Girls Schools League Finals Programme

junior and senior girls schools
league finals
wednesday, 6th march
at dexcom stadium

fáilte go dtí
dexcom stadium
Connacht Rugby and Dexcom
announce historic naming
rights partnership

Chair of schools
On behalf of the Connacht Schools committee
it is my great pleasure to welcome everyone
to Dexcom Stadium today for the 2023/24
Connacht Schools’ Cup and League finals.
Dexcom Stadium will play host to11 Connacht
Schools’ Cup and League finals this year. The
number of schools playing rugby in Connacht
continues to grow with 80 boys schools teams
and 41 girls schools teams participating across
18 competitions.
I wish to express my appreciation to all the
principals, teachers, coaches, and staff in
our schools for their continued support of
the game. Your hard work has not gone
unrecognised. I also wish to thank the
members of the Connacht Rugby Schools
Committee for their work and help over the
past year.
If I may, a brief word to those who will be
proudly donning their school jersey for
the final time: this is only the start of a new
journey. Join a local club or university team
next year. The camaraderie and friendships
forged through rugby will endure long after
you have hung up your boots.
in providing referees and other officials,
without whom, we would not have any games.
Therefore, I urge anyone who loves rugby to
consider further contributing to the game by
taking up the whistle.
I know that today’s finals will provide an
exciting conclusion to the season, and
regardless of the results, I hope everyone
thoroughly enjoys the day, creating magic
memories to last a lifetime in the home of
Connacht Rugby.
Ádh mór oraibh go léir,
Jean Mc Connell
Connacht Rugby Chair of Schools
I would like to thank the Association of
Referees Connacht Branch for their dedication

2022/23 Snapshots

Club and Community
A word from Head of Club and
Community, Joe Gorham
Finals Day at the mecca that is
Dexcom Stadium is the pinnacle
of our Club and School players’
ambitions. It is a day of celebration for
the whole of Connacht Rugby.
It is truly a memorable occasion for all
concerned which, undoubtedly, will
be a source of conversation with your
teammates in the many years ahead.
The sport of rugby allows for all our
players to realise the limits of their
ambitions, it allows us to create lifelong
memories, however, most importantly,
it is the maker of lifelong friendships.
There is no better feeling than to lift
a Cup, Plate or Bowl alongside your
teammates while representing your
club or school. It is all about People and
Place.
Sport also reflects life, in that, with
every cup final there must be a winner

and a loser. Regardless of winning
or losing, the hope is that everyone
involved on Finals Days will have a
quality experience on their big day.
The advent of the new pitch at
Dexcom Stadium has allowed Club
and Community the opportunity to
host additional Cup and League Finals
(male and female/Club & School)
this season. In fact, we are hugely
excited to host over 40 Club & School
finals over the course of the next few
months.
Volunteers, Coaches and Managers
to get you to this day. Volunteers
are the life-blood of our sport and it
would be remiss of me, on this day of
celebration, not to say a huge thank
you to each and every Club & School
Volunteer for the magical work you
put in day in and day out for the cause
that is rugby in Connacht.
Finally, we at Club & Community
rugby wish all our finalists and their
loyal supporters the very best of luck
on the day.
On Finals Days, we must never
forget the huge amount of work and
personal sacrifice put in by all the
Connacht Abú.

Junior girls schools League Final
Referees: Mark Callanan
sacred heart school westport

Junior girls schools League Final
Referees: Mark Callanan
Convent of Mercy Roscommon

MANAGEMENT teams
Margaret Martin
Teacher/facilitator
Clarie Coghlan
Coach
David Conway
Coach
Des Reidy
Coach
micheál glennon
Coach
dave purcell
Coach
Grace Keenan
Teacher/facilitator
Kathryn Finn
Teacher/facilitator

school Well-wishes!
sacred heart school MESSAGE
“We are so proud of our junior team for the strength
and courage they‘ve shown in this competition. We
are grateful to the teachers and the coaches involved
for the support and encouragement they‘ve shown the
girls. All of SHS Westport are behind you girls, best of
luck to all the team!“
convent of mercy MESSAGE
“The School is very proud that both our Junior and
Senior Girls teams have qualified for the Connacht
Girls 10’s finals in Dexcom Stadium.
We wish all the Players and Coaches the very best of
Luck. May your determination, Teamwork and skills
shine on the pitch. Play your hearts out and most
importantly enjoy the moment!”

Senior girls schools League Final
Referees: katie kilbane
mount saint michael claremorris

Senior girls schools League Final
Referees: katie kilbane
Convent of Mercy Roscommon

management teams
Williams Ganley
Director of Rugby
Brendan Hession
School Mentor
Stephanie Hogan
School Mentor
dave purcell
Coach
micheál glennon
Coach
siobhan purcell
Coach
Grace Keenan
Teacher/facilitator
Kathryn Finn
Teacher/facilitator

school Well-wishes!
Mount Saint Michael school MESSAGE
“Mount Saint Michael Claremorris wishes to thank
everyone for their continued support of rugby
in the school. The school is very proud of all our
junior and senior players and we look forward to
a great final today!“
convent of mercy MESSAGE
“The School is very proud that both our Junior and
Senior Girls teams have qualified for the Connacht
Girls 10’s finals in Dexcom Stadium.
We wish all the Players and Coaches the very best of
Luck. May your determination, Teamwork and skills
shine on the pitch. Play your hearts out and most
importantly enjoy the moment!”

finals preview
This Wednesday, 6th March sees the
next day of Club and Schools finals
in Dexcom Stadium. The Junior Girls
Schools League Final will take place at
11:00 AM followed by the Senior Girls
Schools League Final at 1:00 PM.
The first final of the day is the Junior
Girls Schools League Final which will
see Sacred Heart School Westport take
on The Convent of Mercy Roscommon.
The Convent of Mercy will see both of
their Junior and Senior Girls Schools
teams in the finals. With a standout
League campaign so far and three
for three wins, The Convent of Mercy
will be looking to make it a clean slate
with a win in the final. Winning against
Carrick CS, Calasanctius Oranmore, and
Abbey CC saw them straight through
to the final. However, Sacred Heart
School won’t make it that easy for the
experienced side. With an incredibly
impressive performance in the Junior
League campaign, their only loss was
to St. Mary’s Ballina where they fell by a
mere 2 points. After a 61-0 win against
last year’s Junior Schools winners, The
Convent Claremorris (Mount St. Michael),
they faced Gort CS in their League Semi-
Final in Gort where they won 24-15 to
see them into the final.

These two sides are both incredibly
talented Junior Schools teams and all
of their hard work and the hard work
by the coaches and teachers on and off
the pitch have led them to Dexcom this
coming Wednesday. As these teams
haven’t met before, it’s going to be a
thriller of a final and is either teams’ to
win. The Junior Girls Schools League
Final is at 11:00 AM on Wed, 6th March
in Dexcom Stadium.
The second, and last, final of the day will
see a rematch of last year’s Senior Girls
Schools final between The Convent of
Mercy Roscommon and The Convent
Claremorris (Mount St. Michael). This is
going to be an amazingly competitive
clash between two very strong sides
who are by no means strangers. The
Convent of Mercy won last year’s Senior
Girls Schools League Final against
The Convent Claremorris in Dexcom
Stadium. They have won all of their
League matches to date this season,
producing wins over St. Mary’s Ballygar
and Athlone CC to see them into the
Semi-Final this past Monday against a
strong Ballinrobe CS team where they
won 35-19. The Convent Claremorris have
also had an impressive League campaign
to date with wins over Calasanctius
Oranmore and Dunmore CS before facing
Mercy College Sligo in the Semi-Final in
what proved to be their closest contest
yet. The Convent Claremorris were able
to claim the victory with a scoreline of
22-12 and are ready to face their old rivals
in Dexcom this Wednesday. The Senior
Girls Schools League Final is at 1:00 PM on
Wed, 6th March in Dexcom Stadium.
Fans are encouraged to buy their tickets in
advance as all 2024 finals will be cashless.
Tickets can be purchased here.

Upcoming Finals
WEDNESDAY, 13th MARCH
11am: Junior boys a schools cup FINAL
1:00pm: senior boys C schools cup FINAL
3:30pm: senior boys b schools cup FINAl
6pm: senior boys a schools cup FINAl
SUNDAY, 24th MARCH
11am: bank of ireland Men’s Junior Plate FINAL
1:30pm: bank of ireland MEN’S Junior Cup Final
SUNDAY, 7th April
11am: bank of ireland Women’s Plate Final
1:30pm: bank of ireland Women’s cup final