GAA | Bay Estate NS retain the Na Piarsaigh GFC Holy Family Cup

Thrilling morning of action between three Holy Family schools

The second annual Holy Family Cup, organised by Na Piarsaigh GFC’s Juvenile Committee, took place at the club’s grounds at the Rock Road on Thursday morning.

The competition saw the three schools in the Holy Family Parish — Bay Estate NS, St Joseph’s NS and Gaelscoil Dun Dealgan — all play against each other with the winners receiving the Patsy Clarke Cup, named after one of Na Piarsaigh’s founding members.

All three group matches — and the final itself — proved to be thrilling affairs and the players from each school should be proud of the effort they put into each game.

Game One: Bay Estate NS 2–2 Gaelscoil Dun Dealgan 1–5

Holders Bay Estate NS met Gaelscoil Dun Dealgan in the first match of the day with a great score by Bay Estate’s Sam Phelan and a fine goal by the Gaelscoil’s Dylan O’Neill the highlights of a first half played in torrential rain.

Shane Tracey, who played a starring role for Bay Estate throughout, edged his side in front after the break but Conall Savage, another player who caught the eye, secured a draw for the Gaelscoil with a late goal.

Game Two: St Joseph’s NS 2–2 Bay Estate NS 1–6

Playing their opening game of the day, St Joseph’s NS held a one-point lead against Bay Estate at half-time thanks to a well-taken goal by Charles Barnabus.

A Martin McDonagh goal edged Alan Nelson’s St Joseph’s towards victory but Bay Estate rallied towards the death and another fine effort by Tracey, followed by a Conor Teather free kept them in it.

Johnny Lyons’ side still needed a goal to win it and they booked their place in the final when Tracey powered his way through a number of tackles before shooting low into the net to claim a last-gasp win.

Game Three: St Joseph’s NS 1–2 Gaelscoil Dun Dealgan 3–3

St Joseph’s went into game three needing a win against the Gaelscoil to progress to the final and they started brightly with Barnabus scoring a delightful point.

The Gaelscoil improved in the second-half, however, and when Joshua Boland found the back of the Joe’s net, Fiachra Sheridan’s side turned on the style with Conall Savage helping himself to a brace.

The excellent Hughie McGinley kept the Joe’s in the game with a deserved point before Martin McDonagh added a late goal but it wasn’t enough as the Gaelscoil held on to set up a repeat of the 2016 final.

Final: Bay Estate 5–5 Gaelscoil Dun Dealgan 1–2

Both sides found the net early in the final with Lee Hoey on target for the Gaelscoil but a Shane Tracey goal gave the cup holders a 2–1 to 1–2 lead at the interval.

With Conor Caraher excelling at the back, the Gaelscoil found it hard to make inroads in the second half and Bay Estate punished them with some clinical finishing.

Tracey scored another fantastic goal and added two points for good measure before a couple of late goals by Feidhlim O’Callaghan and Conor Teather put some gloss on the final scoreline.

Bay Estate NS captain, Shane Tracey, received the trophy from Patsy’s wife, Imelda Clarke afterwards while Conor Caraher was awarded the Player of the Tournament. Each player who took part received a medal from Na Piarsaigh chairman Peter Begley and juvenile committee member Lisa Duffy.

Na Piarsaigh’s juvenile committee would like to thank sponsors CX+ Sport, Martin Molloy for the catering and Na Piarsaigh club members for their assistance in the run-up to the competition, organising the games and helping with the clubrooms.

A special word of thanks also to the Clarke Family, referee Brian Brady and the three local schools and their teachers who made the event another huge success. Roll on next year!