All-Ireland Schools League Finals Preview

Finals Preview Day 1:

U16C Boys - Dundalk Grammar School v Galway CC

Dundalk Grammar are appearing in their 1^st All Ireland League final, but don’t let that fact fool you into thinking they are out of their depth. They reached an All-Ireland semi-final at U16 level in the 2019/20 season. They’ve had the misfortune ever since to be in the same region as O’Carolan College (promoted in 2024), St Clares Ballyjamesduff (promoted in 2023) Ballymakenny College (promoted in 2023), Colaiste Chu Chulainn (promoted in 2022) and Coláiste na hInse (promoted in 2021). Dundalk Grammar have run all of these teams close in their Regional Leagues. They will now feel it is their turn to shine. Dundalk have produced a fine string of performances this season, led by their point guard AJ Linane. His range of passing and long range shooting has been a joy to watch. AJ has been ably assisted by the hard working Aaron Mara, with big contributions under the board by big man and Irish U16 panelist Praise Pedro.

Hoping to put a stop to that is Cup runnes up, Galway Community College. Galway will be looking for redemption following their recent defeat in the U16 Cup final. The team possess a strong pressing game built on hard work and discipline. National Academy Coach, Ciaran McGroggan, will have his team well prepared for the occasion. Star player Mavelose Aginbovia will be one Dundalk will have to keep under wraps.

Having already dispatched Cup winners St. Conleth’s CC, Dundalk will head into this game with confidence.

U19C Boys - Dundalk Grammar School v St Vincent’s

Dundalk Grammar will be making a first appearance in an U19 All-Ireland League final and will be hoping to bring home two trophies on the day. Having already seen off Cup winners Newpark Comprehensive in their semi-final round, they will have nothing to fear heading into this final. Led by Dundalk Ravens BIDL and recent Irish U17 star Hugo Winston, Dundalk Grammar have powered their way to this national final. They have dominated the boards in every game led by their big man Kaitobechi Prine-Issac and Irish U16 starlet Praise Pedro.

Standing in their way will be Dublin stalwarts St Vincent’s Glasnevin, who last tasted All-Ireland League success in the 2011 season. Led by their U20 National League star Joshua Mondejar, St. Vincent’s have brought great energy and enthusiasm to the competition this season. Having accounted for  Cup Runner Up Clarin College in their semi-final round, their skill and tough defence has been hard matched all season. Munasar Omar and Oscar Sowa have impressed also for the Glasnevin men.

Both teams had narrow victories in their semi final games with St Vincents edging a 2 point thriller over St Brendan’s Belmullet and Dundalk Grammar coming from behind in the last minute to seal a 3 point victory over Newpark Comprehensive. This game has all the hallmarks of a thriller, let’s hope it lives up to its expectations!

 

U16C Girls - Coláiste Chu Chulainn v St Joseph’s, Charlestown

Two seasons ago Coláiste Chu Chulainn were celebrating their U16 and U19 Leinster Development Cup win. It hasn’t taken them long to get to grips with the level of basketball required at C Grade, as they make their first ever All-Ireland League appearance in a Girls final.

St Joseph’s last All-Ireland title came in the 2016 season with an U19 League and Cup double. More recently they were All Ireland semi-finalists at U16 and All-Ireland quarter-finalists at U19 last season. In their semi-final this year they edged a two-point thriller against Killina. The Mayo girls will bring a lot of experience to this final, having already gone one step further than last season, they will be keen to finish strongly and bring the silverware back to the West.

U19 C Girls - Kilrush CS v Colaiste Bhride, Carnew

Kilrush CS have waited a long time to get back to an All-Ireland final, having been Minor League winners in the 2015 season. Standing in their way are Coláiste Bhride Carnew, who will be making their first appearance in an All-Ireland final. Having overcome Cup winners, Coláiste na hInse, in overtime in their semi-final Coláiste Bhride will be hot favourites to land this title.

Kilrush CS will not be daunted by the task ahead of them as they dispatched their semi-final opponents by 20 and 30 points.

Finals Preview Day 2

U16B Boys - Colaiste Muire, Cobh v St. Flannan’s, Ennis

Colaiste Muire only returned to playing Boys basketball in the 2022 season, after a long absence. For the past few years they have made regional finals and All-Ireland semi-finals. This will be their first year in an All-Ireland final.  

St. Flannan’s joined as a basketball school in 2018. It didn’t take them long to win their first title, in 2019 they were U19C Cup Winners. They’ve been a B school ever since and this will be their first B All-Ireland final. Both schools were involved in the U16 quarter-finals two years ago, with St Flannan’s narrowly losing out to eventual winners St Finans Swords. 

Coláiste Muire will be hoping their experience in Neptune from regional final appearances will stand to them. St Flannan’s have already put Cup winners Pres Carlow to the sword in their quarter final round so will have no fear as they take to the court to try and bring  more silverware back to the Banner county.

U19B Boys - Castlerea CS v Kildare Town CS

Castlerea CS has a proud tradition in basketball winning numerous  Regional titles in various ages and grades. No strangers to the big stage, they will be aiming for their first All-Ireland title since 2002.  Castlerea featured in the schools U16C Cup final in the 2022/23 season, however a senior B title has eluded the team from the West. Last year they were All-Ireland semi-finalists, losing by the narrowest of margins to eventual winners Ballymakenny College. That loss has no doubt spurred them on this year, led by their sharpshooter Dara Curran, following in the great tradition of GAA/basketball crossovers, the Roscommon County GAA star made the Electric Ireland Minor team of the year in 2025. Coach Thomas O’Callaghan is bringing all his expertise from playing BIDL with Athlone. This experience shone through in their semi-final performance with Kevin Hester, Jack Dolan and Jamie Dowd all using their experience to close out the game.

Kildare Town will be relying heavily on their players experience, not only as U16 Cup winners in the 2023/24 season, but also their successful Cup winning campaign of this year. Led by talisman Charlie Dunny, the sharpshooter and Cup MVP is capable of bringing his team mates into the game. Cillian Ajimokun is a colossus under the boards at both ends of the floor and David Cojocaru’s athleticism has rarely been matched this year.

Castlerea will have their hands full to contain the Kildare team if they hope to prevent them from doing the League and Cup double this year.

U16B Girls - Coláiste Muire, Ennis v St Paul’s, Oughterard

Coláiste Muire Ennis have to look back as far as 2018 for their last appearance in an All-Ireland final. For St Paul’s Oughterard they would have to go back to 2017 for their last victory.

St Paul’s will be making a return to A basketball, following one season at B Grade. They were 20 points to the good of both of the teams in their semi-final round. Coláiste Muire Ennis are also no strangers to A basketball, their girls will bring plenty of experience from last year’s quarter-final round.

U19 B Girls - St Dominics Grammar School, Belfast v Dominican College Fortwilliam (Playing on Tuesday Mar 3^rd)

The battle of Belfast will see at least one Dominican school go home happy!

St Dominics Grammar School will be led by Irish International and former Irish U16 Captain, Aoibheann Donnelly. Donnelly plays her club basketball with Belfast Star and Cleveland Rockets in the Womens Division 1 league, she is also a dab hand at netball and has represented Northern Ireland at U17 level. She was the stand out player when St Dominics won their first All-Ireland title, the Junior C League in the 2022/23 season. St Dominics have already dispatched the Cup runners up, Colaiste Dun an Ri, in the semi-final round and will have all eyes on the prize as they seek to add a second All-Ireland title to their honours.

Standing in their way will be Dominican College Fortwilliam and their triple threat of the McGirr sisters. Domminic College are no strangers to this end of the competition, having made it to the U16 League semi-finals last year. There is no doubt the team will draw on that experience to help them go one better this year. Hannah and Isabel McGirr bring plenty of experience from their time with the Northern Ireland U18 team. They are also no strangers to Donnelly as they are all members of the Belfast Star club. Younger sister Olivia is also a member of the BI U15 Academy team and Northern Ireland U15 team. It took a one point overtime win to separate the Fortwilliam girls from Cup winners Carrigtwohill Community College in their semi-final round.

Finals Preview Day 3

U16 A Girls - Pres Kilkenny v Crescent College Comprehensive

Pres Kilkenny had a dominant win over Castleisland CC in the U16 Cup earlier this year. Their opponent in the All-Ireland Schools League final will provide a much stiffer test for the Kilkenny girls, who are aiming for a League and Cup double. Kilkenny Stars and Irish U15 player Kayla Wall has been a dominant force for the Pres girls for the past two seasons. The Crescent defence will need to lock down her scoring threat early on, as they attempt to avenge the narrow defeat at the hands of the Kilkenny girls in last years U15 Cup final.

Crescent College Comprehensive SJ has advanced to the All-Ireland Finals after an exceptional season. The team was crowned Southwest Regional Champions, securing impressive victories in a highly competitive region. On their journey to Neptune, they have triumphed over top-tier schools such as Milltown, St. Angela’s, Teresians, and Portlaoise, earning their place in this final.

Over the past three years, these girls have claimed multiple Schools All-Ireland titles and are the defending U16A League champions.

Last year, however, they were narrowly defeated by Kilkenny in the U15A Cup, which adds an extra layer of excitement to today’s encounter.

U19 A Girls - Our Lady’s Terenure v Mungret CC

The story of Mungret CC’s remarkable rise to the top of School Girls All-Ireland basketball is nothing short of incredible. Their achievements include winning the Minor C All-Ireland in 2022, followed by the Minor B and Junior B All-Irelands in 2023. In 2024, they claimed the U16A Cup and League titles, and in 2025, they added the U19A League trophy to their collection.

In November, they traveled to Spain to represent Ireland, where they triumphed in the World Schools Basketball Tournament. Now, they head to Neptune, aiming to add a seventh banner to hang from the rafters in their school gym.

If the story of Mungret is well known the opposite can be said for their opponents Our Lady’s Terenure. In only their 4^th full season in schools basketball, three of them at A grade this will be a first All-Ireland final appearance for the Dublin girls. Their route to the finals has been a challenging one, beaten semi-finalist in their region they faced a tougher pool draw in the quarter-final round. Having dispatched the North Region winners and North West Region runners up they took their place in the semi-finals. Here they faced the East Region runner up Loreto Dalkey and the Midlands winner Pres Kilkenny.

The Terenure girls will take heart knowing that Pres Kilkenny knocked Mungret out in the first round of the Cup this year. That early season defeat will no doubt rankle with the Mungret team, who will be keen to retain their All-Ireland crown. Both sides feature Irish Internationals, Éabha Booth for Our Ladys and Meabh Purtill for Mungret. These U18 team mates will have to leave their national team relationship to one side as they focus on leading their school team to glory.

U16 A Boys - Coláiste Éanna v St. Pat’s, Cavan

If you had asked anyone at the start of this season to name the final four teams for the U16 League title, few would have had St. Pat’s Cavan on their list. Few that is outside of the tight basketball community in the North East who knew something special was brewing for this team. In 2024 the North East won the U15 Tom Collins Inter Regional Tournament, on that team were four St. Pat’s Cavan players. This year a 5^th member of that team joined St Pat’s Cavan, remember the name Arda Ozden.

In this breakthrough year the St. Pat’s team have already captured the school’s first ever ‘A’ All Ireland winning the U16 A Cup, on Friday in Neptune they will aim to do the double. En route they have put traditional power houses Mercy Mounthawk (QF Round) and Castleisland CC (SF Round) to the sword.

Hoping to prevent that double will be East Region winners Coláiste Éanna. They are a young team who improved as they progressed through the games. Victories over The Bish and AVS Donegal in the quarter-final round, followed by victories over Ballymakenny College St Mary’s Portlaoise and Coláiste Muire Crosshaven in the semi-final round will have given this team plenty of experience to draw on. U15 International Daniel O’Sullivan will be one to watch for Éanna. They will also be hoping that Bobby Doyle is back from injury playing on the Dublin football stage.

U19 A Boys - Coláiste Éanna v St. Mary’s, Portlaoise

Having relinquished their Cup title to Coláiste Éanna earlier this year St Mary’s Portlaoise will be aiming to turn the tables and claim League honours. Standing in their way will be a Coláiste Éanna side aiming for a fifth League Title in a row and set on achieving the League & Cup double this season.

Éanna have a roster deep with International experience including former U16 captain and the 2023/24 U16 Schools Player of the Year in Adam McCarthy. Harry Lynch, Karl Walsh and top scorer from the Cup Adam Charles will all have a lot to say about where this trophy ends up. St Mary’s will need to get out of the blocks quickly and not allow Éanna’s outside shooters any easy buckets. This trophy will be coming back up the M7, will it be stopping at St Mary's or will Coláiste Eanna be too strong for the Portlaoise school?