On Wednesday 9th March, Aquinas hosted its second Belfast Area School Camogie tournament. In attendance was Aileen Lawlor, the past President of the Camogie Association of Ireland.

The Cup for Year 8 Students saw teams competing from Aquinas Grammar, St. Joseph’s College with two teams from Victoria College.  The tournament includes schools from County Antrim and County Down.

All teams battled hard for the coveted ‘Aileen Lawlor Shield Cup’; sponsored by Emer Hinphey CEO of ‘Think People’.   Aquinas won all games but were narrowly defeated in the final by Victoria. It was a fine display of Camogie especially considering many of the players are beginners.

Anne Costello Down Under Age Camogie Development Officer called the tournament “a great promotional tool for Camogie in the Belfast area. It is especially important that our young camogs have access this time year to games at Schools level. The Aileen Lawlor Shied is an important building block and a sign of the growing popularity of this great game across a range of schools in the area.

This was the second year in a row, Aillen Lawlor travelled from West Meath to present the shield. For Aileen, a regular visitor to Belfast “it shows the keen level of interest and engagement by the girls.” “Playing at Camogie at schools level,” She noted, “is vital to promoting the game within the clubs and County Development structures. It is at the year 8 level that we can indeed help inspire girls to become the adult to players of the near future.”

Before the blitz, a selection of Aquinas students and Aquinas principal Barry Kelly had the opportunity of spending time with Aileen Lawlor and Anne Costello (Bredagh GAC). They exchanged stories and shared feelings about their treasured sport. A great day for Aquinas and a great day for Camogie!