Liam McCarthy at the Ursuline
Many thanks to Thurles Sars and Tipperary All-Ireland winning captain Ronan Maher and his club and county team mate Darragh Stakelum for bringing the Liam McCarthy Cup to the Ursuline on Tuesday, 30 September. They got a rousing welcome from all the girls and staff and also dropped in to the sports hall to meet the cast of Legally Blonde, who were in the middle of a rehearsal for this year’s school show. Ms Hogan, Manager of the Ursuline Camogie teams, thanked Ronan, Darragh and John Connors for bringing the Liam McCarthy Cup to the school. She spoke about the excitement of All Ireland Final days, going to support the team with family, precious memories for many a childhood, including her own. Ronan Maher encouraged the students to keep doing what they loved, whether that was sport, music, academics or art. He told them once they put hard work into it and have a bit of resilience they will get places. Thanks to the two players who signed jerseys and stood in for photos afterwards, with everyone delighted to get their picture taken with Ronan, Darragh and Liam.
Ursuline Show 2025 Legally Blonde
Rehearsals are in full swing for this year’s Ursuline School Musical, Legally Blonde. It promises to be a fun, lively evening of entertainment. The cast of around 230 students will be turning the Sr Ursula Memorial Hall into Harvard Law School for six performances. Tickets are on sale on line at www.gr8events.ie/legallyblonde.uct for the evening shows happening on Saturday, 18 October, Sunday, 19 October, Tuesday, 21 October with the final night on Thursday, 23 October. They are selling fast so early booking is advised.
Gymnastics
Gymnasts from the Ursuline were honoured to be invited to the Presentation Secondary School in Clonmel this week to participate in the Remembering Grace Competition in memory of their past pupil Grace McSweeney. The girls performed their routines with poise and pizazz, with some the UCT team being among the medal winners. Well done to Scarletta Spalvina, Kate Maher, Marta Mendez, Christina Kelly, Oonagh Richardson, Sadhbh Elebert and Sally Duggan who represented the Ursuline.
Senior Football
Congratulations to the Senior Football team who beat the Presentation Thurles last week in the first round of the Munster A Championship. They came away with a 4-13 to 3-4 win. Sophie Coughlan and Ellen Ryan, Sixth Year, were joint captains on this occasion. Sophie created numerous chances from wing-back while Ellen finished with a personal tally of 0-4. This is a super start to the season from the Senior Football panel. Next the Ursuline will go up again Limerick side St John the Baptist. Other scorers on the day included Alice Butler 1-3, Caoimhe Stakelum 1-2, Claire Fitzgerald 1-0, Órla Pamplin 1-0, Ciara Collins 0-2, Sophie Coughlan 0-1 and Amy O’Connor 0-1.
Junior Football
The Ursuline Junior 2 Footballers were impressive last week against STN Doon in their first group game of the Munster Championship. Áine Browne captained with Abigail Agar, Lara Shanahan and Grace Fennelly all raising the green flag in the first half. Meadbh Lonergan was impressive at centre back while Emer Purcell, Shona Murray and Aifric Mockler set up lots of attacks. This team will now face St Anne’s, Tipp Town in their next game. Top scorers for UCT on the day were Abigail Agar 2-4, Lara Shanahan 2-1, Anna Doyle 0-3, Grace Fennelly 1-0, Isabel Ralph 0-2, Aifric Mockler 0-1, Lily Hogan 0-1 and Phoebe Ryan 0-1. Well done to Mr McLoughlin and Ms McGrath who are training LGFA in the Ursuline again this year.
Camogie
The Ursuline Junior Camogie team were out last week in the first round of the Munster A Championship. They played Cashel and many thanks to Thurles Sarsfields for the use of their facilities for this home fixture. The UCT girls played some lovely camogie and were delighted to bag a win at this early stage. It gives them a boost as they continue with the rest of their group games.
Rugby
The Ursuline U14 Rugby players had a brilliant development day out in Fethard playing fellow Tipp schools Cashel and Fethard. Munster Rugby coaches put the teams through their paces with an excellent skills session for the first hour of the day. Then it was time to put these skills into action on the pitch in some friendly, but competitive games. A particular mention to Abi Callanan and Áine O’Neill, joint captions on the day. This was a great chance for the team to get match fit and ready for the league which starts this month.
Hockey
There was plenty of hockey action in the Ursuline last week. The Ursuline Senior As had an impressive win against Rockwell on Thursday with great pace shown by the players in each quarter. The conditions were wet but the Ursuline girls were undeterred, scoring five goals. Well done to Sixth Years Lilly Kavanagh and captain Chloe Hourigan and Third Year player Emma McDonald who all found the net.
The Ursuline Senior Bs braved the torrents of rain and wind thrown up by Storm Amy on Friday, 3 October to beat of fellow Tipp rivals Loreto Clonmel. Zara Twomey, Faye Delaney, Lilly Duffy and captain Róise Glynn all scored, with every one of the players putting in tremendous performances.
The Minor C1 team got their season off on the right track in their opening game of the year on Wednesday, 1 October. There was plenty of energy, determination and team work on the pitch with incredible goals from Penny Townshend, Kate Duffy, Maria Durkan, Emma Condon and Ava Quirke.
Hockey Coaching Course
Well done to the fifteen Ursuline students who completed their youth leader hockey coaches course with Brendan Woods on Wednesday, 1 October. The girls learned the characteristics of a good coach and how to umpire a match. Brendan took them through planning and running a hockey session and then they got the opportunity to umpire several games, putting the theory into practice. Now they have completed this course they will be able to coach First Year hockey at lunch and help out at First Year games. It is a great bonus to those students who love the game.
TY
Thanks to Helen Campion of Breast Cancer Ireland who spoke to the Ursuline TY classes on Wednesday, 1 October about the importance of regular breast checks and also encouraged them to talk about it at home with their families. Her message was a hopeful one, all about saving lives and catching this particular form of cancer early, when it is very treatable and curable. She spoke to the students about her own survivor story and encouraged them to download breast cancer app which gives reminders for monthly check-ups and instructions on how to do a breast check and what to look for. It was most valuable and informative talk.
Sophie and Adam from the Dublin Barista School were in with the Ursuline TYs on Monday 29 and Tuesday, 30 October teaching them the art of coffee making. They learned a little bit about customer service in a light-hearted, jokey way and also got the opportunity to make either an Americano, a cappuccino, a latte, a mocha or a hot chocolate. It was both yum and fun.
Sara Cassidy Talk
Thanks to Sara Cassidy, head of Clinical Services at Aiséirí who spoke to Senior Cycle students in the Ursuline last week on the topic of addiction and the support services provided by Aiséirí. She told the girls that the approach of Aiséirí is a compassionate one, as when addiction takes hold of a person it defies logic and it is almost impossible for the addict to stop on their own. A well as the initial seven-week detox and treatment programme the service provides a progression programme to get clients back on their feet and help them continue on their road to full recovery. In response to a student question Sara said that alcohol is still the most prevalent drug but that in recent times they have seen much more drug addiction and more women going for treatment. Sara presented her story, the difficulties of addiction and the work of Aiséirí in an honest and warm-hearted way.