Congratulations to our boys and girls who made their Confirmation on Saturday.

All is not well in the castle as Christmas draws near. The queen is a diva who looks down on the king and is always giving out to her ladies-in-waiting. Sometimes she gets so angry that she loses her mind and feels the sky is falling in.

The king and his friends are unhappy as royals and much prefer the open road and performing in theatres around the kingdom. A reporter from the Daily Star is sent to investigate. Can anyone restore the Christmas spirit and transform the king and queen?

Some angels may be able to help.

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On Wednesday last, September 28th, the girls’ football team won the South Mayo Mini-7 final for the first time as a stand-alone team. The competition was held in the dome at the Connacht Centre of Excellence and the teams taking part included Ballyhaunis, Gortskehy, Irishtown/Meelickmore (Group A); Bekan, Balla, Aghamore (Group B); Ballindine, Knock, Mayo Abbey, Gaelscoil Uileog de Búrca (Group C); Barnacarroll, Taugheen, Tooreen, Claremorris boys/girls (Group D).

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Gortskehy overcame Ballyhaunis and Irishtown/Meelickmore to meet Balla, as the winners of Group B, in the semi-final. Barnacarroll and Knock faced off in the other semi-final with Gortskehy and Knock progressing to the final stage.

Grace played fantastic in goal, making a number of key saves at crucial times in the game. Aoife and Sorsha commanded the back line while Faye & Alaois were excellent in mid-field. Alaois fielded some superb high balls matched with fine scores while Faye’s relentless marking of Knock’s key player was instrumental in Gortskehy gaining the upper hand.

The movement of Holly H on the forward line left her marker struggling to keep up and unable to prevent Holly taking a number of excellent scores. Holly M gathered a number of key balls, laying them off to our runners, and taking some fine scores herself, rasping the crossbar on one occasion. Gortskehy ran out winners on a scoreline of 7-7 to 4-4. Niamh, Aoibhinn and Alisha completed the panel but, because of age limits in this competition, they couldn’t join the field of play on the day.

The girls will now represent South Mayo in the County Quarter Finals in November. The last time the school enjoyed such success at this level was in March 2012 when an amalgated team of Gortskehy/Meelickmore won the South Mayo Final. The Gortskehy panel at that time included, Nicola Hession, Diane Tierney, Orla Beddows, Marie Mulhern, Amy Frizzell, Rachel Hession and Rebecca Flanagan. A video of that presentation can be viewed here.

We cannot forget the boys who were also group winners, defeating Ballyhaunis and Irishtown/Meelickmore before meeting Balla and being beaten by the narrowest of margins in the semi-final (5-6 to 5-7). Following their win, Balla went on to overcome the Gaelscoil in the boys’ final. Our boys didn’t let their disappointment impact the joy and celebrations led by the girls. We are so proud of them all. It was a fantastic achievement and we look forward to the county finals in a few weeks’ time.

For the first time since 2017 Garrymore look forward to a Senior County Semi Final against Knockmore which takes place this Saturday, November 6th, at 7pm in the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence, Bekan. Best of luck to Harry and Patrick’s dad, Brian, who plays in goal and past pupils Justin Commins, Patrick Hession, Jamie Hession, Caolan Crowe, David Dolan, Mark Tierney and Enda Hession. Go n-éirí libh!

Creative Schools Week is a celebration of creativity in schools which includes both In-School Celebrations and Online Celebrations. The week is an opportunity to share, showcase, and connect all the exciting creative work that is being undertaken in participating schools around the country.

Gortskehy NS was selected to participate in the pilot phase of Creative Schools in 2018 and since then, we have have enjoyed many opportunities for our pupils to build their artistic and creative skills; to communicate, collaborate, stimulate their imaginations, be inventive, and to harness their curiosity.

This year, our school submission, featuring the 3rd and 4th class radio show was selected by the Arts Council to feature in the 2021 Creative Schools Online Celebrations.

The Online Celebrations will feature on the Art’s Council website here, from  Wednesday May 12th to Friday, May 14th.   Gortskehy NS and the Radio Show  will feature in Episode 1, which will launch on Wednesday, May 12th.  We are inviting parents and families to tune in to view the celebration on May 12th. Congratulations to Ms. Thomas and the talented pupils of 3rd and 4th class on this fantastic feature –  a wonderful achievement.