PRES GIRLS WIN ALL-IRELAND

I DON’T know if anyone in Castleisland ever did a head count on the amount of locals in possession of All-Ireland medals in the region. It is a count that would have to be updated on a very regular basis as the second level schools in town just keep coaching and encouraging their pupils to be the best they can be. And their best is usually head and shoulders above the opposition from all corners of the country. The wonderful thing about the school teams is that they involve students from this and surrounding parishes. The latest crop of All-Ireland winners are from St. Joseph’s Presentation Secondary School and their coach, John Enright. Coaches get medals also and John Enright surely holds an Irish record with his collection of 21. Congratulations to Mr. Enright and his 2017 crop of heroines and they are as follows: Marilyn Cahill, Kayla O’Connor, Gemma Kearney, Emma O’Regan, Orla O’Sullivan, Millie Luck, Joyce O’Connor, Brid Moriarty, Grainne Walsh and Aine Sheehan. Presentation Castleisland: 48 – Scoil Chriost Rí Portlaoise: 41 The journey home to Kerry may be long, but it was all the more sweet for Presentation School, Castleisland on Wednesday evening, as they romped home to a 48-41 victory over Scoil Chriost Ri, Portlaoise. MVP Kayla O’Connor was the star of the Kingdom’s show, as she drove her side forward from the front, with a massive work rate at both ends of the court to see her nailing 14 points for her side and winning a number of offensive and defensive rebounds. Indeed, it was a superb team performance all round from Castleisland, with Gemma Kearney, Aine Sheehan, Millie Luck, Brid Moriarty and Joyce O’Connor also working hard throughout the game. They ensured that once Presentation went into the lead in the last quarter, they kept a firm grip on it. A fast-paced first quarter got proceedings underway, as both sides threw everything they had at each other to try and assert dominance over the game’s pace. Portlaoise’s Sarah Fleming, Jasmine Burke and Ciara Byrne worked hardest for them early on, getting the scores in well and setting up some brilliant offensive moves to leave just two between the sides at the end of the first, 12-14 in favour of Portlaoise. Nothing could separate the sides in the second quarter, as this was a quarter where defence reined supreme, with scores at a premium. Both teams managed to just net five point each before the break to leave it extremely close going into the third quarter. Castleisland began to take the edge in the third quarter, with Moriarty and Kayla O’Connor really stamping their mark on the game – adding in some crucial scores to give them a two-point lead going into the last. A nail-biting eight minutes ensued, as reigning Cup champi- ons, Portlaoise, tried to get a foothold back on the scoring, but despite a superb display from Fleming and Dooley for Portlaoise, Kearney, O’Connor and Moriarty just had too much for them to run out seven point winners in the end. Presentation Castleisland: Marilyn Cahill, Kayla O’Connor (14), Gemma Kearney (12), Emma O’Regan (4), Orla O’Sullivan, Millie Luck (2), Joyce O’Connor (6), Brid Moriarty (8), Grainne Walsh, Aine Sheehan (2).

Photograph: Basketball Ireland. The Pres team with Coach, John Enright at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght. Front (from left): Emma O’Regan, Kayla O’Connor, MVP; Millie Luck, Marlyn Cahill and Gemma Kearney. Back: Coach Enright, Joyce O’Connor, Áine Sheehan, Gráinne Walsh...