Issue link: http://digitaleditions.uberflip.com/i/1172058
34 | AUTUMN 2019 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie SCHOOL FOCUS COLÁISTE ÍOSAGÁIN We were thinking who we could put on her and Niamh was an obvious choice. McLaughlin literally just scored from frees, Niamh just marked her out of it. She was incredible. We were five points down with ten minutes to go and I can still see Niamh turning around and shouting, 'Miss I have to go forward!' She burst through midfield and took a shot on goal, which came back off the post and another girl went in and got a goal out of it and we won the match by three points. With ten minutes to go we were thinking this is nearly done but Niamh just lifted the game, she's just inspirational.' One of the most difficult aspects of being a student is finding the time to get everything in and there's no question that Coláiste Íosagáin encourages girls to continue with sport. A whole school approach is adopted. Ellen remembers around the time of that first All Ireland, a lot of the girls were in 6 th Year. 'It was around the time of the French and German Orals, the teachers came on board and moved around the orals so they got them done earlier in the week. The running joke amongst the students was they could repeat the Leaving Cert but they couldn't repeat an All Ireland Final! Football gave them a balance. While they didn't play as many sports in 6 th Year, a lot of the footballers just played football, but it had them organised. We'd have after school study and they would go in there after their training and get their work done.' Schools are special places. They are a microcosm of society and a unique community and the support they received from their peers makes it easy to see why the school was successful on and off the sports field. Ellen was full of praise for the school community; 'The whole school got behind them [the players]. Over the years we brought busloads of students to the All Ireland Finals. It was just fantastic the support of the whole school. When we won Leinster one of the years, the whole school stood outside to welcome us back.' However, what marked these five players out as special was their loyalty. 'The girls were so loyal to the school. They came back to train the team. I remember Niamh coming back when she was in first year in college, saying she just wanted to help out; just to say thank you to the school. She didn't want payment, she didn't want anything, she just wanted to give back. At another stage, Aoife Ní Cathain also came back to the team to help out, she has younger sisters in the school. She turned to the team and advised, 'use the Irish, that's our advantage, make sure you are speaking Irish.' With the 20x20 campaign heavily promoting female participation and recognition in sport, what is the future for ladies football in Coláiste Íosagáin? Ellen admits that things aren't as good as they once were; 'Things go in rotation. The teams aren't as strong as they were. But there are new kids coming in and there's such great inspiration there. They have a lot to look up to. There's a great tradition and students know that when you pull on the Íosagáin jersey, you give 110%.' Clockwise from top left: Coláiste Íosagáin SS Stillorgan fans. 2 Éabha Ruitléis, Coláiste Íosagáin. 3 Coláiste Íosagáin SS Stillorgan manager Ellen NicPhiarais. "She burst through midfield and took a shot on goal, which came back off the post and another girl went in and got a goal out of it and we won the match by three points."