Pres Athenry complete three in-a-row

IT’S TURNING into quite a year on the sporting fields for Presentation College, Athenry.
Last week the school won a first-ever FAI Connacht Senior Cup in soccer, while their footballers will hope to replicate that success when they take on Coláiste Iognáid in the Senior C provincial decider this weekend.
On Saturday afternoon at Pearse Stadium, their hurlers shook off the spirited challenge of Gort Community School to justify their favourite’s tag and land a third successive Connacht Post Primary Senior A title.
Both teams won their semi-finals with a bit to spare in mid-January. Gort clocked up a big score in disposing of Calasanctius Oranmore while Pres Athenry pulled away in the second half of a more tightly contested clash with St Brigid’s,Loughrea. It was a bizarre sight watching those matches being played at the same time on adjacent pitches at a sparsely-attended Connacht GAA Centre in Bekan. This was much more like it, though, with a decent crowd at the Salthill venue and plenty of high-quality young hurlers showcasing their talents on a good surface for hurling.