores and sealed a sweet victory for the boys in purple & gold.
Well done to all the panel including Muna Islam, Conor Flynn and Eli Rooney for their efforts this year. To win the championship in only our third year competing at this level is a remarkable achievement and credit must go to our hurling coaches, Johnny Mullins originally and in latter years Benny Kenny, who played an invaluable role in promoting the game in our school. Scoil Ursula Abú!!!
Following on from the hurlers' success, our footballers have had a good start to their Cumann na mBunscoil campaign also. Today, the boys' team had two hard-earned victories over Grange NS and Rathcormack NS in Kent Park. Our girls' team are one from two. After an opening defeat to Rathcormack, they bounced back to save their season with a hard fought victory over defending champions, Grange NS. Both teams now have a good chance of progressing to the semi-finals and we wish them well.

Well done to our hurling team, who qualified for the quarter-finals of this year's Cumann na mBunscoil competition in Kent Park today. The team had victories over Maugherow NS (5-1) and Ransboro NS (3-0) to set up a group final clash with Rathcormac NS. In an exciting decider, Scoil Usula emerged victorious by 6 points to 3 and qualify as Group 2 winners. They will meet the runners-up of Group 1 later in the month. Well done to all the lads, particularly our captain, Michael Morgan, who led by example with three outstanding displays, Kacper Janowski, who was solid in defence and to Fintan Campbell, whose sharp-shooting was a huge factor in our victories. Also well done to our new players, Connor Flynn and Eli Rooney, both of whom made their debuts today with Connor chipping in with a goal. The players involved in the three games were Eoghan Furey, Johnny Stewart, Kacper Janowski, Ben Fahy, Eamonn Flynn, Finn Young, Michael Morgan (C), Stephen Mahon, Fintan Campbell, Muna Islam, Connor Flynn and Eli Rooney. Comhgairdeas to gach duine!!!

Congratulations to our hurlers who have qualified for the Cumann na mBunscoil Semi-Finals for the first time ever. It took a huge comeback with three scores in the last 5 minutes against the Gaelscoil to force the game into extra time and in a tense nail-biting finish Scoil Ursula squeezed out a one-point victory. Well done to our whole panel who have trained very hard this year to improve hurling in the school.

Congratulations to our Hurling Team who made history by becoming the first ever hurling team from Scoil Ursula to gain a victory in a Cumann na mBunscoil game. The team travelled to Rathcormac today, where they had a deserved 9-point win against the home side in less than ideal conditions for hurling. They now need one more win after Christmas to qualify for the next stage of the competition. Hurling is a fledgling sport in the school with coaching only introduced in 2010 with 1st & 2nd classes. That early work by Coach John Mullins was built on by his successor Benny Kenny and is now paying off as these young hurlers enter the senior classes. We entered the competition for the first time last year but didn't manage a win. This first victory is an important step in building confidence in the squad and encouraging more pupils to take up this fantastic game of ours. Well done to all our players on this great achievement!!  

Scoil Ursula was honoured with a visit from the President of the GAA, Liam O’ Neill. He was accompanied by County Board Chairman, Cyril Feehily, our County GAA Games Manager, Liam Óg Gormley, our Football Coach, Charles Harrison and our hurling coach, Benny Kenny. Also in attendance were Frank Carter, Chairman of our local football club, St. Mary’s, and Bill O’Kelly Lynch from our local hurling club, Naomh Eoin as well as members of our Board of Management.

The President was in Sligo to lend his support to the wonderful work that is being undertaken in the promotion of Gaelic Games in schools at primary, post-primary and at Third level in this county. As a Primary School Principal, he is particularly committed to providing the best possible framework for our primary school children to learn and enjoy Gaelic Games. He viewed coaching sessions in both Football & Hurling before addressing a packed assembly in the Halla.

Scoil Ursula has close links with our local club, St. Mary’s, and Club Chairman Frank Carter spoke on its behalf. We have also recently begun to develop hurling as a sport in the school with our team playing its first ever match on Wednesday. Our local hurling club, Naomh Eoin, was represented by Club Secretary,  Bill O’ Kelly Lynch, who spoke on its behalf.

In his address, Mr O' Neill, emphasised the enjoyment of participation in all sports and encouraged the children to be respectful on the field of play.  Our Deputy Principal, Mrs Corcoran made a presentation to mark his visit to Sligo and Scoil Ursula. She presented the President with a piece of Sligo Pottery depicting the Fiddler of Dooney famed in the Yeats poem, which we hope will remind him of his visit here in the years to come. 

Scoil Ursula will have the honour of welcoming GAA President, Liam O' Neill, to the school when he visits Sligo this coming Thursday. He is coming to support the work that is going on to promote the development of Gaelic Games among young people. He will launch this year's Coaching Scheme which begins in the school next week and which has proved an outstanding success over the past number of years.  Liam's beginnings in GAA administration began with Cumann na mBunscol in his native County Laois many years ago and, as a Primary School Principal, he has a keen interest in developing the best possible programmes at primary school level with the emphasis on skills development and enjoyment rather than competition. We are honoured to be among only two Primary Schools that the President will visit on his tour of County Sligo. He is due to arrive at the school at 1:40 and will be met by delegates from the school as well as our local clubs, St. Mary's Football Club and  Naomh Eoin Hurling Club. 
We are having our Annual Jersey Day to coincide with his visit. We are asking our pupils to wear in a GAA jersey and contribute €1 to defray some of the cost of the Coaching Scheme. Thank you for your support!!