St. Aidan’s is steeped in the history and tradition of the GAA. Since first opening our doors in 1964, the school has been committed to nurturing the talent of its students in both codes of hurling and football. The roots of the school’s GAA belong in the community of Whitehall and its local GAA club. St. Aidan’s and Whitehall Colmcille have had and continue to have strong links. The success of our teams is also aided by the commitment from other local GAA clubs to some of our students, clubs like Na Fianna GAA and Ballymun GFC to name but a few.
Our school has a long tradition of supplying Dublin GAA with some of the best footballers and hurlers to wear the blue jersey, household names like Tommy Drumm, Paul Clarke, Paddy Moran and the Small brothers, John and Paddy. We have produced similarly talented hurlers such as Tomas Brady (duel star), Joey Boland with the newer and current generation being represented by Eoghan O’ Donnell and Daire Gray. There have also been so many underage inter county representatives from our school that we are immensely proud of.
The solid foundations on which a lot of the coaching and organising were built on, were provided by many dedicated teachers over the years, none more so central than Br. Coffey. The pathway dug out by Br. Coffey has been the roadmap for a lot of our success, investing time into students to help them improve their skills. Many past pupils still accredit his influence on their careers. Although Br. Coffey is not as active as he was when he patrolled the sidelines on Collins’ Avenue, his interest in our progress never wanes.
Every year in St. Aidan’s we field no less than eight GAA teams across both codes, First Years, Second Years, U16 and Senior. We pride ourselves on being all inclusive especially among our First Year student body, where every student is encouraged to join the teams regardless of their ability. The First Year teams always create the most memories for a lot of our students. It is where lifelong friendships are forged and the love of competing for the school begins.
We are just starting to populate these pages, so if anyone wants to contribute to the GAA section, please email [email protected] You may have a story, a report or a photo….it all helps as we remember the good times that have passed and look forward to creating new memories.