Once again this year the school held its annual Byrne Cup Competitions for first years and second years in both hurling and football
Participating numbers exceeded expectations with approximately 60 students involved in the Hurling tournament and approximately 100 in the Football.
The hurling tournament was held on Friday the 13th of May in Lisnamult. Four teams (Pearse, Plunkett, Connolly, and Ceánnt) competed on a league basis with the top two teams playing again in the final. Group games were 10 minutes a side and goals were awarded just one point to encourage positive play and encourage shooting from distance. Overall the early rounds proved highly competitive with Pearse topping the group with two wins, Plunkett finished second also with two wins. They played again in a highly entertaining final with Plunkett managing to reverse the group result beating Pearse 8-7. Well done to all involved.
 

This year also saw the introduction of the Br. Kennedy Award for free taking. Players were given the opportunity to take three frees from various positions inside the 65. The eventual winner was James Fitzpatrick (Oran GAA) who was the only player to score all three frees. Well done James.
The football tournament took place the following Tuesday the 17th. Approximately 100 students took part in the football competition. Students were split into 8 teams and entered into 2 groups of 4.The teams were named in honour of Roscommon Footballers who have received All Star awards. Freyne, Earley, Lindsay, Keegan were in Group A and Heneghan, Murray, Connellan and McManus in Group B. The top 2 teams in each group progressed to the ‘Byrne Cup’ semi-finals with the third and fourth placed teams progressing to the ‘Shield’ competition.
Again goals were awarded just a point to encourage positive play. Every team was ensured 3 group games and another game in either the Shield or Byrne Cup. In the main event it was Murray and McManus who progressed to the final. The two sides had already met in Group B with Murray winning 10-4. The final proved a far tighter affair, level 6 points apiece at half time. McManus however were architects of their own downfall as they only managed one point in the second half, Murray running out winners 13-7. Again well done to all involved.
These were hugely successful tournaments creating an opportunity for all students to become involved. The level of skill and commitment on show on both days was highly encouraging and bodes well for the future of Gaelic Games in the CBS.
Special word of thanks to Philip Mullen and Roscommon Gaels for facilitating the use of Lisnamult on both days.