Ursuline Concern Debaters through to All Ireland Semi-Final
A huge congratulations to the Ursuline Concern Debating team who have secured a place in the final eight after a quarter-final win on Wednesday, 19 March.
The team of Cáit Browne, Rosie Bradish, Lily Murphy and Bibi Russell proposed the motion, ‘There should be limits to free speech on social media’. It was a gripping debate against a very able Douglas Community School. There were outstanding speeches, given by all speakers, sharp rebuttals, and a lively discussion, that continued after the adjudicators had retired to deliberate.
Special thanks to Trudy Wilson for expertly chairing the debate, Robyn Lee who acted as timekeeper and team mentor Ms Louise Downey.
Ursuline in first ever Junior A All-Ireland Football Final.
The Ursuline Junior A Munster Winners battled again Leinster Champions, Moate Community School on Thursday, 20 March in the School’s first ever A grade All Ireland Football Final. The U16 footballers staged a magnificent display and second half come to go from an 13 point deficit at half time, to within a hair’s breath of the title or in the very least forcing a draw. The team battled hard in the first half against the wind and facing an exceptional Moate side. However, these girls are made of stern stuff and never dropped their heads, even though on the scoreboard it seemed like they had too wide a gap to bridge. When UCT took to the field, after the break, they began to clock up score after score, clawing their way back into the game. By the 46th minute there was just 4 points between the teams. Massive credit to all the Ursuline supporters who were pivotal in encouraging the young players on during this time. However, Moate then struck with a goal to open their lead up again to 7 points. Yet again the Thurles side reduced the margin to 4 until Moate again added on another goal from the minimal chances they were afforded by the Ursuline defence in the second half. The UCT girls responded almost immediately by raising a green, followed by a white flag, to put a goal between the sides. Then the Munster champions went in chase of that equalising score within the last minute of the game but unfortunately could not find it. In the dying minutes the Ursuline Juniors absolutely emptied the tank and died on their shields.
Although it’s the end of the road for this year, it’s been an unbelievable journey for this squad of 46 players They were unbeaten in Munster Championship and were crowned Munster A winners in Fethard. They beat the Connacht champions, High Cross College, in the All Ireland Semi-Final in Banagher. Lastly, they gave one hell of a performance on the biggest stage of all, in the All Ireland A Final in Glenisk O’Connor Park, Tullamore. Thanks to football coaches Mr McLoughlin and Ms McGrath for all their hard work this season with all the teams and the parents, teachers and School Managers for their unwavering support. Finally many thanks to the Breedon Group for their kind sponsorship of training tops for the Junior A Gaelic Football squad in advance of the All-Ireland Football Final. The players were delighted with their new gear ahead of a very historic occasion for both themselves and the Ursuline.
Ursuline Inter Schools Equestrian Competition
It was a very successful St Patrick's Day for UCT Equestrian Teams at the Ursuline Inter Schools Competition held at Ryan’s Tipperary Equestrian Centre in Thurles.
In the Novice, the Blue team came out on top, following a jump off with Presentation Thurles and St Gerard’s, Bray. Well done to Bríd Ryan, Sarah Delaney, Amelia Harold-Barry and Siún Coleman on that win.
In the Open event the UCT entrants came in phenomenal first, second and third place positions. Following a jump off between the teams the outcome was Grace Ormond, Alanna Fagan, Hilary Brannigan and Grace Ryan, finishing in the top spot. Runners up were Bríd Ryan, Sarah Delaney, Susan Brannigan and Rachel Stack. In third place were Brona Keane, Charlotte Roe, Julianna Duffy and Kate Murphy.
A super well done to all of the young riders who took part, along with their ponies and horses. Thanks to Chef d’Equipe Ms Gaynor and Principal Ms Gleeson for her support on the day.
Ursuline students at Young Environmentalist Awards
A huge well done to Ursuline TYs Róise Glynn and Clodagh O’Dwyer, who represented the School at the Young Environmentalist Awards in Cork last week.
They showcased their 2025 BTYSE project ‘The effect of a nature–based intervention on Eco-anxiety and Climate Engagement in TY students’. They have done great work this year in this area of study, drawing some interesting findings and conclusions from their study.
TY
Thanks to Ursuline past pupil and professional make-up artist Erin Hayden who was in School last week to give demonstrations to the TY classes. She showed them how to achieve desired make-up looks and the best ways of keeping their skin, products, brushes and other applicator's in the best possible shape.
Ursuline Fête de la Francophonie
On Friday, 21 March there was a Fête de la Francophonie for First Year French classes, organised by Ms Whelan and the French Department, with valuable help from the French exchange students from the Ursuline sister school in Nantes. To begin with the girls did a general culture quiz that included capital cities of francophone countries, identifying the flag and matching the celebrity to their photo. There was French Music in the background and the students did a word bing challenge, to find the lyrics of Michel Sardou’s Lacs du Connemara. The treasure hunt, culminating in finding the sentence and putting the words in the correct order, brought out the competitive streak in all! Everyone was awarded a Kinder Bueno for their participation, with the winning quiz and treasure hunt teams taking home a bar of Tony’s chocolate or an early Easter egg. There were spot prizes throughout the morning.
Basketball
On Wednesday, 19 March the Ursuline hosted the Tipperary Cup Blitz alongside the Presentation Thurles. UCT had a team playing in the Presentation, and one team playing here in the Sr Angela Sports Hall. Both teams played excellently against a variety of opponents. This concludes the Second Year Basketball season, with all players already excited about next year when they move onto Cadettes. A huge well done on the work ethic and commitment of all Second Year Basketball players throughout the year. Thanks also to all the Baseball coaches in the this year across all age groups, Ms Ryall, Ms Mulqueen, Ms Harney, Ms Keane Butler and external coach Pablo Parra Sanchez.