Sports

Integral to our philosophy

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.

Extra-Curruicular Schedule

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 Kate O’Flaherty who has amassed great experience in developing and administering successful sports programs through her roles as a coach, player 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. We also offer a wide range of sports in the summer term in both a competitive and social setting.

Hockey

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. Alan Sothern was appointed as Director of Hockey in 2024.

Alan, an Irish Olympian and European bronze medalist, amassed 187 caps for Ireland as a player, scoring 78 goals and was a member of the Ireland men’s squad for over a decade. Alan spent time playing and coaching across Europe during this time, with periods in the top leagues in both Belgium and Holland and brings a wealth of knowledge of top-level hockey to Killiney.

Alan has coached in the EYHL men’s division 1 for the past 5 seasons. 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.

The Minor hockey team won the minor cup in 2024/25 and as a result, represented Leinster in the June Smith Championship in April 2025. HCK proudly hosted this event and the girls performed exceptionally well to take home the bronze medal on the day.

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 predominantly 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 technical and tactical development, with a focus on individual and team development, with having fun and keeping fit being at the core of what we do at all times.

Basketball

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.

With the appointment of Kate O’Flaherty as the new Director of Basketball in 2021, the programme has continued to grow from strength to strength.

Kate is a fully qualified coach completing her undergraduate degree in Sports Management & Coaching with a masters in Sports Performance Analysis and is currently playing in the top league in Ireland and 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 Dublin League.

We currently have 3 teams at each age group with 3 Senior teams, 3 Cadette (3rd & 4th Years), 3 Junior (2nd Years) and 3 Minor (1st Year) teams.

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

With Kate leading a team of 7 qualified basketball coaches, all our teams get expert coaching with an emphasis on enjoyment/ participation while focusing on skill development.

    • 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.

    • Minor A Team – League Semi Finalists

    • Minor B Team – League Quarter Finalists

    • Junior A Team – League Semi Finalists (Undefeated in pool stages)

    • Cadette A Team – League Quarter Finalists (Undefeated in pool stages)

    • Cadette B Team – League Quarter Finalists

    • Senior A Team – League Semi Finalists

    • Senior B Team – League Quarter Finalists

    • Senior C Team – League Quarter Finalists

Athletics

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. Training takes place in both HCK campus and Kilbogget Park using their track facilities and the park to replicate the cross country environment seen for races.

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 Leinster Preseason Open, East Leinster Track and field events and qualifying for the Leinster and All Irelands later in the year.

Our 1st and 2nd years also 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 Ellen McNally, who graduated from HCK in 2021 who is a former Senior All Ireland Champion in Triple Jump and Long Jump.

  • 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. In 2024, broke the Irish Indoor 3000m record in Metz and Irish Indoor 1500m record in Lievin. More recently winning gold for the 3000m at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands and placing 10th in the world in the 1500m World Athletics Championships final in Tokyo in August.

    • BlackrockCross Country Open – Minor A team 1st place

    • Brother’s Schools Cross Country Race – Minor A team 1st place (Robyn Kennedy 1st overall & Laragh Coughlan 3rd place overall out of 150 girls)

    • East Leinster’s CC Championships – Robyn Kennedy (2nd place) & Laragh Coughlan (11th place), both qualified for Leinster’s. Minor B team came 2nd place and Junior B team came 3rd place.

    • Leinster CC Championships – Robyn Kennedy (6th place) & Laragh Coughlan (16th place). Robyn qualified for All Ireland’s where she came in joint 6th place.

    • East Leinster’s Track & Field Championships – Robyn Kennedy (Minor 800m) & Amy Kieran (Junior Javelin) both qualified for Leinster’s Track & Field Championships. Robyn finished in 4th place narrowly missing out on All Irelan qualification.

    • Tony Ward T&F Event – Ciara Burns (2nd place discuss) & Robyn Summerbell (1st place high jump).

Tennis

With the arrival of the summer term, HCK’s 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 8 Minor Teams, 3 Junior and 2 Senior Teams entered into leagues, while many other players enjoyed fun social tennis in the afternoons.

The 2024-25 season was a successful one for our teams with the Minor A team winning the Minor A league for the third time in the past five years.

This was followed up by the Junior As who won the Junior A league. The Junior Bs also had a strong campaign, losing out in the Semi Finals while the Minor Bs got to the Quarter Finals.

Equestrian

Holy Child Killiney has a long standing tradition of excellence in equestrian sport, with pupils competing at national level across Equestrian Interschools Ireland, Dressage Ireland, Show Jumping Ireland, Eventing Ireland, and Irish Pony Club competitions.

Representing HCK in Equestrian Interschools Ireland, Kitty Moran competed in the 2024 National Finals at Coilóg following strong placings at the Boswell and Mullingar qualifiers. This year, pupils including Kitty Moran and Chloe Lalloo continue to represent the school in interschools competitions.

Beyond school representation, HCK riders excel across all disciplines. In 2024 and 2025, Maddie Sinclair competed in numerous Dressage Ireland competitions in the South East Region, achieving multiple top three placings on a range of young and experienced horses.

In both 2024 and 2025, Chloe Lalloo competed at the Dublin Horse Show, and in 2025 represented Bray Pony Club at the Irish Pony Club National Tetrathlon Championships in Punchestown.

From Pony Club to prestigious national venues, HCK's riders continue to build on a proud legacy of skill, commitment, and achievement.

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.

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

  • MAEVE DONAGH (2K)

    • 2025 Irish Sailing Youth National Champion

    • 2025 Irish Optimist National Champion

    • 2025 Irish Optimist Rankings — Ranked #2 in Ireland

    • 2025 Irish Optimist National Team Racing Champion (with sisters Lily, Emily & Kate)

    • 2025 Irish Optimist Leinster Champion

    • 2025 Irish Optimist Connacht Championships — 2nd

    • 2025 Irish Optimist Munster Championships — 2nd

    • 2025 British Optimist National Championships — 1st Girl

    • 2025 Optimist World Championship — Selected for IRL Worlds Team; represented Ireland in Slovenia

    • 2025 RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup — Invited to compete for Ireland in Bermuda

    • 2025 Irish Sailing Junior Champions’ Cup — Selected to represent the Optimist class

    EMILY DONAGH (2H)

    • 2025 Irish Optimist Rankings — Ranked #1 in Ireland

    • 2025 Irish Optimist Connacht Champion

    • 2025 Irish Optimist Munster Champion

    • 2025 Irish Sailing Youth Nationals — 2nd

    • 2025 Irish Optimist National Championships — 2nd

    • 2025 Irish Optimist Leinster Championships — 2nd

    • 2025 UK Spring Championships — 1st Girl

    • 2025 Irish Optimist National Team Racing Champion (with sisters Lily, Maeve & Kate)

    • 2025 Optimist World Championship — Selected for IRL Worlds Team; represented Ireland in Slovenia

    • 2025 RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup — Invited to compete for Ireland in Bermuda

    • 2025 Irish Sailing Junior Champions’ Cup — Selected to represent the Optimist class

    LILY DONAGH (3K)

    • 2025 Irish Optimist Rankings — Ranked #3 in Ireland

    • 2025 Optimist World Championship — Selected for IRL Worlds Team; represented Ireland in Slovenia

    • 2025 Irish Optimist National Team Racing Champion (with sisters Maeve, Emily & Kate)

    • 2025 Irish Sailing Youth Nationals — 3rd

    • 2025 Irish Optimist National Championships — 3rd

    • 2025 Irish Optimist Leinster Championships — 3rd

    • 2025 Irish Optimist Connacht Championships — 3rd

    AMY KIERAN (3K)

    has been selected to the Irish Sailing ILCA4 Squad. The squad is part of the Performance Pathway which is the Irish Sailing Association's Olympic talent pipeline 

    The squad will be training for the EurILCA Europa Cup, held in Portimao, in Portugal in March next year.

    The sailing programme involves 4 weeks of training camps over the coming months in Dublin, Cork, Portugal and Spain, as well as sailing several times a week and weekly fitness classes.

    In addition to sailing techniques, the programme will develop strength & condition, nutritional competencies and sports psychology.

  • Shanahan Cup Racing Event 2025 - (after two series) 1st team came 7th, 2nd team came 9th overall out of 18 teams competing.

Swimming

All of the current swimmers on the swim team swam at National level this year in University of Limerick and The National Aquatic Centre in July. 

The swim team represented HCK in the Leinster Senior Schools Championships with the team going on to represent HCK in the National Relay Championships. This was the first time in HCK history for the swim team!!