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The Winner of the Small Primary School Award is Scoil Mhuire, Doire Beaga, Gweedore22/23 was a momentous year for the school, with both the Girls’ and Boys’ teams being crowned Cumann na mBunscol Division 4 winners on the same day.All classes are very active with encouragement and participation in sport central in the school’s culture. Classes engage in a full and varied PE curriculum, giving children the opportunity to try out various sports. The school is inclusive and their new students from Ukraine are encouraged to participate. Some of them have really taken to Gaelic Games and played for the school team in local blitzes.
34.
The Winner of the Large Primary School Award is St. Aengus N.S., Bridgend. St. Aengus’s had a great year enjoying a lot of success particularly in the Cumman na Bunscoil competitions. There they won both the Girls and Boys Division 1 County Finals along with the Division 1 Girls Camogie title. They also won the County Indoor Hurling Final. In athletics they picked up multiple medals at the Inishowen Cross-Country Finals. Every year the school hosts an Active School Week where the pupils get exposure to a wide range of sports including rugby, rounders, Tug of War, Karate, Boxing and Cricket. Cycling Ireland visits the school every year to teach the pupils bike road safety. They also have pupils who participate in the Interschools Equestrian competition.
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The Winner of the 2023 Best Sports Teacher at Primary School level is Ciaran Gallagher, Scoil Naomh Fiachra, Illistrin.Ciaran has been involved in sport at the school for the past 15 years and rather than list out his achievements here lets pause for a moment to listen to the pupils at the school singing his praises.
36.
The Winner of the 2023 Best Sports Secondary School Award is Loreto Secondary School, Letterkenny.Could I ask a representative from the School to come forward and accept the Award.It truly was a terrific year on the sporting front for Loreto, Letterkenny excelling in an array of sports. It’s their third time to win the Secondary School Award having done so previously in 2011 and 2015. In the academic year 2022/23 there were successes at County, Ulster and National level.Some of the athletic highlights included:- All Ireland schools cross country team silver; All Ireland Schools track and field two gold medals and one bronze. In basketball the girls reached the All Ireland semi final in both the A cup and league competitions.