Summerhill College

Senior Gaelic tean win Connacht League
The long awaited Connacht College’s Senior A League final took place on Wednesday May 11th. Summerhill College were once again pitted against St. Jarlath’s of Tuam. Mr Conneely’s charges went into the game in relaxed mood but were still anxious to gain revenge for the provincial championship final in which they felt they underperformed.

Summerhill competed from the start and thanks in large part to a goal from Eoin Doherty Summerhill went in on level terms with St. Jarlath’s. Despite the fact that they were playing into a strong win in the second half the Summerhill boys put in an amazing team performance to pull away from the Tuam kingpins. Patrick Heraghty scored two goals in the second half The final scoreline of 3-6 to 0-10, while convincing did not in any way flatter Summerhill.

This was history in the making as it was the first time for Summerhill to win the Senior A League title. Congratulations to each member of the squad on a marvellous campaign and to the team’s coaches, Mr. David Conneely and the ever present Mr. Liam óg Gormley.

Golfers just miss out on All-Ireland Final
A gallant Summerhill Golf team were defeated in the All-Ireland schools semi- final which took place in Seapoint Golf Club, Co. Louth on April 19th. Summerhill were pitted against De la Salle Waterford in the semi-finals. The game was a very close and competitive affair, with the result being decided by play on the final hole of the final game.

The Summerhill team featured Darragh O’ Sullivan, Thomas Finnegan, Declan Reidy, Ruairi O’ Connor and Alan Gaynor.

Darragh O Sullivan and Thomas Finnegan were beaten in their games while Declan Reidy and Ruairi O Connor won their games.
In the final game Alan Gaynor was defeated by a birdie 4 on the par 5 for Summerhill to lose 3/2

Manager of the team was Mr. Donal Cronin. Mr Cronin and the boys were very smartly turned out for the event in gear supplied by EJ Fashion, Grattan Street, Sligo

Graduation Mass
The Graduation Mass for the Leaving certificate Class of 2011 will be celebrated in Father Flanagan Hall on Thursday night May 19th. The mass is the centre piece of a night of speech making, celebration and nostalgia. It is seen as a formal farewell from the school to the departing students . Such a night of nostalgic recollection mingled with a sense of excitement at the start of a new era in the lives of the students always guarantees a huge attendance..

The Graduation Ball takes place at the end of summer and the organisation of this event is already at an advanced stage.

Construction and Demolition
Staff and students returning after the Easter holidays were met a very changed landscape in Summerhill. The work includes excavation work on the foundations of the new building project as well as demolition on the opposite side of the road.

The ball alleys, which had been an iconic feature of the college campus for generations of students had been levelled to make room for the foundations of the

temporary accommodation block. The gateway to the old building has been considerably extended to make room for the big lorries and construction equipment, which will be using the access point during the construction process. Arrangements are being made for the decamping from the main classroom block, which will be demolished after the state examinations are completed.

International Surfers
Congratulations to David Gaynor, Louis Martin and Gearóid Mc Daid, who have qualified to represent Ireland in under 16 and 18 in the world surfing championships in Punta Hermousa, Peru from the 16th to the 31st of May 2011.
It is a great honour for the students and all three have been involved in the school Surf club with Mr. Tuohy.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Auditions are being held for roles in next year’s production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. The musical will be a joint production between Summerhill College and Mercy College. The indefatigable Mr. Fintan Whelan will again be central to another stage show and his expertise and passion will ensure that the show will be well worth the entrance fee.

Boxing Connacht Champions
Summerhill Boxing Club may only be a couple of years in existence but it has certainly assisting in furthering great talent in the college. This year three students have won provincial titles
Jonathan Sweeney13 kg
Michael Sweeney under 13 33 kg
Thomas Myers Under 12 33kg

Well done to the boys. It is good to know that all the hard training has paid off. All three have been working with Mr. Convey and Mr. Stephen Reynolds as top up for their training.

First Year Basketball.
On Friday May 6th, the First Year Basketball travelled to Limerick to attempt to qualify for the All-Ireland finals of the First year Inter –School’s competition. The journey was well worth the trip as our First Years won their games and thus qualified for the All-Ireland finals.

Well done to the boys and to their mentors, Mr. John Moran and Ms. Eimir Murphy.

Europe Day
Well done to First year student James Morris on winning the CSPE poster competition to mark Europe Day .

Derrygonnelly Trip
Fourth Year Biology students enjoyed a very interesting and productive outing to Derrygonnelly Field Studies Centre in Co Fermanagh on May 16th.