SETU was delighted to host the Cairn Community Games Track and Field and Outdoor Field sports finals at its South Sports Campus in Carlow.
Celebrating sportsmanship and community spirit
The weekend’s games, held on 24 and 25 of August, were a vibrant celebration of sportsmanship and community spirit with over 3,000 children representing their counties at this year’s national finals. It was announced in January 2024 that Carlow would host the national finals until 2028. SETU continued to host athletics and team sports while partners at the Visual Carlow will host the Arts and Culture finals (upcoming on Saturday, 7 September 2024) The University’s South Sports Campus emerged as venue-of-choice for the finals due to its state of the art, world class facilities and sporting tradition of hosting local, regional, and national events.
The future is bright
Director of Sport at SETU, Donal McNally, commented on the success of the weekend’s events, “We are thrilled to host the Cairn Community Games 2024 here at our South Sports Campus. The talent and dedication on display from kids across athletics and team sports was heartening to see and clearly shows that the future is bright for Irish sport.”
Donal continued, “Last year, SETU, alongside the Visual Carlow and Carlow Community Games, was chosen as the home of the Games until 2028. A key part of our strategic goals as a university is to strengthen community spirit in our region and play a role in the nurturance and development of education and skills, including in sport, among young people of the southeast. I’m delighted that the we could host a successful weekend of competition and continue to support Cairn Community Games in their work in the community. Sincere thanks and well done to all involved, our partners, staff, and volunteers, for making the events possible.”
Athletics talent
On Saturday, 24 August, the Track and Field Finals got underway with athletes competing across a range of events that included sprints, middle distance, hurdles, relays, high jump, long jump, javelin, discus, shot putt, ball throw and long puck. It was a chance to see the best of young Irish athletics talent that will develop into the future and join the ranks of world-class athletes from Ireland, as witnessed in this year’s Paris Olympics.
Outdoor Team Finals
On Sunday, 25 August the Outdoor Teams Finals took place with strong competition taking place in soccer, tag rugby, Gaelic football, hurling, camogie, and rounders. Teams from across Ireland braved the windy conditions to represent their counties and communities with great passion and pride.
David Hoysted, Chief Executive of Cairn Community Games, celebrated the success of the weekend’s event stating, ‘’Cairn Community Games is incredibly grateful to host our National Finals at SETU. The facility allows children to strive for excellence throughout their journey with Cairn Community Games. We would like to thank SETU for all their assistance throughout 2024 and are looking forward to working with them to continue providing opportunities for young children to continue participating in sporting and cultural activities.’’