Congratulations to the Togher N.S. GAA football squad of Alice, Daniel, Fionn, Jason, Kalix, Luka, Muiris, Rachel, Shauna, Shey, Thian and Thomas that won the Sciath na Scol final in Dunmanway today.

The West Cork Sciath na Scol tournament is all about participation and it is designed to allow schools of all sizes to play on an equal footing and to ensure that as many players as possible enjoy game time. The rules of the game have been adapted to ensure that stronger or more experienced players are prevented from dominating the game and to encourage more teamwork and passing. The finals in Dunmanway are always an exciting, colourful event as teams and supporters from all over West Cork arrive to participate in the games or to cheer on their local school.

Togher N.S. were pitted against Rushnacahara N.S. from the Sheepshead Peninsula in what turned out to be a highly competitive and fascinating game. Rushnacahara started brightly and took the lead with an early point playing a lovely fluid passing game. As Rachel and Daniel battled hard in midfield a goal from Muiris brought Togher back into the game. Rushnacahara continued to press and soon added another point. Shey was magnificent in the Togher goal and was called upon to make some excellent saves as both teams started to up their play. A second goal from Thomas after some hardwork from Rachel and Alice stretched the Togher lead. This goal proved to be vital as both teams tried to wrestle an advantage in the second half. Solid defensive work from Shauna and Daniel and a huge contribution from Rachel and Thomas in midfield managed to keep Togher ahead. The front line of Muiris and Alice kept making intelligent runs and managed to put pressure on the Rushnacahara back line whenever they tried to break free with the ball. Rushnacahara scored three points in the second half but a point each from Daniel and Muiris helped by some energetic support from the sidelines saw Togher ahead at the final whistle. We would like to thank Rushnacahara N.S. for a very sporting game. The team is a credit to their parents, school and community. We would also like to thank our own school community for their support during the tournament and the final and of course a huge thank you to Tony Walsh for helping to train the squad.