Truly amazing is the only way to describe the success achieved by Kilteevan National School this year.
It has been a remarkable year for sporting and academic achievement. Just before the summer break Kilteevan NS were crowned the Two-Teacher 7-a-side County Gaelic Football and Soccer champions defeating a very tough Granlahan NS in both finals. The previous week they were declared Division 2 Cumann na mBunscol Hurling champions, defeating Four Roads in a remarkable final in Oran GAA grounds.
The dream of securing a treble of sporting victories was achieved much to the excitement of the school and local community where the celebrations were evident.
First Oran GAA grounds was the venue for the Division Two Hurling Final against Four Roads. Leading from the start and displaying great hurling skills, Kilteevan NS secured a great victory.
They were declared Division 2 Cumann na mBunscol Hurling champions, under the management of Vincent Pierse and Seamus Corcoran. St. Faithleach’s GAA grounds was the venue for the Gaelic Football final with parents, past-pupils and members of the local community in attendance showing their support for the Kilteevan children.
It was a nail-biting final with Granlahan NS leading from the outset and with four minutes to play Kilteevan NS were seven points down. They had a mammoth task. Showing great determination, team spirit and self-belief they fought back to a one-point game. With the clock ticking and time nearly up, one last chance came the way of Liam Egan and he finished it into the back of the net. With time up, the whistle blew and to everyone’s amazement Kilteevan had done it and were crowned champions.
The team were coached by Sean Mooney, Mrs Lynch and Shane Gilleran. With the sporting treble within their grasp Kilteevan NS lined out for their third final in little over a week in the County Soccer grounds Lecarrow.
Playing a well-prepared and very skilful Granlahan NS securing a victory was no easy task. Granlahan NS took a 1-0 lead into the half-time break.
However with both teams displaying great skill and determination Kilteevan NS continued the drama and never-say-die spirit of the previous week. Two late, dramatic and well-deserved goals saw the scoreline at the final whistle 2-1 to Kilteevan NS. The dream of a sporting treble became a reality as Kilteevan NS were crowned Two Teacher 7-a-side Soccer Champions.
The soccer team were trained by Anthony Owens and Andy Thubron. Success was not confined to team sports.
On an individual level Liam Egan secured victory in the Cumann na mBunscol Connacht U-13 40×20 Singles Handball Championship.Michael Corcoran won the U-15 Connacht Schools Golf Championship.
Earlier in the year Kilteevan NS proved their sporting talents were not just limited to the field by winning the County Cumann na mBunscol Sports Quiz. Following a tie-breaker round and with five out of five questions correct Kilteevan NS were declared Cumann na mBunscol County Sports Quiz champions. It was their hard work and genuine love and passion for all things sport that secured them the victory.
The Sports Quiz team was Liam Egan, Michael Corcoran, Callum Coughlan and Robert Owens. Also proving their outstanding general knowledge abilities the School Quiz Team secured first place in the U-13 Credit Union Quiz (Roscommon Chapter) and finished in second place in the Library Quiz.
The quiz team members were Sophie Coen, Liam Egan, Niall Brennan, Callum Coughlan and Robert Owens. The school also participated in the Sci-Fest in the CBS where they were awarded Best Display and received the 2nd Overall award in their Science project.
With all the outstanding Sporting Achievements of 2015 it was essential to culminate the year with a presentation night to celebrate what was an unbelievable year of success. This night highlighted the participation and success of all the children in the various sporting events. I
t also gave the children an opportunity to meet three inspirational Roscommon Sports personalities Diarmuid Murtagh, Naos Connaughton and Liam Kilcline who also presented them with their gaelic football and hurling medals. Andy Thubron presented the soccer medals. .
