Sports

In St Patrick’s all of our staff and pupils are acutely aware of the hugely important role sporting participation has in the development of a child. To this end, we endeavour to promote the active engagement by all our students in as many sports as possible.

We have a fine array of past pupils who have gone onto great success on the sports fields of Ireland and elsewhere. These include All Ireland senior hurling winners Sean Óg Farrell and Cillian Farrell and All Ireland minor hurling winner and Leinster senior football winning captain Finbarr Cullen. In more recent years Lee Pearson and Briain Nolan, both of whom won All Ireland U20 football titles with Offaly have passed through our doors and Lee is the current Offaly senior football captain. But it’s not only GAA superstars who have studied in our school – current Ipswich Town professional footballer Edwin Agbaje and current Leinster and Ireland U18 rugby player Paidi Farrell are past pupils.

With Edenderry’s proud GAA history linked to our school we are proud to participate in both Offaly Cumann na mBunscol hurling and football championships. Our boys football team plays its championship during Term 1 and is managed by Mr Murphy and we have won numerous championships in Group A which is the top tier of Offaly primary school football. Our girls football team was entered into Cumann na mBunscol competitions in 2024 for the first time and has been a fantastic addition to the school. Our school hurling team participates in its championship over Term 2 and Term 3 and is managed by Mr Ryan and Mr Murphy. We are the current Cumann na mBunscol Hurling Champions. We also run our now famous school leagues for camogie/hurling and football/ladies football. Our camogie/hurling champions receive the Pat Nolan Cup while our football winners receive the John Blong Trophy. These leagues are organised by Mr. Ryan and are a huge hit with our students. Coupled with all this all our students receive GAA coaching from Edenderry GAA Games Promotion Officer, current Offaly footballer and former student Cian Farrell.

In co-operation with Edenderry and Leinster RFC we are delighted to offer our students coaching sessions in tag rugby which proves hugely popular with all our students

 Aquatics is also high on our list of priorities and our students avail of  kayak lessons on the Grand Canal .

 Our school soccer team has gone from strength to strength in recent years and it’s popularity is such that we now enter three teams into the FAI primary schools soccer competition.

 Over recent years we have had amazing success with our athletics team including wins at the Offaly Cross Country Championships, Offaly Track and Field Championships (Colin Dunne Cup) and the Offaly Sports hall Championships. We have also tasted national success in Athlone IT at the All Ireland Intercultural Championships and All Ireland Track and Field. These teams are ably taken care of by Ms. Tyrrell and Mr Ryan

And one of the highlights of the year is our now famous Active Week which incorporates all our Sports Days which takes place during Term 3. All the children take part in a huge variety of races ranging from Sack Races to Find the Slipper to Obstacle Races.

 Clearly here in St Patrick’s we love our sports!