Tuesday & Thursday this week saw the Home of Dublin Hurling awash with the hurlers & camogs of 2nd & 3rd class from 12 local schools taking part in the Kevin’s Back to School Blitz 2022.
Over the course of the 2 days more than 500 children represented their respective schools and battled for the small ball against their neighbours and friends in Dolphin Park. The clash of the ash was loud but the sound of chat & laughter could be heard all across the city. We had help on hand from the Transition Year students of Loreto College & St Louis to referee the games and assist the teams.
None of this would be possible without the hard work and dedication of the teachers & principals in our local schools working every day to incorporate sport & healthy habits into an already packed curriculum. The 13 schools that took part included:
- Canal Way ETNS
- Griffith Barracks
- Harcourt Terrace ETNS
- Harolds X ETNS
- James St
- Loreto College
- Scoil Iosagain
- Scoil Treasa
- St Catherine’s
- St Clare’s
- St Brigids
- Synge St
- Warrenmount
A little known fact is that it was in this same area over 100 years ago that Harry O’Kelly of Kevin’s sparked the growth of underage GAA in Dublin by running schools events in Dolphin’s Barn. Back then the sports on offer included hurling, football and athletics, but the focus was on boys only. It’s great to see Club GPO Paul McManus and legendary coach Jenny Kearns continue with this great tradition and include both boys and girls.
