Holy Child Killiney
Actions Not Words

Sports

Sporting activity has always been an integral part of the Holy Child Killiney philosophy. With the emphasis being on participation rather than competition, every student is encouraged to become involved in at least one sporting activity, and to enjoy the many benefits afforded by participation in sport.

Participation in sporting activity is widely recognised as contributing positively to academic achievement, in addition to increased self-esteem and confidence among students.

As part of a holistic education, HCK values the contribution which sporting participation gives to the students understanding of commitment, accountability, responsibility and sportsmanship - all cornerstones of an all-round education.

Our sports program is headed up by Extra-Curricular Coordinator Simon Lowry who has amassed great experience in developing and administering successful sports programs through his roles as a coach and coach educator. In HCK we offer Hockey, Basketball, Athletics and Tennis (summer term), while also offering more individual options such as Strength and Conditioning Classes and Dance Fit classes for certain years.

Hockey

30-01-2022-CGJ24064-(ZF-7921-73417-1-001).jpg

Hockey has been played at Holy Child Killiney since the school was established in 1947. Based on a strong tradition, improved facilities, and top coaching, HCK has achieved consistent success over the last 15 years and is now recognised as one of the top hockey schools in Leinster. Simon Lowry was appointed to the position of Director of Hockey in 2019 and couples this role with his role as Extra-Curricular Coordinator. Simon has completed a Masters in Coaching Science from UCD and has recently attained one of world hockey’s highest accreditations, the FIH Level 4 and is one of only a handful of coaches in Ireland who has completed the European Top Coach Program, which is run by the European Hockey Federation. In 2023 Simon was appointed as Head Coach of the Irish U18 Girl's Team, having worked as Head Coach of the Irish U16 Boy's from 2018-2020 followed by a three year stint as Head Coach of the U18 Boy's Team. He leads a very strong talented and dedicated coaching team. Over the last number of years, hockey has taken significant steps forward, beginning with reaching the Semi Finals of the Senior Premier League in 2019, which was a first for the school. 2021/22 was an incredible season for the school, with a brand-new state of the art hockey pitch installed. Following this, the Senior Cup Team won the Leinster Senior Cup for the first time in the school's history in front of a crowd of over 700 people in UCD. This win topped off an incredible season for the team, who also won the Claudia Tierney Cup and represented Leinster in the Kate Russell All Ireland Tournament in Galway. The Junior Team reached the final of the Junior Premier League, losing out narrowly in a keenly contested final. The Junior team went one step further in 2022/23 when they beat Wesley in the Junior Premier League final to bring that title home for only the third time in the school's history.

Hockey has 4 Senior, 4 Junior ,4 Minor and 4 First Year teams who all compete in various divisions of the Leinster Schoolgirls League. Matches are played on Saturday and the Senior A team also plays on a Wednesday. All teams train twice a week. Training is focused on a combination of skill acquisition and game-based training, with having fun and keeping fit being at the core of what we do.

JUNIOR HOCKEY RUNNERS UP.jpg

Representative Honours

Over the past number of years HCK has developed a number of players who have represented both Leinster and Ireland, with this number growing significantly since 2019. Emma Russell (Class of 2012) represented Ireland at Senior Level while Emma Mathews (Class of 2015), Abbie Russel, and Laura Noble have all represented Ireland at U21 level. Áine Naughton (Class of 2021) represented Leinster and Ireland at U16 level. In 2020 HCK was the most represented school in Leinster squads with Aliya Davis, Millie Jerman, Rachel Jackson, Cathy Green, and Izzy Napier selected for the U16s while Alex Purcell, Áine Naughton and Sarah McFarland represented the U18s. Similarly in 2021/22, Millie and Aliya were selected for the U16s, and their excellent performances have meant both represented Ireland in the recent 5 Nations Tournament in Holland at Easter. Izzy and Sarah were selected for Leinster U18 while Senior Cup Captain Alex Purcell won the Interpros with Leinster U20s and has recently been called into the Irish U21 panel.

U16 MATCH 1.JPG

2021-22 Season

The Senior 1 Team won the Leinster Senior Cup, Claudia Tierney, and represented Leinster in the Kate Russel All Ireland Tournament. The Junior 1 Team reached the Junior Premier League Final. The Junior 4 Team reached the Semi-Final of the League while the Minor 1 team reached the Quarter Finals of the Cup. The 1st years competed well in both their 8-a-side and 11-a-side matches.

Basketball

BB1.jpg

Basketball has always been a popular sport in Killiney but now even more so with the development of our state of the art sports hall.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Kate O’Flaherty as the new Director of Basketball. Kate is a fully qualified coach completing her undergraduate degree in Sports Management & Coaching with a masters in Sports Performance Analysis. She is currently playing in the top league in Ireland and is a former Irish international. She is excited to steer the sport to even greater success with a talented and dedicated group of coaches.

With over 150 girls playing competitive basketball, HCK teams now compete in the All Ireland League, All Ireland Cup and the South Dublin League.

All our teams training twice a week, with matches being played after school during the week and Saturday mornings.

BB2.jpg

Representative Honours

  • Hannah Murphy, Captain of the HCK Senior Team and Sports Prefect was selected to the Irish u18 squad and Dublin Senior Ladies Team in 2019
  • Hazel Farrelly was selected for the South Dublin Squad in 2020.
  • Isabelle Napier and Hazel Farrelly were selected for the East Region Development Squad in 2019.

Current Basketball Season

  • Basketball has three senior teams, two cadette team, two junior teams and three minor teams.
  • All teams competing at a high level.
  • Senior A reached their league final, All-Ireland Schools Cup quarter-finals and made it into the All-Ireland League Playoffs.
  • Senior B league semi-finalists.
  • Cadette A had an impressive season going undefeated in the pool stages of their league.
  • Junior A league quarter finalists.
  • Minor A league quarter finalists.
  • Minor B reached their league final, an impressive achievement for their first year in competitive basketball.

Athletics

Ath1.jpg

All students are encouraged to participate in Athletics in HCK either in the cross-country events during the Autumn or the East Leinster Track and Field events in Santry during the Summer term.

Training takes place once a week and girls are able to combine this training with their other chosen sports.

In the cross-country season HCK girls participate in the Blackrock Invitational, The DCU Invitational, The East Leinster Cross Country Championships and qualifying for the Leinster and All Irelands later in the year.

In the track and field season in the summer term the girls participate in the East Leinster Track and field events and also the 1st and 2nd years participate in the Tony Ward invitational event in St Gerard’s in May.

We are delighted to have the Veteran HCK coach Rosanna Baker training the girls to great success over the last decade consistently to All Ireland Championships at Cross country and Track and Field.

Helping with Rosanna with Athletic training is one of HCKs outstanding athletes Sarah Healy, who graduated from HCK in 2019 gaining an Athletic Ad Astra to UCD. Sarah was undefeated in all school competitions for Leinster and Ireland at 3000 m from 1st -6th year, also winning double gold at the youth Olympics in 2018. Most recently, Sarah competed in the women’s 1500m at the Toyko Olympics, coming 34th overall.

Ath2.jpg

Current Season

Cross Country

Blackrock Invitational October 2021

  • 1st year group finishing in 2nd place out of all the groups with 80 people competing in the race.
  • 2nd years finished in 1st place out of all the groups with 150 people competing in the race.
  • Notable performances by some of our 1st years Aela Kelly, Emma Kilbride, Isobel Moran, Ellie Begley, Jean McMahon, Martha Moore and Lizzie Hall and our 2nd years Aisling Meehan (who came 1st place in full race), Ciara Kennedy, Ellen Wheatley, Isabella Healy and Shea Lawlor.

East Leinster Championships Phoenix Park January 2022

  • Minor A team – 3rd in race (qualified for Leinster Schools Championships)
  • Minor B team – 1st in race (Ella Molloy 1st place in race)
  • Junior A team – 3rd in race (qualified for Leinster Schools Championships)

Track and Field

Combined Events Competition in Abbotstown October 2021

  • Aela Kelly finishing 11th and Emma Kilbride finishing 15th in Leinster.

East Leinster Championships Santry May 2022

  • Lily Moore - 1st in Junior Javelin and 2nd in Junior Shotput
  • Aisling Meehan - Final in Junior 200m
  • Martha Moore - 2nd in Minor Javelin
  • Ellen McNally - 1st in Senior Long Jump and 1st in Senior Triple Jump

Leinster Championships Santry May 2022

  • Martha Moore – 9th in Minor Javelin
  • Lily Moore – 4th in Junior Shotput and 5th in Javelin
  • Ellen McNally – 1st in Senior Longjump with a PB of 5m 40 and 2nd in Long Jump (qualifying for the All-Ireland Schools Competition)

Ath3.jpgAth4.jpg

Tennis

With the arrival of the summer term, HCK’s 9 tennis courts are filled with tennis players of all standards. With a strong tradition of tennis in the school, HCK has an excellent track record in the Leinster Schools Tennis Leagues.

There was considerable interest in tennis this season, with 5 Minor Teams, 2 Junior and 2 Senior Teams entered into leagues, while many other players enjoyed fun social tennis in the afternoons.

We are delighted to have the experienced former international tennis player and top coach Michelle Bennett to coach our tennis teams.

The 2021-22 season was a successful one for our teams with the Minor A team winning the Minor A league for the first time since 2013. This was followed up by the Junior As who won the Junior B league and the Senior As who came runners up in their league. The Junior Bs also had a strong campaign, losing out in the Semi Finals while the Minor B1s got to the Quarter Finals.

We are lucky to have some top tennis talent within the school with 2nd Years Sophie MacCarthy, Elizabeth O’Donovan and Clara-Michelle Howard all ranked in the Top 15 of their respective age groups nationally.

JUNIOR A TENNIS WINNERS.jpg

Equestrian

HCK has a long history of involvement in equestrian sports, and a very active group of current pupils are participating on teams and as individuals at all major national equestrian events. Many of our junior pupils compete as members of local Pony Club branches including the Bray Hunt Branch, the Wicklow Hunt Branch and others. Some of our Senior Students are competing at a high level with Eventing Ireland and Showjumping Ireland. Past pupil Isabel Fitzpatrick, has represented Ireland and has been placed in many Young Rider Competitions, including at The Dublin Horse Show. Similarly, current pupils Sophie Byrne and Molly Dunne have excelled in Show Jumping Competitions, with Sophie selected to represent Ireland in the European COH Show Jumping event in Holland in 2021.

SHOWJUMPING WINNERS.jpgSOPHIE BYRNE SJ.jpg


The National Interschools Show Jumping League has gradually been established over the last number of years and its popularity is growing yearly, with over 20 league events held each year all over the county. School teams travel from all over Ireland to compete in an “Aga Khan” style team competition. Last year 36 teams were registered to compete in the national interschools. The focus at HCK is generally on league events hosted throughout the year within the greater Dublin/ East Leinster region at venues such as Boswell Equestrian (Ashford), Barnadown (Gorey), Killossery (Swords), Coilog and JAG Equestrian (Kildare). Our team in 2021-22 competed excellently, picking up 1st place in Broadmeadow in February with team members also consistently placing in the individual events.

MOLLY DUNNE SJ.jpg

The competition schedule for The TRI Equestrian League can be found at the following link: http://www.equestrianinterschools.com/calendar.php

Sailing

Sailing is an active extra-curricular activity in HCK. In 2022, the School started it’s first team racing training group with sailors training every Wednesday afternoon from October onwards in Dun Laoghaire harbour. Since then, they have competed in several team racing and single handed sailing events including the Shanahan Cup, the Leinster Schools Team Racing Championships, the Irish Schools Team Racing Championships, the Elmo Cup and the All-Ireland Inter-Schools Championships.

6.jpg

Successes to date include:

  • Quarter finalists in 2022 Shanahan Cup
  • Finalists and third overall at the 2023 Leinster Schools Team Racing Championships
  • Qualified for the 2023 Irish Schools Team Racing Championships
  • First all-girls team and Elmo Plate winners at the 2023 Elmo Cup
  • Winners of the 2023 All Ireland Inter Schools Regatta - Optimist Class

If you would like to join the team, please contact slowry@holychildkilliney.ie

13.jpg

Military Road, Killiney, Co. Dublin
01 2823120
Le Cheile
Enquire
Location
© 2024 Holy Child Killiney